Update: This review is for the original (or maybe the 2nd?) version of the Capture Clip. And guess what? Our opinion of the current version hasn’t changed.
I hate traveling and trekking with my camera. Seriously, it’s awful. It weighs a ton, I never know where to stash it, it’s humongous, I’m always fumbling it out of a bag or untangling it from a shoulder strap. It’s the worst. Unfortunately, I also wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without it. Ever. So the question becomes how do I bring it along so it will be the least burdensome, the least troublesome, and the most convenient? The Peak Design Capture Clip.
For years I’ve only used a Black Rapid women’s specific shoulder strap to tether my camera to my person. I love this strap, I do, but I still have to wrap it in something before I stuff it in my pack or bag and if I carry it across my body it doesn’t take long before my shoulder starts to ache. And then the headaches. Also, I hate looking like a tourist with my camera constantly slung around my neck.
Of course, sometimes I just bring along one of our many Lowepro bags in various sizes – no joke, we have, like, five Lowepro bags – but none of them are really made for hiking or walking around a good deal. So sometimes I’ll just wrap my camera in a towel or protective soft case, but I’m so lazy and if I really have to stop, dig my camera out, unwrap it, shoot and reverse, it may never happen. And if it does I’m liable to complain about the two and a half minutes that were lost doing so.
Enter The Peak Design Capture Clip. Like a holster, but for your camera. It wasn’t the first brand of camera clip I’ve owned – the second, actually – but it is definitely the sleekest. My first was big and clunky, made out of heavy plastic, and Josh never trusted it. I did like that one for the lens support that kept my camera from bouncing against my leg when I walk, but a belt was about all you could use it on. The Capture intrigued me because it was smaller, lighter, made of aluminum and could be clipped on a belt, a cross-body bag, a backpack strap, you name it. I had to have it!
Its small size actually made me a little nervous at first, but the immensely satisfying click when the camera locks into the clip reassured me in no time. (Seriously, I love that click.) I spent the summer with it attached to a belt as a camera holster and it worked great. On day hikes it got moved to our daypack strap where the camera was easily accessible for quick pics on the trail without having to stop and unpack or untangle anything! Brilliant!
camera locks into the clip reassured me in no time.
The weight of our professional DSLR does tend to make the pack a bit lopsided, but tossing a water bottle and a couple of accessories like trekking poles or trail mix on the opposite side tends to balance it out a tad. Of course, with a smaller camera like a point and shoot, you can just clip it onto the chest strap if your pack has one.
On a belt, a larger lens may bounce against your leg a little, but it’s nothing I didn’t get used to and it’s still way better than carrying that same long lens on a strap across your body with an expensive piece of equipment swinging to and fro. I mean, I can’t be the only one who has swung her camera straight into a door jam or countertop before, right? With that sucker on your hip or pack it’s more of a solid extension of your body and thus easier to maneuver because you’re more cognizant of where it is.
And let me tell you how great this thing is on day hikes! Clipped on your pack, you can whip that thing off to shoot the goanna lizard or cockatoo that wanders across your path in no time flat. And then get back to walking. Because if you’re like me, you gotta get that trail done, son!
To wrap it all up in a tidy little package, this Peak Design Capture Clip is the shiz. If you get out and about with your camera a lot – in the city, in the wilderness, at work – you’re gonna want one. And then you’ll never go back to that lame old strap again.
*In the spirit of transparency, we want to let you know that Peak Designs provided the Capture Pro Camera Clip to Terradrift for testing. But trust us, if we didn’t like it, our honesty can’t be bought (at least not for $69.95). Also, this post contains affiliate links.
Alisha is a freelance outdoor journalist and photographer based in Ogden, UT. She loves backpacking, hiking, mountain biking, kayaking and snowboarding (even though she’s terrible at it). She’s also pretty sure she’s addicted to coffee. alishamcdarris.com