Hello, I'm making my way into speed graphic shooting (from 4x5 and 8x10), something that I would like to have is a neck/sholder strap. I don't see any way of mounting a strap onto the camera though, does anyone have any ideas on how to do this?

Well I can think of two ways, based on a Banks Accessory Harness I found years ago.

You could use a large strap with snap hooks on the ends. The hooks would connect into the upper strap lug on the left side of the camera [handstrap removed], and the right would connect into the upper portion of the flash bracket [if so installed on the rangefinder] on the right side of the camera. Of course, that precludes use of the flash gun when used that way.

That strap also used the strap [it was fairly long] to hook onto rings on each end of a camera plate [slightly longer than the camera bottom] that attached underneath the camera's bottom to the camera via a tripod screw.

My strap has an expandable extension that goes around behind the user at chest level holding the camera close to the body until use. I couldn't pass it up at the time, but I've never actually worn the strap with the camera.

These suckers are heavy. What's the matter with just using the hand strap as it was designed for?

alecj wrote:

Well I can think of two ways, based on a Banks Accessory Harness I found years ago. You could use a large strap with snap hooks on the ends. The hooks would connect into the upper strap lug on the left side of the camera [handstrap removed], and the right would connect into the upper portion of the flash bracket [if so installed on the rangefinder] on the right side of the camera. Of course, that precludes use of the flash gun when used that way. That strap also used the strap [it was fairly long] to hook onto rings on each end of a camera plate [slightly longer than the camera bottom] that attached underneath the camera's bottom to the camera via a tripod screw. My strap has an expandable extension that goes around behind the user at chest level holding the camera close to the body until use. I couldn't pass it up at the time, but I've never actually worn the strap with the camera. These suckers are heavy. What's the matter with just using the hand strap as it was designed for?

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look into them As for neck/shoulder strap versus the hand strap, for something this heavy i like to put the weight on my shoulder (like it's a shoulder bag) when I'm out hiking. Rather than always having it in my hand.

For "tailgate hiking" (not getting more than 200ft off the road) The camera, one holder in the camera and one holder in the small of my back,held there by my belt is all that I take, and for the 10-30minutes I'm out, hand holding the camera isn't a problem.

For more rigorous hiking (up Diamond Head in Hawaii) You'll need more than just the camera, which is why I went with full backpack. I'm a middle aged, over weight, out-of-shape white guy, but my Lowe-pro pack allows me to carry up to 30 pounds with little or no fatigue, for a couple of hours, be it on the trails in Ohau, or walking the Brooklyn Bridge and exploring lower Manhattan.

Instead of a shoulder strap on the camera, I use a small soft insulated cooler. The main compartment just fits the camera and there is a separate zippered section on top that holds two extra lenses. Very compact.
-Michael

Forgot to mention: the cooler has a nylon strap long enough to use as a shoulder strap.