The most obvious replacements on the market appear to be from Black Rapid or Sun Sniper, these are very high quality products that will undoubtedly solve your problem. However, this is reflected in their price tags. A Black Rapid RS-7 alone will cost upwards of £60 from most retailers.
So what are the alternatives? You could either buy a cheaper strap that fixes one or two gripes you have with the 'official' strap or you could buy a replica, copy, knock-off or clone of the big names. Whatever you want to call it. The Q-Strap is unquestionably a replica of the aforementioned Black Rapid RS-7, fortunately without a replicated price. From eBay you'll be able to purchase a Q-Strap for £15, or if you don't mind waiting, a bargain buy of £12 from China.
You'll see the price and you'll be wondering how the quality stands up to a more expensive strap and whether you'd trust your £X000 camera hanging from it. Hopefully I'll be able to answer your questions and put your mind to rest.
I bought the Q-Strap ahead of a trip to Edinburgh, I'd made plans to photograph the street performers at the Fringe Festival and surrounding areas. This meant carrying my 20D around for 4-5 hours at a time, enough time to adequately test the strap.
First impressions from a person only accustomed to the strap supplied with the camera were good. Quality appears to be very high, akin to that of a 'sporty' rucksack. The materials are also very similar to a sports bag, a weaved nylon strap with a nylon/cotton cushion donning the manufacturers logo. Almost identical to the RS-7.
The strap is also very easy to attach, simply remove the all-metal plate from the carabiner clip and screw it tightly into the tripod mount on the bottom of your camera or lens. A plastic shield ensures a snug fit and reduces any damage that may be associated with screw attachments. Also note the extra tripod mount at the base of the plate, this allows the camera to be placed on a tripod without removing the strap. Something that you are unable to do without buying extra attachments for your RS-7.
With the plate firmly attached you can now clip the carabiner back on and lock it, and you're done. With this updated version of the Q-Strap you get an updated carabiner, previous versions did not have a satisfactory locking mechanism. The new one looks identical to that of the Black Rapid and allows peace of mind during usage.
Adjusting the strap is also fairly simple as long as you can do it on a sports bag. The strap extends far longer than I would ever need it and I'm 6' 2", it's probably long enough to accommodate a spare tyre if you have one. You should also notice the adjustable buffer attached to the strap, this feature is very similar to that of Black Rapid Straps. Should the cushion migrate from your shoulder during use then the correct positioning of the buffer will realign it when the camera is returned to your hip.
The cushion is welcome relief to those who wouldn't usually have a cushion on their strap, like most straps. It has a handy pocket for cards or cloths and appears to be very durable. It's slightly curved to guarantee a comfortable fit and in most instances will stick to your shoulder as the camera moves freely up and down the strap.
You might still be asking what the advantage of this kind of strap is and what it is capable of. The design of the strap allows the camera to hang upside-down at the hip, perfectly in position for your hand to simply grab the camera. Even better is the way that the camera moves along the strap; not being attached to any single point means the camera is free to move up and down the strap, this means the strap never gets in the way.
So how does the strap feel after hours of use? While it doesn't reduce fatigue entirely it is 100 times better than the strap I'm used to. I was using the strap whilst also carrying a bag full of more cameras and lens and it remained easy to use and perfectly functioning. I even tested the strap with my AE-1 complete with power winder, flash and 300mm lens. Weight distribution was still great and I never had any feeling that the strap was under strain.
There are some flaws that I will mention. The clip used for adjusting the length of the strap is located on your front, while this is handy when you need to adjust it, when you slide the camera up the strap the carabiner hits it and moves the cushion off your shoulder on to your back. This is not a major problem; the buffer returns the cushion to your shoulder after use. The second issue relates to the return of the cushion, after the cushion has been returned the front edge can be slightly curled up causing discomfort. This requires a minor adjustment and does not majorly effect usage. The mounting plate may also be a problem for those using a battery grip; the plate will have to sit uncomfortably under your hand.
In conclusion do I recommend the strap? Definitely. For the price it is definitely worth trying, even if you're not happy with the quality it's cheap enough to leave in a drawer. Anyway, if you trust the supplied strap that probably cost less than £1 to make, why not trust this?
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