I’ve been using a wrist strap while making still photos and video with my iPhone for a couple of weeks. I find that I’m much less concerned about dropping the phone or having a run-in with someone who’s feeling aggressive. I initially purchased a Peak Design Cuff. It works, but I wasn’t keen on the design, the seatbelt material or the quick release system. Consequently, I spoke with Toronto leather designer and craftsman Harry Benz (
https://www.harrybenz.com). Harry agreed to make me a wrist strap that he calls La Cravate (French for necktie), and proposed a swivel snap hook as a quick release.
I’m now able to compare Harry’s La Cravate and Peak Design’s Cuff. Unsurprisingly, Harry’s Cravate costs more. Made of water buffalo leather with a graphic design that I like, it also feels and looks better. What I didn’t anticipate is that Harry’s wrist strap also
works quite a bit better.
His Cravate is narrower and longer, with a more compact one-piece connection. It’s more comfortable, and gives my wrist and hand more freedom This is particularly noticeable with an iPhone camera, where you want unconstrained access to the camera app’s controls, and to the face of the phone and its various apps in vertical orientation. Also, Harry’s one-piece swivel snap hook is easier and faster than Peak Design’s two-piece Anchor Link connection. There's a photo of Harry's snap hook 11 posts up.
There are two ways to attach Harry’s wrist strap to a Beastgrip Beastcage.
A Beastcage has an attachment point in the top right and top left corners. I have not seen these discussed anywhere. I assume that they’re to attach a strap, but it’s possible that they have some additional purpose.
The Cravate’s swivel snap hook can be clipped directly to one of the anttachment points, and the swivel provides full freedom of movement. I haven’t tried it yet, but one could instead attach a split ring to the attachment point, and the strap to the split ring.
This photo shows the strap with the metal snap hook attached to the upper right attachment point. The friend who “modeled” for these photos wore the strap fairly loose. I wear it a bit tighter. Adjusting the size of the loop is very easy, simpler than with Peak Design's Cuff.
- top corner landscape.jpeg (297.5 KiB) Viewed 13023 times
The snap hook can also be clipped to a D-ring screwed into one of the camera’s 1/4”-20 sockets. In the photo below, I’ve screwed a D-ring into a socket on the camera’s lower right.
- bottom corner landscape.jpeg (335.42 KiB) Viewed 13023 times
Both attachment points provide easy access to the iPhone's controls and apps in vertical orientation:
- top corner portrait.jpeg (421.53 KiB) Viewed 13023 times
I can carry the Beastcage at my side by grasping the strap with my hand. This way my hand, rather than my wrist, supports the weight of the cage while walking. That said, I tend to just hold the Beastcage on one of its long sides, like I would carry a book.
I also plan to use Harry’s Cravate with a number of conventional cameras, which helps justify the cost. I’m very happy with the strap’s performance with the four that I’ve tried it with; namely, a Mamiya 7II medium format rangefinder and three Leicas, an M3, an M6 and an M (Typ 240).
Harry makes this strap in small, medium and large, this being a medium. While the choice is guided by wrist circumference, what size affects is strap length.
There are some posts above and on the previous page of this thread that may be of interest to others who are considering a wrist strap.
Sun Feb 18, 2024 11:45 pm
What did you do, slow down the film to 0.25 and go looking for groups of people doing stuff like marching who had some white in their clothing? What's actually interesting is the challenge of filming Usher, with a very dark complexion, in a white costume.
