Each week, we get contacted by a range of different companies asking us to review their products. Normally, we don't accept the majority of these products, but for your entertainment, we've decided to review every single one of these products in some sort of entertaining (and unfair) way. Today, I got the BOOMR camera strap in the mail and put it through a stress test.
Last week, Chelsey got an email from the guys who made the BOOMR strap (which is currently doing pretty well on Kickstarter). Chelsey knows that I am not a fan of any third-party camera straps and she asked if I really did want to review this product. I told her to warn the BOOMR guys that there is almost no way that I will give their product a positive review. She gave them a fair warning, but they sent it over anyway. Let the games begin.
What is it?
A camera strap with "bungee" portions that allow it to stretch.
But why?
I honestly don't know. I guess it's supposed to cut down on vibrations as you walk, but by this logic, all backpacks and shoulder bags should also have bungee straps, which they don't. In my tests, it just seems to bounce around as I walk, which is more annoying than the swing you get with a standard strap.
Can I hang from the BOOMR camera strap?
I knew you were going to ask this and that's why I put it to the test. No, the BOOMR strap cannot be used for pull-ups. It will fail under your weight and shoot metal shards directly at your head.
Should I buy the BOOMR strap?
If you want your camera strap to be stretchy, the BOOMR camera strap is the ultimate (and only) option. This strap only costs $25 on their Kickstarter page right now, which is extremely reasonably priced.
If you don't want your camera strap to be stretchy, I would suggest looking elsewhere, potentially in your camera's retail box.
LOL, this is so awesome!! Can't wait for more!!
Our next unfair review product is in our office but I cant figure out what to do with it. It's a macro/fisheye lens kit for the iPhone. Any ideas?
Depends on how bad it is ... maybe compare it to just shooting using a magnifying glass in front of the IPhone? :)
hah that's pretty clever
Or to expand on Eric's magnifying glass idea, so how well you can start a fire using the sun. It would be a test of the optics and how much light passes through. :)
Recreate your famous iPhone glamour shoot but on a mini scale?
this is a really good idea too... just not sure how to pull this off
The barbie doll you used in the jumping drone thing as a model?
Hmm. The barbie doll you used for the jumping drone / camera focus thing?
See how well it swims with the fish?
Nailed it Lee...
bad design, as you say far too long in length , and I want a strap built to pull a truck if I have a D4 and a big arse sense on it, nice review
I have a third party strap that shall remain nameless but is reminiscent of dark rivers ... cough cough ... and I like it when I need / want to carry 2 cameras. Otherwise I just use the default basic Canon strap.
I went to the Boomr Kickstarter and their videos are VERY misleading. They have a weight distribution heat map video but in the video the camera is at chest height ... not at testicle crushing height. Even their actual product photos show the camera hanging MUCH lower.
I also can't even imagine the ammount of bounce this would have when shooting with a 5DMk2 with grip and 2 batteries and a 70-200 f2.8 on the front.
They also show 2 ways of attaching the strap and their number 1 method terrifies me! Those weak little metal clips connected together on the corner of the camera? Eurgh!!!
Finally ... this is quite telling.
"I've always been interested in photography but never had the time to actually try to learn. Finally I decided it would help my Kickstarter campaigns if I would purchase a decent camera and learn a bit about how to use it. After purchasing a decent SLR I found it extremely uncomfortable carrying it around my neck or across my body after more than a few minutes."
So, no real experience with a camera, buys an entry level DSLR and then start building accessories based on his self confessed limited experience?
ALSO:
" I decided it would help my Kickstarter campaigns"
So ... this is a serial Kickstarter ...
I watched their video and was trying to figure out how they got it so short. It seems like maybe I missed something
It is the PERFECT strap for "Nutscaping"!! *Laughs*
I think it's the weight. The strap isn't made for heavy cameras, but any entry level/plastic body with a not-so-heavy lens should work.
I used to get punched in the crotch a lot, but then I got a BOOMR bungie strap, and now I only get punched in my camera a lot.
Check their kickstarter page, they are using being featured on fstoppers as a selling point!
OMG! Seriously?
Lee, did they ask if they could use the FStoppers logo?
Oh I don't care. Obviously they have a great sense of humor.
Well played :)
I'm using a padded Nikon (AN-SNP001 I bought from Japan) strap whenever I shoot casually (i.e., vacation, traveling), but whenever I do my job, I have a Black Rapid Double strap and the Yeti. Until now, Black Rapid is the only third-party strap that makes sense to me.
I personally dont care for the straps that come with the camera, they're too wide and brightly colored for my mostly black equipment. But Im not a fan of third party straps either (I have a Black Rapid R7 just sitting in my bag.) I prefer the Canon L3 strap for my SLRs. Simple, elegent, keeps the camera higher up so it doesnt bang into stuff. I use it in conjunction with a Nikon AH-4 wrist strap, pricy, but the best! And for smaller cameras I use the Nikon AN-4B neckstrap, no writing, just black. The AN-4B is a little on the thin side though, so I keep it on my Olympus EM-5
Ok, so I'm going to have to be a little more fair and say that I can actually see the value in a small amount of bungee. There are several items made for children that have a little give so that the kids don't hang themselves, and this IS an item made to go around our necks. For someone who spends a fair amount of time in the woods and trees, ok I can see where I'd rather have an inch or 2 of pull rather than clothesline myself by accident. At the same time, it's way too much. I wear my camera cross body and being smaller than Lee I can see myself sitting on my camera. Realistically, the camera strap I've been using for way too long is made of neoprene so it is a little stretchy but nothing special.
I think that if they took several inches off the bungee it might be a good consumer grade strap for some people. It obviously wasn't meant to hold the weight of a pro DSLR... or to use for pull ups LOL.