Should you remove a camera neck/shoulder strap when shooting on a tripod?
Asked 5/31/2016
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2 answers
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I sometimes shoot long exposures at night and often leave my camera strap attached while the camera is mounted on a tripod and triggered remotely. My setup is a Sony a6300 on a travel carbon-fiber tripod, using lenses ranging from a 24mm prime to a 24-105mm f/4 and occasionally a larger telephoto. Is it generally fine to leave the neck/shoulder strap on the camera for tripod work and long exposures, or should it be removed to avoid blur or stability issues?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
14
Is it usually safe to leave the camera strap on the camera body itself for long exposure shots?
It's fine. If you're concerned about wind catching the strap and causing blur (or even flying up into the shot) you can roll it up and secure it with a rubber band or zip tie. But if there's enough wind to move the strap, there's probably enough wind to shake the camera with or without the strap.
Many camera straps (especially the kind included with the camera) attach to the camera via girth hitches at the strap mounts, and removing these typically requires unthreading the webbing from a ladderlock buckle. That's way too much trouble just to prevent the strap from getting in the way, so just tie it down instead. If it's easier to remove the strap than to secure it, do that instead.
I haven't seen a lot of problems with my shot or my setup but I'm curious if I'm just lucky
Lucky would be good results once or twice. If you're consistently happy with you results, there's no reason to change.
Originally by user4262. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4262
10y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—usually it’s fine to leave the strap on. The main concerns are not the strap’s weight, but movement from wind or accidentally snagging it.
If the strap is flapping in the wind, it can introduce vibration or even drift into the frame. In calm conditions this is rarely an issue, and if the wind is strong enough to move the strap a lot, it may also be affecting the camera/tripod anyway. A simple fix is to wrap or secure the strap against the camera or tripod with a rubber band, Velcro tie, or similar.
The other risk is practical: you, another person, or even a pet can catch the strap and jolt or pull over the tripod. If people are moving around nearby, securing or removing the strap is safer.
So the usual approach is:
- leave it on if conditions are calm and it won’t snag,
- secure it if there’s any chance of flapping or catching,
- remove it only if that’s easier or you’re in windy/crowded conditions.
Good tripod technique also matters, especially with longer lenses: keep the setup stable and avoid anything that increases vibration.
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