DIY R-Strap (Yogendra's Design)

I have always wanted to use R-Strap but never wanted to shell out $60 to $ 80. So I ended up making my own for less than a dollar (in cash) and a few spare stuff (a carabiner and laptop strap).

Here is a picture that shows the asembly (and brief explanation below on how i did this.

1. Step 1 was to find the right screw which was the easiest of all. Just went to hardware store and got the screw with 1/4th inch diameter.
   Actually I was having the screw for past 1 year but was struggling with the next step, to connect it to camera and have a loop connected to the screw or put a hole into the screw.
2. I convinced a nearby cobbler to put a large rivet (which are used on ladies bags or on ladies belts) on a small piece of nylon strap. The rivet was big enough to pass the screw threads but not big enough to pass the screw head. Then put another rivet to ensure a loop is created which would not fall off with the weight.
   The cobbler was not convinced with what he was doing this for and charged me hefty Rs 15 /- (about 30 US cents)
3. I put the screw through the rivet hole and fixed it with a bolt. For extra precaution i put a washer between screw head and the rivet. (see image on left bottom) then put the screw into the camera tripod hole.
4. Then took a carabiner (was fortunate to get this one with a water bag) and put into the loop and confirmed that it was strong enough to hold the camera.
     
5. For the last part, many people know my love of laptop bags so i have few spare straps. I took the strongst (but thinnest) one and hooked to the carabiner and it was all set.

 

Once i was done, a piece of advice came from my 7 year old son... "dad be careful when you put your big lens on camera" (70-300 that's as big as i have :D). Apparently i haven't been having any problem with either lenses i have with this R-Strap.

Please leave your feedback / comments / questions / suggestions. Will be happy if anyone needs help or wants to see it live (in Pune, India).

Hope this helps,

Yogendra (https://www.facebook.com/joshiyogendra)