Introduction: Cheap and Easy Camera Strap

Ahhh, the joys of trailing edge technology!  The venerable Canon EOS D60 took 2002 by storm with its "low" price of just $3,000.  A decade later, you can pick up one for about a hundred dollars.  A 97% decrease in price (about 10% a year).  Almost the same performance as your 401k!

After a decade, the camera lost some of its accessories, most notably, a camera strap.  Time for the fix.

In this Instructable, we will make a common laptop bag strap compatible with most digital and analog film cameras.

Step 1: Stuff You Will Need

Luckily, laptops are rendered obsolete in just a few years so it is easy to find an old laptop bags stinking up thrift shops.  The straps are heavy duty and often built with a comfort pad to ease the strain on overworked mid-level executives wandering the airports of the world.

1.  Strap from a laptop carrying bag.

2.  Stapler and staples.

3.  Thin strapping to interface with the camera lugs.

4.  Adhesive (Gorilla glue in this case, epoxy would work as well).

5.  Sissors.

6.  Pliers.

7.  Razor knife.

Step 2: Prepare the "Interface"

1.  Take your thin strapping and cut two equal lengths that are long enough to go through the camera's lugs and overlap while still being able to get the stapler head through.

Step 3: Glue It Up - Staple It Down

This is a "no sew" method of joining the thin strapping together.  I like to call it "steel reinforced adhesive."  If you like to sew, knock yourself out!

1.  Thread the thin strapping through the camera's lugs.

2.  Since I'm using gorilla glue, I dampen the ends of the thin strapping with a wet rag.  The polyurethane glue foams in the presence of moisture and fills gaps.  In the fabric of the strapping, it flows through the fibers and cures to a stong bond.  Epoxy is also a good choice, however if you use epoxy, you do not have to dampen the strapping.

3.  Apply Gorilla glue sparingly as it will foam as it cures.

4.  Use the stapler to staple through the two thicknesses of strapping.  Two or three staples should be fine.

5.  While the glue is still uncured, squish them flat with a pair of pliers.  The staples are naturally 3-D, but you want to make them as flat as possible.

6.  Allow the glue to cure (it does not really dry).  If it foams excessively, you can cut off the excess with a razor knife.

7.  After curing, you can touch up glue with a black magic marker if you want the color to match (the gorilla glue is tan when cured).

Step 4: The Cure

Once cured, the small loop of strapping will last the life of the camera.  If you don't like it or want to upgrade to a proper strap, you can simply cut the loops off.  Some advantages of this strap over the traditional kind are:

1.  You can move the strap from camera to camera in seconds. 

2.  It easier to display your camera without the strap, yet make it ready in seconds when that camera strikes your fancy.

3.  The strap can handle your largest medium format behemoth.

4.  Reasonably secure.  Can be made more secure with a piece of electrical tape around the strap's clip.

5.  Most likely cheaper.

Bonus tips:

a.  If you don't like looking at the staples, cover with a black magic marker.

b.  If your strap does not have an anti-slip feature, make one by applying Sugru in a nice pattern where you shoulder normally sits on the strap.

c.  If you like to have extra film or memory cards ready at hand, try adding some pouches on your strap.  You can easily use this no sew method and some hook and pile fasteners.

Enjoy your cheap and easy camera strap!