Hawkesmill Camera Straps and Bags
It feels like ages since I’ve done a product review. I’ve sold and bought quite a lot of equipment this year and my camera and lens inventory is very different to how it was 12 months ago. This can have a knock on effect in several areas. Cameras and lenses are all different sizes and we can find that any new purchase can throw our camera bags right out of whack.
It’s not just camera bags – a new camera or heavy lens can mean that our existing camera straps are no longer right for us. In the last year I’ve acquired two particular mirrorless bodies which have led to some strap angst. These are the Panasonic GX8 and the Sony A7Rii. Compared to my previous Olympus setup, these cameras are quite chunky. I like working unobtrusively and I would never use the garish branded straps which accompany a camera when it’s purchased. I like strong nylon straps and, if I fancy treating myself, handmade leather ones. But my existing leather straps simply aren’t strong enough for these bodies, and so the quest started for something durable but also stylish.
I’ve recently discovered Hawkesmill products which are absolutely beautiful, British craftsmanship at its best. I’m pretty sure I’ll be saving up for one of their bags next. For now I’m enjoying the Westminster Camera Strap which you can see in the pictures below, attached to the A7Rii. Items like this are an investment, but they do last, and they grow more lovely with age. This strap also comes in brown. I started off doing these pictures outside, then I realised a neighbour was staring at me strangely. I’d been standing quietly hovering my nose back and forth over the strap for quite some time. And why not – the smell is out of this world. It’s soft too and won’t require a breaking in period.
A word of advice though. As you’ll see in my pictures I’ve got the large ring going straight into the attachment point on the camera. On one particular shoot the ring managed to work its way out - fortunately I was sitting down when I discovered this. I put back the ‘triangles’ which came with my camera. In other words I put the triangles on the attachment piece, and then put the large rings through the triangles.