Camera
This extravagent strap may be my new favorite piece of camera gear
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This strap is good, but the QD system is the real star.
Photos: Mitchell Clark |
Last year, I expressed some dissatisfaction with the Peak Design Slide strap I’ve been using for the better part of a decade and said that I might replace it with the Magpul MS4 strap. I’m here to tell you that I’ve done it, and I’m so glad I did.
I’ve only had the MS4 for a few months, but it’s quickly become one of my favorite accessories by making my job of carrying around and using a wide variety of cameras that much easier. Much of that comes down to its star feature: the generically named Quick Detach, or QD, system. Most photographers will be familiar with Peak Design’s circular anchors, which hang off your camera and let you quickly and easily attach and detach various straps without dropping your camera (usually).
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| The MS4 has two QD connectors: one attaches to your camera, while the other can either be locked into the buckle above the primary one or attached to a secondary point on your camera. |
With QD gear, it’s even easier: you press a button, slot it into a socket, and four metal balls keep the strap securely connected. Even better, it allows your gear to rotate freely, making it much easier to manipulate into whatever shooting position you need without detaching it from the strap.
Looking at the mechanism, it’s unnervingly easy to imagine an errant button press sending thousands of dollars of gear crashing to the ground. However, I don’t think that’s likely. The D-ring design makes it so it’d be really difficult for the release button to get pressed while the strap is loaded. The MS4 also has two QD connectors, so if you want to connect it to two different points on your camera, you can, provided your camera has two QD mounting points – more on that in a moment.
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| The strap does a decent job of covering up the eject button. |
It’s also worth noting that the QD system was initially invented to hold rifles, which are perhaps the one thing you’d want to drop less than a camera. It’s been in use for over a decade in that world and, so far, seems to be doing alright. Do I still keep one hand on the camera while I’m using this strap? Usually, yes, but that may fade with time, provided it continues to not drop my camera.
Beyond the convenience factor of the QD system, this strap is just plain comfortable, even when I’m carting around a heavy full-frame 70-200 F2.8 lens and body combo. It has several adjustment points that have let me carry my camera exactly where I want to, and the wide webbing doesn’t dig into my shoulder despite the complete lack of padding. I’d probably miss some foam if I routinely carried around the largest super-telephotos, but that’s a bridge I’ll cross if I ever get to it.
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| We’ve bought one accessory, yes, but how about a second accessory? |
“But Mitchell,” I hear you ask. “Cameras don’t have QD mounting points. How do you connect this strap to them?” Excellent question. Like any good accessory, this strap has begat more accessories. Alongside it, I bought this QD quick-release plate from Leofoto, which screws into standard 1/4″-20 threads and has a QD socket on the bottom. Two things I love about it beyond the fact that it lets me connect the MS4 to a camera:
- The screw has a D-ring which lets me get it super secure by hand without needing a screwdriver, coin or hex key.
- It can mount to my Peak Design Travel Tripod, so I can go straight from strap to tripod with two button presses.
This isn’t the only option for adding a QD port to your camera; several cages now have them built in. But as someone who’s using at least one new camera every month, sometimes with very large lenses, a universal adapter like this plate is by far the better option for me.
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| It’s a breeze moving the Leofoto plate between the camera body and a tripod foot. |
While I’ve heaped a lot of love on this setup, a lot of that comes down to liking the QD system, and Magpul isn’t the only company using it for its accessories. Leofoto also makes a strap with the connectors, and you can buy standalone QD swivels that you can attach to your own favorite strap setup, though doing so might require a bit of creativity. So, if you like the idea but don’t think the MS4 strap would suit you, there are options out there. I’d recommend at least checking them out; while QD may not be for everyone, I personally have a hard time imagining ever going back to a strap without it.
Leofoto QD Quick Release Plate
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While visiting Dry Tortugas National Park, located 109km west of Key West, Florida, I looked down from the top of Fort Jefferson and saw this group of snorkelers just off Garden Key. Moments after this photo was taken, one of the snorkelers had the bad luck of being stung by a Portuguese man o’ war.
Photo: Dale Baskin |
The theme for our March Editors’ challenge is ‘Water’.
Show us the essence of water in its many forms, from the roaring power of the ocean to a gentle rain, reflections on a lake, smooth waterfalls, frozen ice, or even fine art. The possibilities are endless, so let your creativity flow and show us your best photos that revolve around water. Our favorites will be featured on the DPReview homepage later this month.
This challenge is open to photos taken at any time.
Photos can be submitted between Sunday, March 16, and Saturday, March 22 (GMT).
Important: Images MUST include a title and a caption of at least 25 words to be eligible. Viewers want to know the story behind your photo. We will consider both photos and captions when selecting our winners, so make sure to tell us that story!
Visit the challenge page to read the full rules and to submit your photos for consideration as soon as the challenge opens.
Visit the challenge page to see all the rules
| Images: Vanguard, Apple, Elinchrom |
CP+ may have ended last week, but that apparently hasn’t stopped the flood of accessory news. Today, we’ll look at a few lights, bags, computers and more, but first, let’s see what’s on sale.
Second-gen Goodness
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| Photo: Richard Butler |
Canon’s Stacked sensor flagship, the EOS R5 II, is currently on sale for $300 off MSRP. We reviewed it late last year, and came away very impressed – it’s a camera that excels at nearly everything.
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| Photo: Richard Butler |
Panasonic’s S5II isn’t quite as performant, but it’s still quite a good camera. It’s also substantially cheaper than the EOS R5 II, especially given the current sale that gets you $500 off.
Let there be lights
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| Image: Godox |
Godox’s latest light for videographers and photographers is the Litemons C30. It’s a tiny LED panel weighing 248g that packs an internal battery capable of putting out 30W of light for up to 45 minutes. A USB-C port lets you recharge the battery or run the light for an extended period of time.
There are two versions of the light – a bicolor model, which costs $59, and an RGB model that will run you $89.
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| Image: Elinchrom |
If you need something a little more powerful, there’s the recently released Elinchrom LED 100 C, a continuous RGB light with an integrated 72Wh battery that provides up to 40 minutes of power in the field. It comes with a diffusion dome and an adapter for Profoto light modifiers and can be charged via USB-C.
On the level
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| Image: Vanguard |
Ball-head tripods are great if you want to easily level your tripod without messing around with leg length, but what if you already have a tripod that you like? Vanguard’s LVL accessory might be for you. It’s designed to sit between your sticks and your tripod’s head, adding a bit of height and letting you level your tripod head in a matter of seconds.
Vanguard makes several sizes, so it should be compatible with a wide range of tripods. The smallest, the LVL 42, has a 42mm base and can support up to 20kg (44lb), while the LVL 75 can support up to 40kg (88lb) – just make sure the rest of your tripod can handle that much weight too.
In the bag
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| Image: Wandrd |
If you want to carry around some camera gear without using a massive backpack, Wandrd’s Stratus Photo 18L may be the bag for you. It’s relatively small and has built-in organization for your camera gear, as well as access hatches on both the right and left-hand side. It’s made of weather-resistant materials and has load-adjustment straps and a chest strap, which should let you carry it comfortably even if you’ve got it filled with gear.
New affordable iPads
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| Image: Apple |
People don’t always think of the iPad as a photographic tool, but nowadays Apple’s tablets have a lot of processing power and can run many of the apps photographers use on their desktops. The company’s entry-level models – the iPad Air and the plainly-named iPad – have just gotten updates that make them better than ever. The Air gets the laptop-class M3 chip, as well as a new, optional keyboard with a bigger trackpad, function row and aluminum design. The M3 iPad Air starts at $599, and the new keyboard costs $269.
The cheaper iPad, meanwhile, gets the A16 chip from the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro. While it’s not as powerful as the M-class chips and doesn’t support Apple’s suite of AI features, it should still be plenty for light photo editing and organization. Its base storage has also been doubled from 64GB to 128GB. It starts at $349, which is what its predecessor sold for ever since Apple cut the price by $100 in 2024.
That wasn’t all Apple announced this week, though…
Get caught up
Some accessory news is so big that it gets its own article during the week, but we’d feel remiss not also mentioning those products here.
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| Image: Apple |
As an example, Apple’s new computers. The company announced updates to its entry-level MacBook Air and top-of-the-line Mac Studio this week, adding its latest processors. The MacBook Air has enough processing power to handle the typical Photoshop and Lightroom tasks that most photographers need, all while being hyper-portable, while the Mac Studio can handle the highest-end photo and video editing tasks.
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| Image: Peak Design |
Also announced this week: Peak Design’s Roller Pro, the company’s first piece of roller luggage. It’s a bit of a hybrid between a hardshell case and a softshell one, with plenty of padding and a front sleeve that can hold a laptop and other everyday carry items. You can read our full coverage of it here.
It’s currently being sold via Kickstarter for a discount over its $599 MSRP, but the usual disclaimer applies: Remember to do your research with any crowdfunding project. DPReview does its best to share only the projects that look legitimate and come from reliable creators, but as with any crowdfunded campaign, there’s always the risk of the product or service never coming to fruition.
| Photo: Richard Butler |
Sony has released a firmware update that brings its Content Authenticity Solution to the a7 IV. The company announced a similar update for the a1 II, a1 and a9 III in January. However, this is the first time the tool to authenticate images will be available on something other than high-end, professional-grade cameras.
Software Ver. 5.00 for the Sony a7 IV adds support for the “Write Digital Signature” function for still images. This function allows photographers to add an electronic signature to their images to prove that they were taken with that camera. Authenticity tools such as this are becoming increasingly important with the growing prevalence of generative AI-created imagery and, as a result, the spread of fake images.
Of course, as with the update for the three pro-grade cameras in January, there are some caveats involved. The Digital Signature function requires a paid license and is only available for certain media outlets, not the general public. Unfortunately, Sony still hasn’t provided any additional information on if or when it will be available for general consumers. On the firmware update page, Sony simply says that the “timing for the provision of paid licenses to customers other than certain media outlets is yet to be determined.”
Even though the current usability is limited, Sony rolling this out to consumer models is a step in the right direction. The Content Authenticity information page also says that “more camera models will be supported in due course,” so it sounds like we should see additional cameras with the tool at some point. If Sony makes the feature more widely available beyond media outlets, the Digital Signature feature will already be on cameras and ready for use.
If you want to be prepared, or happen to work for one of the select media outlets, the Sony a7 IV firmware update Ver. 5.00 is now available for download.
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