Black Rapid RS-4 R-StrapDo your neck and back a favor and order a Black Rapid R-Strap now.

Black Rapid's latest incarnation of their "R-Strap", the RS-4 ($54), solves multiple problems plaguing photographers.

If you've got neck and back problems from that heavy dSLR and glass pulling you down with a conventional camera strap, you'll appreciate the sweet relief the R-Strap provides.

Rather than going around your neck, this great strap sits diagonally across your torso (think Chewbacca), spreading the weight around rather than concentrating it all on your neck.

As working photojournalists, my fellow PJ and I at the paper consider our R-Straps to be "essential gear". Since we've ditched our conventional camera straps, years worth of neck and back pain have been alleviated. The R-Strap is a simple, elegant solution to our problems...and we feel the difference.

When not in use, your camera rests at your hip. When it's time to shoot you grab the camera and bring it up to your eye. When you're done you put it right where you found it. The R-Strap is fully adjustable and should fit just about anyone.

Not having your camera bouncing around on your chest in front of you is very nice. Moving through crowds is a breeze and if you're wearing a jacket it's a lot easier to be lessconspicuous with your camera at your side.

If you're slinging two camera bodies you'll especially find the R-Strap an elegant solution to the problems you face in the field. If one R-Strap is not enough, Black Rapid has solutions for attaching two straps together via their CoupleR device ($16). This simple solution gives you the option of using two straps when you need that type of setup or going solo when you don't. A more permanent option of double gunning it is their newer Double Strap ($135).

Not matter what your needs, Black Rapid has an innovative solution.

Offset zippered CF pocketAt right you can see the offset zippered pocket which holds two Compact Flash cards in their protective plastic cases. Previous models had the zipper dead center, which was less-than-ideal when it came to getting your CF cards out quickly.

I found myself forgoing the zippered pocket on my old RS-2 for what should've been the cell phone holder. As the holder would not fit my iPhone, I'd use it to store my CF cards. Not ideal, but workable. So it's nice to see the RS-4 with the expandable zippered pocket offset rather than dead center.

New hardware (not pictured) secures your camera to your RS-4 so you have peace-of-mind knowing it will stay put. The hardware allows for a great deal of movement allowing you to get the shot without the hardware getting your way.

As of this writing, the FastenR-2 (the part that attaches to your camera) and the ConnectR-2 (the part that attaches to the RS-4 on one end and the FastenR-2 on the other) come standard with your RS-4.

If you still have the older hardware, I'd highly recommend doing what I did and order the newer versions. The FastenR-2 slides easier along the RS-4 and has a barrel locking mechanism. The ConnectR-2 is now low profile making shooting vertically more comfortable and fits snugly against your camera.

Black Rapid has taken an already incredible product and made improvements which make it a truly amazing product and one I highly recommend.

For more info: BlackRapid.com