How to switch from a PeakDesigns Slide to a tripod in the field

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Ever

Ever

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I'm looking for my first tripod and figure I'll start with a travel-style to keep in my backpack. I mainly shoot while hiking, and I figure I'll only use the tripod when an opportunity arises. For example, when I spot an owl or want to take a quick video. At least while seeing if I like using them as part of a potential upgrade path.

Some beginner questions:
  1. I'm currently using a Peak Design Slide strap. One end is mounted to the body. One end is mounted to the telephoto foot. I think this poses a problem with the introduction of a tripod because the telephoto foot is normally connected to a tripod?. This mean I'd need to unscrew the Slide's mount from the foot using an alen wrench, replace it with something like an arca, and then mount it to the tripod. All in the field. Is there a quicker way to approach this? Is it a possibility to keep the Slide where it is and to instead mount an arca to the body for cases where I needed a tripod in a pinch? Or instead, would it be a better tradeoff to mount both ends of the Slide to the body and save the foot for the arca? I'm not sure if that would put too much stress on the lens. I'm open to solutions that don't involve the Slide, but I'd like to keep the combo of a strap and a tripod if possible.

  2. I'm eyeing the Peak Design Travel Tripod but am seeing a lot of YouTube reviews for Ulanzi. I can't tell if they're a legit competitor or are paid-for reviews. I did a search here and didn't see any results. Any experience with that company or other ones to consider? Hoping to keep things below $300.
 
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Are you looking to buy new, or are you open to used? As an example, I just purchased a used Gitzo Travelers Series 0 (carbon fiber) for $250 shipped. Downside of used is you might get something that is truly worn and not in great shape, but I've had good success with used tripods and heads from established sellers. Might be worth considering, depending on your needs.

To your specific question, I have no experience with Ulanzi. Good luck with your search!
 
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For travel I only use a monopod if I take a heavier lens. The heavy lens will be for birds and animals, so the flexibility of the monopod I find useful. I’ve a MeFoto Carbon Roadtrip tripod that’s really light, and off that, one leg comes off to create the monopod .
 
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Ever said:
I'm looking for my first tripod and figure I'll start with a travel-style to keep in my backpack. I mainly shoot while hiking, and I figure I'll only use the tripod when an opportunity arises. For example, when I spot an owl or want to take a quick video. At least while seeing if I like using them as part of a potential upgrade path.

Some beginner questions:
  1. I'm currently using a Peak Design Slide strap. One end is mounted to the body. One end is mounted to the telephoto foot. I think this poses a problem with the introduction of a tripod because the telephoto foot is normally connected to a tripod?. This mean I'd need to unscrew the Slide's mount from the foot using an alen wrench, replace it with something like an arca, and then mount it to the tripod. All in the field. Is there a quicker way to approach this? Is it a possibility to keep the Slide where it is and to instead mount an arca to the body for cases where I needed a tripod in a pinch? Or instead, would it be a better tradeoff to mount both ends of the Slide to the body and save the foot for the arca? I'm not sure if that would put too much stress on the lens. I'm open to solutions that don't involve the Slide, but I'd like to keep the combo of a strap and a tripod if possible.

  2. I'm eyeing the Peak Design Travel Tripod but am seeing a lot of YouTube reviews for Ulanzi. I can't tell if they're a legit competitor or are paid-for reviews. I did a search here and didn't see any results. Any experience with that company or other ones to consider? Hoping to keep things below $300.
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Generally speaking…putting one end of a strap on the lens foot and the other on the body is a bad idea because it puts extra stress on the lens mount. Lenses with feet are designed to be on the strap there and not the body. If you want a secondary safety strap then fasten it to the lens foot as well and the strap.

For tripod use…take the strap off the foot and put the foot in the tripod. If I’m in a situation where that’s likely to happen more than once I use QD connectors for the strap to foot connection…if not I use the screw in connectors from Black Rapid or similar. Ads are pretty unlikely to fail but more likely than the QD is…so if the6start to wear the QD should be replaced and the foot if the female QD receptacle wears. like Patrick I tend to use a monopod more than a tripod and the latter usually only comes along for waterfalls because of the potential bracketing and slow shutter speeds for the blurry water. OTOH…with a wide lens and a modern mirrorless body…you can get away with handholding up to about a second especially if there’s a tree or rock handy to brace you. Hudson Henry has posted some shots he took of waterfalls at most of a second and the VR/IBIS combo really helps.
 
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Thanks Anjin.
Anjin San said:
Generally speaking…putting one end of a strap on the lens foot and the other on the body is a bad idea because it puts extra stress on the lens mount. Lenses with feet are designed to be on the strap there and not the body.
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I'm not sure I follow the suggestion here. Assuming a telephoto lens, where are two suggested anchor points for a strap? I'm currently using one on the body and one on the telephoto foot. I think you're saying that causes stress on the lens mount, but I'm not sure where we suggest to mount it instead. Maybe we're saying to only anchor the strap to the lens foot, and nowhere else (including the body), and to basically let it hang by the foot?

Anjin San said:
If I’m in a situation where that’s likely to happen more than once I use QD connectors for the strap to foot connection
Click to expand...
Thanks for this. I was unaware of QD connectors. I just found this article. I suppose that would solve my desire for being able to quickly swap between the foot being mounted to the strap vs a tripod. I'm guessing it would mean I'd lose the PeakDesign, though, since it's not a QD? Worth pointing out is that it connects the strap to the foot which you mentioned puts stress on the lens mount.

Anjin San said:
screw in connectors from Black Rapid or similar
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I'm not familiar with that. Guessing it's this. I'll have a peek, thanks.
 
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Ever said:
I'm looking for my first tripod and figure I'll start with a travel-style to keep in my backpack. I mainly shoot while hiking, and I figure I'll only use the tripod when an opportunity arises. For example, when I spot an owl or want to take a quick video. At least while seeing if I like using them as part of a potential upgrade path.

Some beginner questions:
  1. I'm currently using a Peak Design Slide strap. One end is mounted to the body. One end is mounted to the telephoto foot. I think this poses a problem with the introduction of a tripod because the telephoto foot is normally connected to a tripod?. This mean I'd need to unscrew the Slide's mount from the foot using an alen wrench, replace it with something like an arca, and then mount it to the tripod. All in the field. Is there a quicker way to approach this? Is it a possibility to keep the Slide where it is and to instead mount an arca to the body for cases where I needed a tripod in a pinch? Or instead, would it be a better tradeoff to mount both ends of the Slide to the body and save the foot for the arca? I'm not sure if that would put too much stress on the lens. I'm open to solutions that don't involve the Slide, but I'd like to keep the combo of a strap and a tripod if possible.

  2. I'm eyeing the Peak Design Travel Tripod but am seeing a lot of YouTube reviews for Ulanzi. I can't tell if they're a legit competitor or are paid-for reviews. I did a search here and didn't see any results. Any experience with that company or other ones to consider? Hoping to keep things below $300.
Click to expand...
I have added a QD connector to the end of my PD Slide strap. I just attached 2 of the PD anchors to each end of the PD strap and then loop them through the top of a QD connector. This will give you a quick disconnect capability and nothing else to remove before attaching the lens foot to a tripod.


Edit: I used this QD connector with the swivel D ring for my setup: Kirk QD Quick Disconnect Push Button Swivel-D
 
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See this previous post (just below) and look at the pictures. For a tele lens with a tripod collar mount foot, I woud add an Arca Swiss lens plate to the foot, or replace the foot with one that has arca swiss mounts. The I would attach both ends of my Peak Design strap to an Arca Swiss QR clamp that then gets attached to the lens foot. That way it is easy to add the lens to a tripod or to a camera strap, assuming all are arca swiss compatible. QR clamps do not cost that much and are available from lots of suppliers.


How to carry camera with super telephoto lens attached & Peak Design slide strap use with this setup

Looking for advice on best way to carry a camera with attached super telephoto lens. I have a Nikon Z7 with 24-70 and use the Peak Design Slide strap. I've recently purchased the Nikon 100-400 mirrorless lens. Should I be attaching my strap to the lens foot? (I'm currently waiting for the...
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I'd like to echo what @Anjin San said about damage to the lens mount. I had to repair a bent mount on my 500mm pf from carrying it with one slide strap end mounted on the lens foot and one on the camera. I hike with my camera and it bounced around while walking.
Now, I have both slide straps on the camera and hook the lens foot into my belt or backpack belt. No weight is on my slide strap.

I have an arca Swiss plate permanently attached to my lens foot for tripod use.

Or, I put a peak design clip on my lens foot and clip it on a peak design capture clip that's attached to my belt.
I might try the QD clips at some point.
 
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I have and use both Peak Design Slide and Black Rapid Sport camera straps. For use with heavier lenses lime 300mm f2.8, 500mm pf, 600mm Z pf, I prefer the Black Rapid Sport strap with a third party QR clamp to attach the lens foot to the strap. Sometimes I use both straps, with the Peak Design strap used as a safety strap.
 
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Thanks all, this has been really illuminating.

The responses here led me to find a video on YouTube that helped a lot. His suggestion for combining a PD Slide with two QD's on each end and a dual QD Arca foot seems like a realistic extension to my current setup. Here's a link to the timestamp where he discusses it.

Any concerns with that approach?
 
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Ever said:
Thanks all, this has been really illuminating.

The responses here led me to find a video on YouTube that helped a lot. His suggestion for combining a PD Slide with two QD's on each end and a dual QD Arca foot seems like a realistic extension to my current setup. Here's a link to the timestamp where he discusses it.

Any concerns with that approach?
Click to expand...
Scott puts out a lot of great videos, and I definitely used some of his reviews to select which gimbal heads I wanted to buy, but I don't get his logical conclusion about the fact that having a QD connector at each end of the strap provides additional security, when in fact it doesn't. This point is also echoed in the YouTube comments by @garcondepapier, part of which says "...having two points of connection does not necessarily offer redundancy..."

If EITHER ONE of those QD connection points fails in Scott's setup, your gear is going to hit the ground (unless you can grab the other part of the strap in milliseconds). So in this case, having 1 QD connector is just as safe/secure as having 2 QD connectors.
 
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joe43 said:
I have and use both Peak Design Slide and Black Rapid Sport camera straps. For use with heavier lenses lime 300mm f2.8, 500mm pf, 600mm Z pf, I prefer the Black Rapid Sport strap with a third party QR clamp to attach the lens foot to the strap. Sometimes I use both straps, with the Peak Design strap used as a safety strap.
Click to expand...
I've posted this before several times, but my preferred strap to use with my 600 TC (and Z8 or Z9) is the BR Sport strap with QD connector, based almost entirely on the extra comfort that it provides in my shoulder area. I've tested out the PD Slide strap with QD connector with the same gear, and it's definitely less comfortable/more fatiguing for me.

I was lucky enough to purchase one of these on B&H: BlackRapid Sport X QD Multi-Use Sling, when they still offered them with the QD connector, so I didn't have to modify my strap to add one. But BR no longer offers any of their straps with QD connectors, just the carabiner clip. So now you would need to modify their strap to add a QD connector.
 
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Thanks SoCalRick, really valuable.

I think I'm partial for the PD Slide because for a unique reason. While it's usually positioned with the camera by my side, I sometimes find myself adjusting it so the camera is closer to my chest, and sometimes the inverse where the camera is more on my back. This is usually when I'm either walking up a steep incline or decline where I'm trying to protect the camera should I slip to my chest (incline) or back (decline).

IIRC the BR's have slides that can lock the camera in certain position? I've never used it. However on the PD it's as simple as rotating the strap in one direction or another.

Guessing this is more challenging, and possibly at risk of damaging, something huge like the 600TC. But it seems to work so far with the 500pf.
 
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