Tired of that chintzy camera strap? These custom straps combine function and beauty

posted Wednesday, April 16, 2014 at 6:02 AM EST

All over the web these days, you can find dozens of styles of camera straps. There are straps with "rapid" sliders, carabiners and clamps, straps with polka dots and stripes and cutesy cats, and lots and lots of clunky, cobbled-together, artsy, hipster straps, homemade by someone who has probably never so much as held a camera.

This is different. It's just a strap.

It's just a subtle, discreet strap made of soft, silky, luscious-smelling cabretta leather.

It's just a strap made the exact length I needed, with the exact connectors I requested, with the exact color and exact finish on the inside. It's a strap with artfully tapered, reinforced ends and precise stitching, made from long, single pieces of leather soft enough to mold to my bony shoulder, yet strong enough to tote my 5D2 and hefty Zeiss lens securely.

It's just what I wanted; Terry Misner made it for me.

Terry and his family at Action Custom Straps have been making camera and guitar straps for about 35 years now. Their guitar straps hang on the shoulders of folks you hear on the radio every day. They do all manner of custom work: inlays, embroidery, lettering, logos, artwork, you name it, using materials ranging from rattlesnake and python to deerskin and faded denim from old blue jeans. They can suit your preference in natural leather with anything from subtle earth-tone leathers to bright yellow or chili-pepper red.

In fact, if you don't see exactly what you like, drop them an email or give them a call, and you can have your choice of color, material, and embroidery from a wide range of options. (After all, "custom" is part of their name.) They can also embroider your name, logo, or even a bitmapped image on your strap, with cost commensurate with the effort involved. All of their camera straps come with three pairs of quick-release connectors of varying lengths, and they fit both slot- and post-style lugs.

Whether you want a canary-yellow whipsnake inlay in your strap or retro turquoise leather, a light, narrow strap for your 4/3 street shooter or a wide, soft shoulder-hugging strap for your D4s, something subtle or an attention-getter with contrasting stitching and your logo embroidered on it, Terry and his crew can create it.

Action camera straps aren't cheap, at prices ranging from $105 for a plain, thinline leather strap, through $125 for most of their conventional cowhide leather designs and up to $195 for a strap made with Diamondback rattlesnake skin. Basic leather straps with an embroidered name or initials start at $130. Relative to mass-produced straps, they're definitely in the realm of premium gear, but what camera accessory will you use more, or will contribute more to your shooting pleasure than a high-quality strap?

As for me, I just wanted a long, slick, soft, all-black strap, and Terry made me exactly that.