Axis Sling QD Review

The 3 Legged Thing AXIS Sling is a camera strap designed to go over one shoulder and hold the camera and lens by your side, so you always have it ready to go. It’s far more comfortable than carrying a camera around your neck on a traditional camera strap for more active shooting, especially when you’re out all day with the camera by your side.

It looks a little more purposeful, and you’ll often see professional photographers with at least one, if not two, of these and two cameras by their side, much like gun slings; essentially, that’s what this shoulder strap was designed to mimic.

The strap itself is also incredibly sturdy, with a selection of materials chosen for their ability to handle heavy weight and constant use. Through this test, I used it with everything from the Canon EOS R5 C with a 24–70mm attached through to the Sony A7 IV with the 200–600mm attached for wildlife. In both situations, it not only held that weight but distributed it well across the shoulder and body, so although I could still feel the weight, it was considerably less than if I was carrying it around my neck.

Of course, the big thing here is that it uses that single-point QD attachment. This quick-release mechanism lets you click in and click off the strap in just a couple of seconds. If this makes you a little bit nervous, then don’t be. It actually takes a little force to push that button down when the weight of the camera is on it, so over two months of testing, I didn’t accidentally release it once. When it’s clicked into place and secure, there’s no moving it. The QD mount comes from the hunting and military industries, where it’s designed to be both safe and easy to use.

Another point is that, like a neck strap, this strap can be adapted for left- or right-handed use, so it is completely universal. If you want to look like many wedding photographers with two cameras by your side, then 3 Legged Thing makes sure that if you simply buy two, they will click together to give you that full camera-harness style. Again, the simple design looks clean and neat, without lots of extra straps flapping around.

Check out the strap and the first thing you notice is just how well it’s made. 3 Legged Thing has really focused on the quality of their products, and this has been a constant for several years now. When I look at the shoulder pad, it has a reasonable surface area, and it’s nice, wide, and well padded, taking the weight of larger cameras.

Again, we see the webbing that we’ve seen on standard camera straps, and this is made of strong nylon. There’s no way it stretches or breaks, which is part of why it’s used for weight-bearing functions, including seatbelts.

They’ve also used Hypalon for many construction elements, which means everything is extremely durable and weatherproof. When it comes to the QD hardware, they haven’t skimped on the materials either, using stainless steel for maximum strength and durability.

Likewise, magnesium alloys have been utilised to ensure strength with a balanced weight, and when it all comes together, it feels good and secure. There’s also plenty of adjustment across the strap, but they’ve done it in a really nice, discreet way, which means you don’t have lots of extra straps flapping around. If you have to go out to the maximum, as I found when adjusting the underarm strap, it’s all neat but with a good amount of adjustment throughout. If I were going to say anything, I’d probably want just a little bit more length on the underarm strap, which I found was only just long enough on my review sample.

The front and back of the shoulder strap are essentially mirrored, so it doesn’t matter if you’re left- or right-handed; the same adjustments apply on both sides. When it comes to weight, despite being good and robust, it comes in at only 206g before the camera is added, obviously.

This is a camera sling, so the features list is relatively short. First, there’s a push-button QD release that fits into the tripod base plate that screws into the bottom of your camera, and 3 Legged Thing has included a QD4 plate with the strap, which is useful.

The difference between this QD4 plate and those that you normally get with many tripods is that it has an integrated QD socket. So essentially, once that’s screwed into the bottom of your camera, you don’t need any other attachments. What’s more, this QD4 plate is also Arca-Swiss tripod compatible, so if you have a 3 Legged Thing tripod or, for that matter, one of the many other tripods that are Arca-Swiss compatible, then there’s no need ever to remove the small plate from the base of your camera.

Alongside the main strap, there’s also an underarm stabilising strap that goes underneath your arm. It’s a little fiddly to click into place, and a bit more length would’ve been appreciated, but for most people that should be absolutely fine. At that length, there’s no strap flapping around, which is a good thing.

The main bulk of the shoulder pad has plenty of flexibility and breathing holes, so even when you have the strap over your shoulder for the entire day, you shouldn’t get too sweaty, depending on the temperature anyway, and the strap is, of course, fully adjustable.

One thing that really appeals to me is that you can buy a single strap for one camera or, if you’re an event photographer and carry two cameras sometimes, these slings can attach. This gives them a little more versatility and means you can expand the system as you need.

It’s been a busy few months, and I’ve been using various products that have been coming through the studio as well as the workshop, which is unusual because usually the summer months are extremely quiet. That has meant that I’ve been out taking pictures rather than sitting at my desk writing the full reviews as I should have been, but thankfully, having the 3 Legged Thing Sling along with me has meant that I’ve had plenty of use not only of this but also of the AXIS 44, which has a very similar construction.

Through the test, I’ve mainly been using the Sony A7 IV with the 24–70mm attached. It might well be glued to the front of the camera from how much it’s used. Still, I’ve also had several cameras in for retest, including the superb Sony A9, the remarkable Nikon D850 and the innovative Canon, all of which sat perfectly on this sling. I was especially grateful for its use when testing the Nikon D850.

There’s a huge difference between using the sling with its extra padding and using a standard shoulder or camera strap, and it takes the weight and spreads it over my shoulder far more comfortably. The padding on the shoulder strap is nice and soft, but it has just enough structure to absorb the shock of the camera bouncing up and down as you walk.

I also found that with the larger lens, it was more stable when positioned around your back. So, with the Sony A7 IV and the 200–600mm attached, it sat beautifully in the small of my back. It was very easy to drag around with my left hand, ready in just a few seconds to catch the image ahead of me.

What I really appreciated as I used the strap more and more was that it adjusted plenty, and the underarm strap fit very nicely, with good vertical movement and the ability to expand the strap slightly. However, I found that the strap was pulled open to its limit, and I would’ve liked just another inch of length to make it a little bit more comfortable for myself, especially during summer before I put on a heavy winter jacket. If you’re of a slighter build, this won’t be an issue.

One thing that really appeals to me is the speed of this QD engagement and release. Sure enough, it’s very easy just to click it into the base plate; it simply clicks in and gives a reassuring noise. Then, to release it, you just have to hold the camera, push the button firmly, and it pulls away.

During testing, one thing I worried about was accidentally pushing that button and releasing the camera so it smashed onto the ground. However, in two months, there wasn’t even a close call where I accidentally pushed that button. The strength of the spring that 3 Legged Thing has used holds the button out securely, and it does require quite a firm push with your thumb to release.

One thing that really appeals to me about this design is that I can go from the strap to a tripod in seconds. Essentially, push the QD button to release the camera from the strap, then, because that Arca-Swiss base plate is already attached, you can simply click it into place, tighten it, and you’re ready to shoot on a tripod.

So even for landscape photography, where you have to trek out to locations but want to have the camera with you just in case you see something, this is a great solution. Essentially, the camera is slung around your back, ready to use when you want it. When you arrive at the location, set up the tripod, then simply release the QD, put the camera onto the tripod, and shoot the landscape. You don’t even have to remove the sling. It’s perfectly comfortable just left on.

During the test, I used the sling with a range of different cameras, five in total, and I have to say that with the Nikon D850 I was really pleased to have the sling rather than a neck strap. It just made carrying that rather heavy camera around that much lighter and easier.

Whilst I tested this with several different camera bodies and lens combinations, the one I selected most of the time was the Sony A7 IV with the standard 24–70mm f/2.8, and it was absolutely ideal. Out in the New Forest, I swapped between the 24–70mm for standard woodland shots and the 200–600mm to capture some wildlife.

The fact is, swinging the lenses around was made much easier. One thing I started doing whilst using the AXIS 44 to carry the Sony A7 IV was to use the Sling to hold the 200–600mm around my back. The Sling has enough strength, even with that weight, to hold the lens comfortably by your side while you’re hiking, so you have the lens attached to you alongside your camera. It all fits quite nicely.

Then, when I needed the lens, I could quickly detach the 24–70mm, pop it in my bag, attach the camera to the 200–600mm on the Sling, and be ready to start shooting in about a minute. Not speedy, but faster than taking a bag off, digging through it and unpacking.

The real star of this is the QD quick release, and it makes attaching and disconnecting your camera much quicker and easier. When this is coupled with the design, features and quality of the strap, whilst it’s quite expensive initially, it’s actually exceptionally good value for money, and it’s something that I would definitely recommend if you shoot wildlife, sports or work at events.