More than a decade ago, Peak Design rethought the humble camera strap. This was a necessary development. When you buy a camera, manufacturers almost always toss in a chintzy, uninspired strap with their logo on it. These cheap straps have cheap mounting systems that make it hard to quickly remove the strap from the camera when you need to, like when you're attaching your camera to a tripod or gimbal and you’d rather not have a dangling strap whacking you in the face.
Peak Design solved this with its Anchor Links system, small circular nubs you leave attached to camera eyelets that make detaching or even swapping straps easy. The quick-connect mechanism is now the de facto industry standard and has inspired countless copycats.
Now, Wandrd has outdone that design using magnets.
“We're photographers ourselves, so we're constantly ideating, tinkering, thinking of ways that things can be better,” Ryan Cope, Wandrd cofounder, tells WIRED. “A camera strap like this has been at the back of our minds for a while.”
Wandrd—known for its camera bags—launched its Magnetic Camera Strap system on Thursday. It features a circular anchor similar to Peak Design, called “Torus Links.” The anchors attach to your camera’s eyelets and are rated to carry up to 198 pounds—so unless you're bench-pressing your camera, they'll do the job. If the cord does start to wear down over time, you'll first see yellow under the black fabric—a sign you should replace the Torus Link. If it's red, you should stop using the link immediately—a warning system borrowed from Peak Design. (Wandrd offers a two-year warranty.)
Unlike Peak Design's anchors, the Wandrd anchors look like donuts, with a hole in the middle. When you attach the strap, the embedded magnets guide the Torus Link into the strap's CoreLock mechanism, which pinches into the hole to secure the camera body. The magnets make connecting a strap easier, and they keep the strap fastened to the anchor, but you can’t just pull the strap off like you’re pulling a MagSafe accessory on your phone. You’ll need to use the strap’s dual-pinch mechanism to remove it from the Torus Link, a design that’s more secure.
The Torus Link is the donut-shaped object that attaches to your camera. On the right is the Magnetic CoreLock at the end of the strap. Pinch the top and bottom of this mechanism and let the magnets guide the strap into the Torus Link.
It’s a much faster way to connect and disconnect a strap, and that speed pays off in the field. This week, I had to photograph a product during a press briefing. Usually, I use Peak Design's Leash and, instead of taking off the strap, I bunch it up in my hand when it's not around my neck. It's not that it's hard to remove—it's just an extra step I have to think about. But Wandrd's magnetic system felt faster to unlock mid-shoot when I wanted to lower the camera for an awkward, low-angle shot, and reattaching the strap was practically instantaneous. I did the whole swap one-handed, with the magnets doing most of the work.
“I love magnets, man,” Cope says. “I love the simplicity they create—guiding things into place. You don't always have a place to put your camera down; I like that magnets help guide them and are a lot more secure, and they're also just fun.”
I have two Torus Links on my camera body, one on the right eyelet and another on the tripod baseplate. But my favorite configuration turns the strap into a single-point sling. The strap has a built-in “Torus Loop” on the buckle—clip one end directly into it to create a closed loop worn across your torso, leaving just a single magnetic connector to snap onto your camera. When you unclip the camera to shoot freely, the strap stays neatly in place across your body instead of sliding off your shoulder.
The nylon felt comfortable across my chest and near my neck—there's no padding, but that's intentional. Cope says Wandrd spent two years developing this custom “liquid nylon” tubular webbing that is softer along the edges, so it won't feel like the strap is cutting into your neck after a long day of wear. The lack of metal throughout the strap system also prevents the strap from scratching up your camera gear.
Best of all, you don't have to replace your strap to use Wandrd's system. If you have a strap you love—maybe a fancy leather strap someone gifted you—Wandrd is selling a DIY kit ($29) that lets you attach its Magnetic CoreLock system to the ends of your preferred strap. Otherwise, the strap kit comes in a 30-mm size ($69), a 15-mm “Lite" ($49), and a wrist strap ($39).
I don't know if Wandrd's system will see the same success as Peak Design's Anchor Links, but I don't see myself switching back anytime soon. Magnets are just too dang cool.
Source: Wired
