Review of the OP / Tech USA Dual Harness
I love it, I hate it, I love it...
As the title says, I have a true love/hate relationship with the OP/TECH dual harness. In some areas it's perfect. In other areas, what I see as design flaws are quite hard to swallow.
A bit over 3 years ago, I was seeking to purchase a dual camera harness. At a local brick and mortar store, I found the OP/TECH dual camera harness system. Because this product was significantly less expensive than the one made by Black Rapid, I purchased the OP/TECH. Thus began a 3 year "relationship" with this product which has brought out truly conflicting feelings. On the one hand, the harness system works quite well, it's comfortable and it's inexpensive. On the other hand, the set up of the connectors, camera straps and camera orientation are a significant and on-going source of irritation for me.
THE GOOD
On one hand, the OP/TECH dual camera harness is an outstanding addition to my kit as a photojournalist. The ability to carry two camera bodies (usually for the purpose of having two polar opposite lens sets available) without having to hang all of that weigh around my neck is a real joy. The fact that the cameras hang underneath my arms instead of bouncing together on my chest and stomach makes carrying safer (for the cameras) and more comfortable for me. Because the design of the harness is similar to a handgun shoulder holster, the weight is distributed well and doesn't bind a photographer's carotid arteries, even when carrying cameras with very heavy lenses. In addition, the material that the actual harness is made from has a slightly springy feel to it. This too increases the wearer's comfort level. I've worn this rig with two cameras and heavy professional lenses for periods in excess of 12 to 14 hours in relative comfort.
The system itself works quite well. I like the fact that there are two anchor points for each camera and I like the quick disconnect straps. The materials used, while probably not the very best available, are quite solid and have done the job for 3 years now.
Finally, on the good side, is cost. At nearly $100 cheaper than the better known competition, it's a bit easier to overlook some of this system's flaws. Despite being what I consider the economy selection, it's my considered opinion that for the price of a little do-it-yourself work, this system is a much better value which brings me to....
THE BAD
Despite the good qualities of this system, there are a few things that I would really like to see changed. First and foremost, is the configuration of the clips which attach the camera straps to the harness. Each side has a male and female clip. These clips are attached to the harness in such a way as to not allow them to be changed out. These clips are attached with different sized straps. What this means in practical use, is that you must configure the matching strap clip combination which attaches to your cameras differently depending on which side you wish to wear the camera. This means that once you figured out exactly where you want the camera to hang and one side, you are pretty much stuck with that configuration and side choice. One cannot rapidly switch a camera from one side to the other and have it hang in the same relative position on both the right and the left sides.
Another problem with the OP/TECH harness is that it doesn't come with hardware which allows you to attach the camera straps to the base of the camera using the tripod mounting threads found on most cameras. For me, this is a real downer because when I am on a fast moving story such as a fire or accident scene, I need to switch cameras rapidly and having cameras in an inverted position is a far more efficacious way of doing so. To fix this, I purchased a couple of Black Rapid FR-T1 fastener loops - one for each camera. This allowed me to invert the camera with relative ease. I also use one of these fasteners on the attachment point of my heavy lens so as not to put undue stress on the mounting ring on the camera body.
The bottom line is that my opinion of the OP/TECH dual harness is fraught with ambivalence. The system's cost and comfort are outstanding but the inability to switch cameras from one side to the other as well as the camera orientation issues are almost a fatal flaw.
Click to view the OP/TECH USA Dual Harness on Amazon.com.
