ZEP Review: Peak Design Ltd. Capture Clip V2
I'm constantly on the lookout for new and more comfortable ways to carry around my gear. Longtime fans of the blog may remember my devotion to Black Rapid and the ThinkTank Photo gear. That being said, I'm starting to get a little older, and it can be tough to have that much weight resting on my back and shoulders for 8-10 hours. I began to explore the option of having some sort of belted system when, through sheer dumb luck, I happened upon Peak Design Ltd.'s Kickstarter campaign for their Capture Clip V2.
Now, if you've been around the internet's photography community for the last few years, you're probably familiar with their V1 edition of the Capture Clip. I know I was, which is what drove me to do a bit of investigation into the pros and cons of the device. It seemed that Peak Design paid attention to a lot of what their users were saying, and set out to make improvements to V2.
I ended up funding the "The Whole Shebang" (after a surprising bit of prompting from my normally frugal wife) and, after an extended period of waiting, got most of the package.
Initial Thoughts
My initial thoughts on the device were, to put it frankly, "That's it?". Seriously, there's not much to this device. It's two pieces of metal and a few screws, with a tripod plate and, depending on what you buy, a few other options. I'm going to try and stick to just the Capture Clip, but will probably mention the ProPad, too.
The beauty of the Capture Clip, you see, is in its simplicity. Not a ton of moving parts means not a lot of moving camera. The two main screws keep the plate tight on whatever you're attaching it to, and the release button helps remove the camera from the plate. One more screw adjusts the tightness of the plate in the clip, and...that's about it. It harkens back to the designs of kid toys from generations past. Not a lot of moving parts and really well-built, solid design.
So, how does it work?
Quite well, actually, with one caveat. The Capture Clip is designed to clip onto a belt, backpack strap, or just about anything else thin enough for the width of the clip. That being said, "belt" should come with a tiny bit of warning. If you're planning on lugging around a 5D with a 70-200L, think about wearing some sort of photography-specific belt. On more than one occasion, I've nearly lost my pants because of the weight on my actual pants-belt, and that's just not a pretty sight. I would imagine that a mirrorless body, or something a bit smaller in the lens department might be easier on the crowd's vision and, in fact, my 5D with a 50mm 1.8 attached sat just fine on my hip. To help out with that, Peak Design also makes the Pro Pad, which helps take some of the pressure off of your belt and allow your camera to rest a bit on your leg.
From a functionality standpoint, I have to say that I'm actually quite impressed. The thought of a single piece of metal keeping a few thousand dollars worth of equipment attached to another piece of metal may not sit easy with most (especially considering my history) but I can say with a good bit of confidence that I'd be comfortable hiking with this device (as long as it had the leash attached to it, just in case) or doing something a lot more active than just standing around taking photos of babies. The plate clips into the clip with a confident "click" and removes snug. A quick tug on your camera will give you the assurance you need that your camera isn't going anywhere.
Conclusion
I've really had a chance to run this device through the ringer, and I have to say that I'm going to be really happy with this going forward. Having a belt is going to be super-helpful in the long run, but in the meantime it's great to have the pressure of 15-20 pounds of camera equipment off of my back and, to be 100% honest, I feel like a bad-ass walking around with a camera on my hip. It makes you feel like a Wild West gunslinger and it's really tough to beat that!