COIRO Dual Camera Harness: A rare bargain. And a rather stylish one.

Update: Has since been field tested on a trail walk with additional notes below.

I struggle with purchasing ancillary gear. What would that be?

You know. Camera gear that is not a camera or lens:

• Memory Cards
• Bags
• Camera Straps
• Lighting and Light Modifiers
• Software
• Etc.

So much so that I was once shamed into upgrading memory cards. Had a new camera and Manu took a card out at my local shop, looked at this bootleg abomination, and said to me, “Really?”. He was right. I spent a good chunk of change on a camera to then use a dirt cheap, old as dirt, no-name memory card of questionable origin. Took me a while, but I eventually upgraded my cards.

Was the same way with camera bags. Bought low-rent options that later betrayed me.

A repurposed free (Employer anniversary gift.) messenger bag that I had modified with a padded camera insert wasted little time in having a strap clip fail and dumping one of my favorite cameras onto the pavement. Luckily the camera was as solid as a cinder block, but it did still require a warranty repair (Full story in this post.).

Later, in a fit of “that’ll do”, I purchased an Amazon Basic camera bag that eventually started to self-destruct. Not catastrophically so, but enough that I was motivated to finally buy a real bag. But courtesy of a review I was alerted to a rare bargain that was also of high quality and strong aesthetics that was a perfect fit as a smaller bag for a trip. (First post about that trip.)

A real winner. So bags sorted. Another area I struggled with was straps. Found Peak Design straps to be a good value, comfortable, and very functional. But there are areas for improvement:

• Ill suited to carrying two cameras.
  • Had tried to make do by wearing two Peak Design straps crossways across each shoulder bandolero style. In theory I thought this would work. In practice it proved awkward. Whichever camera whose strap was at the bottom would be restricted in movement by the other strap. I made it work, but it was not ideal.
• Meh aesthetics.
  • While not ugly by any stretch Peak Design straps are definitely a form follows function proposition. For that reason I kept to the pedestrian black versions rather than other colors available.
• Durability.
  • While still quite adept at holding up cameras the older of the two straps has:
    • Lost a bit of its structural integrity.
    • Frayed and pilled a bit.
    • Stained clothing as the rubber grips have withered a bit.

Still great straps. Performs the task it was designed for well. Just not as durable as I had hoped.

So… Two camera strap solutions. They put this bargain-hunting individual into a bit of analysis paralysis. First off there were two ways of going about it. Belts and shoulder harnesses. There were two contestants I first looked at in each category (listed below with pluses and minuses):

Belt: Spider Camera Holster Spiderpro Dual Mirrorless Camera System v2

Pluses

• Rave reviews, and from some folks whose opinion I hold in high esteem.
• Sturdy mounting system.
• Accomplishes the task of holding two cameras.

Minuses

• One must unhook the camera from the harness to use it which offers no drop protection.
• While I am sure it is fine I do worry that in the rush of things I might miss the harness when putting a camera back.
• Would rather the weight be on my shoulders than my waist.
• While not heinous, I find it less aesthetically pleasing than the Peak Design straps.
• Price north $200 is at odds with my inner bargain hunter.

Shoulder Harness: HoldFast Gear Money Maker Two-Camera Harness

Pluses

• That is one good looking set up.
• Pin pull release mechanism with tether offers an added bit of security.
• Allows cameras to remain attached to the harness while in use to remove any drop risk.
• …that is one good looking set up.

Minuses

• Price north $200 is at odds with my inner bargain hunter.

So harness it is. Initially, I figured that I was just going to have to get over my bargain-hunting ways and cough up the loot for the Money Maker. But then I became aware of another option.

The <inhales sharply> Camera Strap Accessories for Two-Cameras – Dual Shoulder Leather Harness – Multi Camera Gear for DSLR/SLR strap by C Coiro as listed on Amazon.

Sidebar: Black Rapid has a two-camera harness set up. But I had used Black Rapid before as a single strap, and did not like the camera’s tendency to pinwheel around my body. Similarly, I am not a fan of both cameras hanging off the front of your body with this setup.

With the COIRO variant, the cameras hang to the side and a bit behind the user, like the Money Maker, which I prefer.

So what is the difference? The COIRO rings up at less than $100. Sold!

There are other differences, but I will get to that.

Courtesy gift money from my better half and Amazon’s magic distribution time portal powered by the tears of their delivery staff it arrived the very next day. Here are my first thoughts taken directly from a text exchange with my friend Anthony.

I am calling it. Put it on and have been wearing it while cooking brunch and taking random shots. It is cuss word awesome. I especially like the safety tethers. I attached them to my peak design dealies on the camera. Adds a bit of safety and allows me unlatch the main attachment point to lift the camera high while still having a safety backup. And it looks very nice. Back assembly is a 4 point harness instead of a rivet through 2 straps like the Money Maker.

Also very easy to put on and take off. Also puts the camera weight in a place that pulls my shoulders back instead of forward. Does not swing around as much as the dual peak design arrangement I had used before and no more one strap over another awkward movement restrictions.

Do I have another winner like the BAGSMART camera bag? Yes. Yes, I do.

Additional notes:

Minus first (Singular)

• The Money Maker has camera clips that include a release mechanism that adds a bit fo extra security on top of the tether.

Pluses

• Great looking straps. Gives up nothing in aesthetics to more expensive options in my opinion.

• All hardware and construction looks like it will last without issue.

• Quality leather. Day one I accidentally spilled tea on the straps and nothing happened. Wiped it off without even a mark.

• Comfortable to wear with both cameras.

• Easy on, easy off makes getting in and out of the harness a quick affair.
• Two cameras sit at the side comfortably.

• Tethers are made of the same leather as the rest of the harness instead of black straps like the Money Maker. Instead of the included tether rings I attached the tethers to the Peak Design mounts already in place.

• Back strap with 4 buckles is quite comfortable and nicer than the simple rivet offered elsewhere.

• Cameras can be brought up quickly to eye. If extra reach is needed to can detach the main clip and still have drop protection from the tether.

Will wrap up here. Short version:

• Great two camera harness.
• Great price.

Update:

We all went on a trail walk and I decided to try the COIRO harness out. Two cameras would be nice to have. Admittedly this would be a rather rigorous test compared to normal use. There is a big difference between roaming about a wedding and then darting between family members busting a move at a wedding reception and a low-level 2.5 mile hike with some aggressive inclines and declines in spots.

My thinking was that if I could manage to get through this without any back issues or dropped/bumped gear that this harness would do fine in a reasonably docile event scenario. And it did just fine. My legs were sore but that had more to do with the hilly and uneven terrain. My back and shoulders were just fine, however. Further the cameras stayed at my side without issue on even terrain. There were times during uphills and downhill bits where I steadied the cameras a bit by placing a hand on them, but they stayed secure throughout. Exacty the outcome I had hoped for.

Well done COIRO.