Advantages of hand-straps on DSLR housings

Hello Wetpixel!

I'd like to initiate a discussion on the benefits of hand straps for DSLR housings and discuss on which housing brands they can be found.

I started shooting with hand strap on my Hugyfot D7000 housing some years ago.

My feedback on this setup: their housing design is actually all made around this concept, it starts with the rounded shape of the housing, goes with the hand strap itself, and continues with the shutter positioning (a very nice level that you gently pull back: this design helped ensuring your hand would stay stuck to the housing, very neat design. It helps the housing being very stable when pulling the trigger.

Then i down-sized to an Olympus OM-D EM-5 in an Nauticam EM-5 housing, one of the reason being that Nauticam offers a hand strap option on most of their compact and "mid-sized" housings (mirorless). You can easily find these on popular photography shops.

My feedback on this setup: very nice too, i really love hand straps, though the shutter design on the housing its a bit less comfortable (press-down). However it allowed me to get rid of the right handle, making it a very compact setup, very easy to pack!

Whatever the implementation, i think a hand strap is something great for us underwater photographers as we often need to use our left hand for something else, and then:

-a hand strap makes you confident your housing won't fall even if you're busy with something else (no need to hold tight, your hand is held tight)

-housing stability when pulling the trigger or pressing a button/lever: with a hand-strap i think you wouldn't have the issue reported by Alex Mustard during his Nauticam D-750 review (impossible to use thumb focus when holding housing one-handed): http://wetpixel.com/articles/field-review-nikon-d750-and-nauticam-na-d750/P2

So i am a big fan of these hand straps, and wouldn't want to shoot without them.

That's where the issue comes: like many of you i am investigating how to spend the money i don't have in a new rig (Nikon DX housing), and the lack of hand strap options limit my choices.

In my opinion, hand straps are offered on following D-SLR housing brands:

-Hugyfot (design described above)

-Subal: hand-strap attached to the housing right-handle directly

What about the other brands? Sadly i can't find such an option on Nauticam housings, and i don't think Aquatica or other brands offer it.

Thoughts? Who would be interested in having more of these available?

cheers

Nicolas

Interesting topic, Nicolas and something I've never really thought about.

I've been using Subal housings since around 1999. They've all had hand straps and I've never used a housing without one. I can't even imagine what it'd be like! It hasn't occurred to me that other housings didn't have them and I feel for sure I'd miss it if there wasn't one.

They do really help you hold the system firmly and, when necessary, use one hand only.

Hmm, it'll be interesting to see what folks say who don't have them.

I've never had one. My Nauticam NA-D810 has two handles built in, so I never thought a strap would be something I would want. Interesting.

Interesting topic, Nicolas and something I've never really thought about.

 

I've been using Subal housings since around 1999. They've all had hand straps and I've never used a housing without one. I can't even imagine what it'd be like! It hasn't occurred to me that other housings didn't have them and I feel for sure I'd miss it if there wasn't one.

 

They do really help you hold the system firmly and, when necessary, use one hand only.

 

Hmm, it'll be interesting to see what folks say who don't have them.

Looks like you've been spoiled Tim ;-)

I didn't know Subal had hand-straps since that long, i thought it was recent!

I've never had one. My Nauticam NA-D810 has two handles built in, so I never thought a strap would be something I would want. Interesting.

Moreover, with a hand strap you might even remove the right handle on dives when you'd want to shoot lots of verticals, and it would allow you to get as low as possible (sticking your right hand in the sand).

I like Nauticam's ergonomics, too bad they don't offer hand straps on DSLR housings... yet?

I used a few different Subal housings over the years (1 x film, 1 x digital and 2 x dSLR housings) and found their hand straps essential as their handles weren't very good and a hand strap was needed to operate the housing one handed. When I switched over to Nauticam housings (i'm on my second one now) I thought that not having a hand strap would be a huge problem. However, I found that I don't need one to use the Nauticam housings one handed and have never missed having one.

I used a few different Subal housings over the years (1 x film, 1 x digital and 2 x dSLR housings) and found their hand straps essential as their handles weren't very good and a hand strap was needed to operate the housing one handed. When I switched over to Nauticam housings (i'm on my second one now) I thought that not having a hand strap would be a huge problem. However, I found that I don't need one to use the Nauticam housings one handed and have never missed having one.

Can you advise which nauticam housing models yo've used?

And what made you decide to switch from Subal to Nauticam despite the lack of hand strap?

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I have used the Nauticam 7D and 7D MkII housings. I also used an Aquatica 7D housing for a few months during the changeover from Subal to Nauticam. It had very good handles and I didn't miss having a hand strap while using it.

Ok so good handles could balance the lack of handstrap, i need to see those more closely.

Thanks

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Hi there, i thought i'd update this old thread started by myself. My prayers have been heard (i guess i wasn't alone praying ;-)) and i've started using the new nauticam accessory hand strap that is suitable for some DSLR housings, including mine.

On my last post here i got myself convinced that good ergonomic housing handles would offset the benefitd of hand strap, and i have moved to a Nauticam D500 housing which included good handles. Although i have used it with pleasure from start, my view is that handle brings a real comfort improvement: first you don't have to hold your housing via the handle, even if you are getting distracted by something, e.g navigation, your housing just stays there tight. Second, it gives me more flexibility to reach the various controls, while the outside of my hand "rests" on the handle.

I am so happy, i thought i'd share the update!

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