I have used a R7 ..... Many people love them but I am not really one of them. I found that inverted carry with long zooms caused me to lose too many eye cups off my camera's. After the third lost eye cup out came the contact cement and off went the R7.
I find I use a hand strap the most anymore and if I need to carry multiple cameras I use a dbl belt carrier with ball mounts. But this is a very rare situation for me anymore. Landscapes or wildlife I usually stick with a single camera on a support.
I am typically carrying a full sized DSLR with a 70-200 zoom and have found the Cotton Carrier to work quite well. It keeps the camera snug to my chest until needed even with my 100-400 zoom. The belt holder also allows me to carry a second DSLR while still keeping both hands free.
Guy
Guy, I took a look at the Cotton Carrier System and decided to order one being as if you order the next 3 days you get a free lens carrier system included and $10 off as well. I liked that it was a one hand usage system where the pro spider system requires me to use two hands to unlock the camera from the carrier.
Thankfully, I only have to use a system like this on extremely rare occurrences so it may be a while before I will put this system to the test. I can see several carry and usage advantages that that system has over my current spider pro system. I wish it had a coupler that could be used with the Manfrotto QR system as well. I see they support the Arca QR system...... maybe later they will develop one?
Thanks for mentioning the Cotton Carrier which made me take another look at that one!
My Cotton Carrier and the Lens Carrier system came yesterday and I got to try it out on a hike through the woods behind my house today. VERY NICE! I was carrying 2 dSLRS one with a 70-400 lens and the other had a 28-70 lens on it. In the lens case I carried a 11-16mm and a 8mm fisheye. The weight was very well displaced and everything held itself in the proper positions even when scaling over fallen trees or jumping creeks. I also carried my tripod using a tripod back sling......... excellent setup! Even for an fat old coot like me
Glad you found the Cotton Carrier usefull. I took a trip to Katmai, National Park last summer and found that I needed some way of keeping my camera and a long lens available for quick shots of bears. It was amazing how many times a bear would just appear while I was fishing. Unfortunately, they could disappear just as quickly. In the relatively short time it took to unzip my jacket and get my camera out, the bear would frequently be gone or at the very least heading away from me; and after one or two shots of a bears behind, I did not need any more of those shots. I did a bit of online research after I got home and found the Cotton Carrier. It works quite well and now my camera is much more easily accessable for quick shots. Other carrying systems may work better for smaller cameras or for a DSLR and a normal lens, but for a DSLR with a longer lens attached the Cotton Carrier type system works better.
Yeah Guy, I put it through it's paces the past 2 days in the woods. It works great as on my chest I carry my dslr with grip and 70-400 and on my side a dslr with a 11-16. In the lens carrier I carried a 8mm and a 28-70 with spare batteries/cards/etc..... worked perfectly. The only problem I have is mental .... everytime I rig up I visualize Dirty Harry and the words "do you feel lucky" come to mind.
Thanks again for the heads up on this item ....... I have tried to pass this one on as well to others I know that may have a need for this type rig.
As a follow up ..... I have been using my Cotton Carrier rig for a while now and can say without a doubt it is the best dual camera rig I have used to date. I was initially a bit worried about the plastic looking holsters but I can say now they are extremely durable. I use the Cotton Carrier lower camera brackets that allow me to mount my quick release tripod brackets as well and it works perfectly.