Pap Strap, R-strap

[quote:3496ace15f="pentaxanne"]
this seems the same but alot cheaper.
]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dual-2-Double-Camera-Binoculars-Shoulder-Strap-Harness-/11...

Price has more than doubled overnight .. think he made a mistake

yep and guess what i didnt buy one,

still cheap.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Quick-Neck-Shoulder-Strap-Canon-Nikon-Sony-Camera-/1105636...

I bought one of these straps off of Ebay (the quick strap) and thought I was doing well. I paid £18. It arrived within a couple of weeks and I was quite happy with it, it wasn't the quality I expected but it was ok and probably (hopefully) good enough to put on my small camera. The shocker came about a week later. I received through the post a lovely customs and excise bill! I don't know what was worse having to pay the extra tax and import duty or the extortiant handling charge that the post office charged for opening it. If I bought again I would only buy from the UK (I am in the UK) that way I know what I am paying. I should have bought the Pap Stap, next time I will. I questioned the customs and they say that declaring items as gifts is standard practice and they are used to it and almost look out for it.

how much was the charges.

: Pentaxanne

Total was £24.36 - in actual fact most of this was made up of the postoffice charge to to open it.

So £40 plus was not the deal I bargained for.

Owch.

Yes it does, it's quite a substantial lump of metal...hang on...




like that. It's aluminium of some type I think so not too heavy, and you can still use the camera on a tripod.

I found it very comfortable when I used it for a few hours, it's certainly less conspicuous than sitting on your chest.

Andy

Pity they didn't make that plate Arca-Swiss compatible. Wouldn't have taken much by the look of it.

Actually Im a bit concerned with mine .. the plate is aluminium (or something softer than the clip anyway) so the hole where the clip is attached to is gradually getting bigger and bigger.

Mine too, and I've only used it once.

If you look at pentaxanne's ebay link earlier, the hole has a metal 'eyelet' or 'sleeve' through it. Obviously a weak point that has been noticed. I'm sure a piece of stainless tube and a bit of araldite will sort it if it continues.

Andy

I found a couple of washers that were the same size as the hole so put one each side. Will see if that stops the wear.

when mine turns up a will see if it has the ring, mine is from the first link,
maybe it depends on where it was brought from.

It shouldn't be too hard to make a steel (or titanium, if you can get hold of a bit) plate to the same dimensions, then swap the hardware from the aluminium one. You'd probably need a saw, a pillar drill to get the holes accurate, a bench vice, and a hammer to form the bends at the edges. If you know anyone with a decently equipped workshop they should be able to knock one up in a couple of hours tops, including painting.

You could also connect a lanyard between the original camera strap lug and the clip hook on the strap, as a safety line in the unlikely event of the aluminium wearing right through.

Another idea - how does aluminium respond to annealing? I've hardened stainless steel tweezer tips before now by holding them in a blowtorch flame (with pliers!) until red hot then dunking in water, after a few such passes they're much less prone to bending. I realise aluminium is prone to melting but I'm not sure if it can be heat treated?

I should know that
Give me a second to get the book.

btw I think you're referring to another process because annealing soften instead off hardens but it does make it tougher.
Precipitation hardening is what you need, trying too look up the index up to see which temperature to warm up to get the right crystal structure... it's already quite some time ago when I needed to learn it and I was never good in it. ^^;
What kind off aluminium is it?