Safety Lanyard

[EdMac]

Whenever I go out on a shoot with my Nikon 300 mm f2.8 lens, I worry about it falling from the Wimberly Sidekick. I was just recently on a trip, and one of my friends noticed that my lens plate was not properly inserted into the Arca Swiss mounting. I could have lost the 300 mm and the D100. In fact, I had carried my rig on my shoulder for about 100 feet before my error was noticed.
My answer for that possibility is the safety lanyard that I rigged in the pictures below. I used an old badge lanyard from work and a clamp to attach my lens to the ring on my Manfrotto tripod. The soft strap does not interfere with any motion of the Sidekick, and it does ensure that the lens will never fall to the pavement. I hope that others can use my idea.
The lanyard is easily removed, and can be stored in your pocket.

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[jczinn]

Very clever idea Ed! But what tripod is that...I thought we had the same Manfrotto but I don't think mine has a ring like that on it. (I'm too lazy now to go in the closet to look.)

 

[EdMac]

We do

Janet, we both have the same tripod, and I believe that yous has the same ring.

 

[Flew]

Ed,

Very cool idea. More so for me and Ron Reznick than you might think too. Both of us have had our D2H + lens (300 2.8 for me and 500 f4 for Ron) come out of the clamp that was holding the Sidekick (not the Wimberly clamp).

We were both lucky in that the cam / lens hit us on the head / shoulder, and we were able to catch them before they fell any further, but this is an excellent approach for added safety. I'm adding mine when I get home tonight. :wink:

Thanks for the suggestion!!

Frank

 

[EdMac]

Thanks Frank

I am sure that it can be improved on, but it is a good temporary fix. I want to look at attaching it to both of the rings on the lens, and keeping the lanyard as short as possible to minimize any shock effects.
It was really scay a couple of weeks ago. I had mounted my 300 f2.8 and my D100, and had carried my tripod over my shoulder for abot 100 feet. As I was setting up to shoot, one of the other men saw that my lens plate was not fully in the clamp. Thank God we were able to correct it before any damage. I still keep the neckband on my 300 f2.8, and I usually pass my arm through it as I am carrying the tripod, as well.
One of the fellows that went to Turkey Point with us had his lens and camera fall off of the tripod onto the ground last weekend. His camera is on the way to Nikon, and I am not sure about his lens.