Imelda Marcos had a thing about shoes. Mrs. Shilling took more hats to Royal Ascot than anyone in history. The old woman who lived in a shoe had a superfluity of offspring. Even I am not immune to excess. My thing is camera straps and I have a different one for every week of the year. I’ve tried ’em all, from the standard Leica offerings (OK, but you can do better) to Barton1972’s wonderfully tactile Braidy Style and A&A’s sensuous silk-covered creations. So when Ivor Coooper at Red Dot Cameras in London’s Old Street showed me the new Artisan & Artist Easy Slider my much-abused credit card jumped out of my pocket, all bright eyed and bushy tailed as usual. This, I thought, would be the perfect complement to the new Leica Monochrom for the summer break in Greece.
A&A is a Japanese company, as you probably know, and produces some quirky videos to demonstrate its products. This video is something else.
The big problem with a fixed-length strap is that it is often not quite right. I have Barton’s Braided Style straps in standard and long versions and change them according to season. In summer, with light clothing, the standard strap is about right. In the winter, with bulky coats, it is too short. So the longer version comes into its own.
A&A’s Easy Slider is a quick-adjust strap that can be lengthened or shortened simply by grabbing the adjusting ring and moving the slider up or down. It works well and is suitable for wearing around the neck or over the shoulder as I always prefer. This allows the camera to be slung at the hip or, even, at the back to avoid expensive lenses being bumped on walls or other objects. The length range of the trap is 820 to 1390mm which I think is about perfect for most people.
The strap is made from heavy duty nylon and is wide enough to avoid frequent tangling which is a bane of narrower, standard camera straps. The quick-release mechanism works well and I have no difficulty adjusting the length of the strap in seconds even with it slung over the shoulder with the camera suspended.
I like the Easy Slider and it will have a permanent place in my arsenal. I do tend to prefer the elegant and springy Barton Braided Style straps, however, so I see the Easy Slider as an extra for when I need a strap that can be adjusted on the fly.
The Easy Slider comes in red, black and khaki with a contrasting leather A&A slider to add a touch of designer chic. I would probably have gone for the red but it was not in stock, so the black with red leather branding was the one I chose. Red Dot Cameras charge £59 for the Easy Slider.