Gear Review: Spider Pro Holster and Think Tank Pro Speed Belt

   

    For as long as I have been a photographer, I have been on a quest for the perfect way to carry my cameras and gear. I have never really liked the classic camera strap, around the neck and hanging in front of your chest from two points on the camera. My Carry Speed straps are a significant upgrade from the traditional strap, but still less than optimal. The camera still swings around a lot, even with the strap tightened down. Since I tend to climb around a lot in general and see no reason to alter this behavior during shoots, cameras swinging around too much leads to broken gear, much sadness and a slimmer, lighter wallet. In a studio, or other contained shoot where I never need to move far, I find myself not using a strap at all. I just hand carry the camera and set it down somewhere when I am not shooting. This is the most comfortable way for me to work, so I have been looking for something that lets me get that same feeling yet still have some way to attach the camera to myself when I needed both hands or just wanted to take a break.

    Enter the Spider Pro system. I had been researching various clip systems for a while, and there are several out there to choose from. I can't say that the Spider is better than any of those because I haven't tried them, but three primary factors put the spider system above the others when it was time to purchase. First- it is metal instead of plastic. If I am going to be running around and hanging upside down while trusting a small device to hold $10k worth of camera gear onto my hip I want it to be built bombproof, and the spider just looked tougher than the rest. Second, anyone who has followed me for any length of time knows I am a huge fan of Think Tank bags and gear. I am pretty sure that one of these days I am going to break down and get one of their modular belt systems. I wasn't sure that the belt that comes with the standard spider would be compatible with the think tank system, but Spider also offers a clip kit designed to attach to a Think Tank belt. So, by going with the Spider Pro think tank belt system I gave myself confidence in the ability to add more gear later on. The third and final point that made the decision easy was that, while Spider does offer Arca Swiss compatible plates, the Arca Swiss plates and pins on the carry speed mounts I already had on all my cameras would work with the Spider Clips. This meant that not only would I not I have to buy additional plates for each camera, but also that I would be able to go back and forth between the strap and the belt without changing out plates in case I didn't always want to use the belt system.

   So, as the magic 8 ball says, "all signs pointed to yes," for the combo, so I ordered and waited. Everything came in and it was a snap to set up. First thing I did was adjust the belt for size and figured out where I wanted the camera to sit on my hip- because once the clip is attached to the belt it does not slide or move. The buckle only has the two side pushes for release, but it was very secure. Adjustment was made at the buckle with metal tabs which prevented the belt from inadvertently loosening.

    Attaching the clip was easy- undo a couple of screws, pull off one piece, put belt in the middle, place a piece over the belt, tighten screws down. Done. There is also a pad, but it added a lot of bulk to the belt so I decided to try it without the pad first and add the pad in later if I needed it.

    Then it was off to Burning Man for the system's first real test. I already gave you a brief teaser of how this worked out in my earlier Burning Man post, but just to recap, the system worked perfectly. I carried around the D4 with the 24-70mm attached for a solid week, in just about the worst conditions you could come up with. I ran, jumped, chased a toddler, climbed, swung and rode bikes around all with the camera clipped in, and most of the time not even locked in place. I never worried about losing the camera, even when not locked the clip was very secure.

    The clip does have a locking device, for when you need extra security. I clicked it on ahead of time if I knew I was going to wind up going upside down. The lock does make camera removal a two handed operation, so when I didn't need it I kept it disengaged. You can see the lock tab function in the two images below.

Lock Engaged- ou can barely see the lock tab point in the track, but it traps the ball completely. Wheel on right side locks/releases. 

Lock disengaged, channel is clear. 

    After a day or so of getting used to the position and motion of clipping in and out, I could grab the camera, shoot, and re-holster it one handed without looking, very handy for shots from a bike or while climbing.

   I know what some of you are thinking, I am insane to pull out what becomes a completely untethered camera while climbing or biking, and you are right, but I feel pretty comfortable handholding, and besides, that is what equipment insurance is for, right? But if that thought scares you, you can still use a strap that mounts from one side of the camera or a tab that secures into the tripod socket of the Spider Plate (or CS plate in my case) and that way the camera is still strapped to you while you are shooting, but when it is clipped into the holster it won't swing around while you are moving/climbing, etc. So the option for double security is there, I just didn't use it since one of the big goals for me was to get away from the strap in the first place.

   One of the reviews I read on this system mentioned how obvious it made you look as a professional photographer, and while this may be true if you wear it on top of everything, add two cameras and a shoulder harness, if you want you can use it to almost be undercover.

    That's me at a Sukkot celebration last weekend. On my right hip I have the D800 with the 24-70 attached (by the end of the day there was also an SB910 on there. On my left there is the SB910 in a pouch along with a water bottle. These were both just attached to the belt's gear loops with carabiners. At one point I wanted to get a shot of a friend while in the beer tent, and although we had been talking for about 10 minutes prior, he hadn't even noticed the camera and was shocked when I reached down and came up with it. (flash was mounted at this point)

   Since Burning Man I have used the belt for every shoot I have been on, and it has performed well. My overall conclusion is I LOVE THE SPIDER PRO and I LOVE MY PROSPEED BELT!!!!! I am kicking myself for not getting this setup sooner. In fact, I am thinking about how long to wait before I expand. While at Burning Man I had the addition of a Digital Holster 40 V2 on the opposite side from the clip, I won't talk about that much here since I mentioned it in the BM post and plan to review it separately later on, but while it will work somewhat to hold a second camera, it isn't really ideal to use as a dual camera setup, so at some point I want to add a second spider clip. I think that if I will be using it to carry two full setups, I am going to want a shoulder harness as well. The single camera setup, even with a D4/70-200/sb910 rig on it, carried very easily and quite comfortably, and I will try it without the harness first with a dual camera setup, I have a feeling the harness will come in handy, even more so if I wind up going with the full modular or skin sets.

    Another awesome thing about this setup is how flexible it is. From one camera to a whole boatload of gear, as much or as little as you need, limited only by how big your waistline is. (not kidding, this is common issue for skinny cops or soldiers who run out or room to put stuff on their belts simply because they don't have enough real estate). The belt has accessory loops running all around it. With the think tank products which are designed to match up with this belt, they give you the choice of having your pouches either slide freely around the belt, or remain fixed in a set place (remember, the spider clips are locked where you install them). But they also allow you to attach anything you can hook a carabiner to, like my water bottle in mentioned above, or my Kata PL-18 bag, or anything else you may want to carry.

   So, if you haven't figured it out yet, I totally love this setup and recommend it to anyone! That being said, there are a couple of downers I would be remiss if I didn't mention. First, if you already are wearing a belt, it will be uncomfortable to wear the spider rig over the top of it, since they both will want to sit on your hips the same way, and the weight of the camera belt will pull your regular belt down and cause it to dig into you. I tried wearing the camera belt underneath the regular belt, but that wasn't comfortable either. So, if you depend on your belt to hold up your pants, you will have to carefully position the camera belt. If you're really worried, maybe carabiner to a couple of your belt loops? Second, if it's at all warm, you will sweat under the belt, and when you take it off you will have a sweat ring wherever you wore it. (at least I did, your sweat rates may differ from mine). The final downside is that it makes you wider, especially if you have something on either hip. If you have the camera hanging from a side strap and you gently bump it against something as you walk, the camera can swing and dissipate the force of the impact, but if the camera is clipped in and can't move, it takes the whole hit. It takes a bit of time to get used to having a few extra inches on either side of your hips.

     I did find one more problem, but it was with the Carry Speed plates/pins, the spider clamp just revealed it. Apparently the frequent rotation as the pins slide in and out of the clip can cause the CS pins to loosen. I caught it before anything catastrophic happened, and just made sure to tighten the pin each time I pulled out the camera until I could get some loc-tite and set them in a little more securely.

   That's pretty much the ups and downs. This is an awesome system. If you are looking for a system besides the strap that lets you pick and choose how much you want to carry and when, change configurations quickly and easily, as well as make it much simpler to carry two cameras and swap between them at will, the Spider Pro Holster on the Think Tank Prospeed Belt is an effective, awesome combination. If you agree and want to grab any of this gear yourself, please use the links above and show me a little love!

That's it, I'm Selling Out.....

Ok- not really, but I need to explain myself, and since I am a blogger, that means another blog post. The cliff notes version of this lengthy disclaimer is that I am going to start using affiliate marketing links in my posts. I am also going to go back and retrofit them into past posts. There, my naughty little secret is out of the way. But before I explain in detail, I will say this: I am not sponsored by anyone (note- if anyone does want to sponsor me, drop me a line, I am totally ok with getting sponsored... hint hint- Nikon, Think Tank, Kata, anyone......) Anything I review will be something I have used. If I like it, I will tell you why. If I don't, I will tell you why I didn't. Reviews will be honest, and come from my own experience and opinions. But it would be nice to make a little bit if something I write makes you decide to get something for yourself, and it doesn't cost me anything to so, so I am going to give it a shot. Now for the why.

     Why? Because I want to make a little money, that's why. So far I haven't been able to crack the nut of making photography pay, the book has been pretty much dead on arrival so far, and I have only made a whopping $13 off stock photos. Right now I have the luxury of a full time job to support my photography habit, but this will not always be the case. When I am done with the Navy, I will have a decent retirement check, so I won't starve if my images don't sell, but I want to be able to take care of my family and do more than survive. So, while it is nice to have a cushion that lets me focus on trying to shoot what I want to shoot, it would really be nice to get something back. So I have been trying to build foundation out of small steps.

    Step one- never stop getting better behind the camera. I am consistently getting decent images. I am occasionally getting good or even great images. But I am definitely not yet a master of the craft, I have a long way to go and a lot to learn. This will be a lifelong process and goal. But I want to put art out into the world, not crap. I may need to phrase that a little differently before I incorporate it into my mission statement, but there you have it.

    Step two- figure out how to market myself and my images better. I'd love to say that all the marketing savvy in the world won't let you sell a bad picture, but when I look at what's out there and who is actually making money, it's easy to tell that's not true. There are a lot of people apparently making money off of mediocre snapshots and calling it photography. The opposite is also true, there are some people out there making amazing images that probably aren't earning a living at it. The key must be marketing. I am not good at it yet. I think the book also would have done better if I had any idea how to market it. This step may take a while as well.

    Step three- Figure out little ways to make income. Slow and steady is the key here. I have time, I need to take advantage of it. So, starting to try and build up the little things. It reminds me of one of my favorite Demotivational Posters, "A few harmless flakes working together can unleash an avalanche of destruction." Except in this case, I hope a few small channels can build up over time into at least a small snowball of steady income. So, I keep adding photos to the stock portfolio, and looking for other ways to add revenue streams while staying true to what I want to do. 

    Step three is where I obviously hope the affiliate program will come in. If there is one thing photographers are known for, it's going gear crazy. Although I try to control myself, the need is sometimes strong, and sometimes even legitimate. So I will continue to acquire new gear. I will continue to use the hell out of it. Things I like, I will talk about here. If I can get a little money because people want to take my recommendations and use the stuff I like to use, everybody wins, so I don't think it really is selling out after all. But I did think it was something I needed to put out before I went back and swapped all the links, and started posting some more gear reviews that I am working on right now. 

   Finally- Step 4. Keep trudging along. Look for opportunities to get my name out there. Try new things, see what works and what doesn't. Say YES to opportunities even if I am not sure if I am ready for them. Put in the time and the effort and just keep going.