Canon Handstrap

[waving_odd]

Although not in the same price range and if you are not reluctant to have the Nikon brand attached to your Canon body, the Nikon AH-4 hand strap is really excellent.
The material is good leather and it feels really sturdy.
It comes with a plate (plastic) to screw to the tripod mount hole but if you have a Kirk camera plate, there is a loop to put a hand strap in. (just be sure of checking the loop design of the Nikon hand strap before trying to replace the "Nikon" plate with the Kirk one... I removed mine quickly and it took me a while to figure out if the loop should be inside or outside / reverse or direct)

Had Nikon AH-4 too on my Canon's.  It's in much better quality and design than the Canon E1.  Its leather pad wraps around the dorsum of hand nicely and fits better (I let couple other people try it) than the E1.  Its unique loop around the thumb side is the key to the 3-point stability that E1 is missing.  But I also figure that the extra stability can also mean the more cumbersome when you want to put down the camera.  Nikon's AH-4 reminds me of the good old one from Minolta...

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Nikon-AH-4-Leather-Hand-Grip-Review.aspx

[scrappydog]

If you are willing to consider at 3rd party solutions, I have the Opteka, which is inexpensive but works great on my 60D.  The Opteka has a plastic plate on the bottom.  I took it off and attached it directly to my RRS L-Bracket.  The drawback to the Opteka, compared to the Canon, is that you cannot attach a wireless remote to the outside section of the padded faux-leather part of the strap.

[bvukich]

Since we're (somewhat) on the topic, and I'm curious...  How many people keep their index finger out of the handstrap, like in the attached picture?

My hands aren't exactly huge, but that's the only way mine fit comfortably, plus then I can still operate all the buttons.

[bobthebrick]

I keep my finger out. Can't seem to workout where the shutter button is without it out. Really weird

Thomas.

[dstppy]

Thanks for the replies guys; the package card looked genuine though. I'm going to see if I can return it. The "C" on the Canon logo is also not properly pressed into it.

I had the opteka one, then added the E1 strap because it was nicer, then ditched the bottom plate in lieu of the arca-swiss baseplate which was an excellent combination.

As for finger-out, I have pretty big hands so I like the strap actually further back on my hand, so it would be super loose (useless) for my wife or someone smaller to use it.  This actually gives me enough control of the camera that I (occasionally) don't feel the need for the BlackRapid around my neck/shoulder.

I'll let you know how the return goes; "cowboystudio" gets great reviews for their no-name products on amazon like studio lighting, so I figured I'd give them a whirl.  I'm a Prime subscriber, so I usually don't bother with 3rd party Too impatient.  Canon's website is even out of stock of the E1.

Thanks again for all the helpful posts.

[awinphoto]

I have the E1 on my 7d... I dont have a grip on my 7d... I bought one of those cheapie ebay ones that comes with the mounting plate on the bottom of the camera and removed the ebay strap, added the E1... took some finesse because the plates want the nylon straps to bend in almost a 90 degree angle and when new... good luck.  Anyways I got it to work and has served me well... I dont like the rubber inside feel of the ebay grips... and even the E2 that neuro posted, while nice, appears to be more narrow than the E1, and isn't quite the same...

[dstppy]

Battery life on the 60D has been phenomenal and the 5D hasn't got much use, but I can see it's indicating drain already. At this point I have 4 batteries between the two from this last deal so I'm going to forego the grip until it's absolutely necessary.

I have one of these for each and they are ROCK solid for the handstrap; like part of the camera:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PC5D2-Canon-5d-mark-II-5dmkii-DSLR-Arca-Swiss-Plate-/120535560341?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c107ab095

neuroanatomist actually gave me some great suggestions when buying a tripod and I was able to modify the Manfrotto 468MG ballhead to accept arca-swiss and it's actually made using a tripod a pleasure rather than a "do I really want to go through that" experience.

[dstppy]

Some follow-up; vendor always seems willing to help, but after $4.75 to ship it back priority, they said they never got it. 

After sending them the tracking, I was told I would get a refund (surprise surprise) only the purchase price, not original shipping came back.

I'm done with Cowboy Studio; I filed an A-to-Z guarantee, but it serves me right for dealing with a 3rd party vendor. 

Looks like all of the big boys are still OOS for the E1   I'm sort of hung up on that grip since it's the one I'm used to. 

[K-amps]

I have the E1 on my 7d... I dont have a grip on my 7d... I bought one of those cheapie ebay ones that comes with the mounting plate on the bottom of the camera and removed the ebay strap, added the E1... took some finesse because the plates want the nylon straps to bend in almost a 90 degree angle and when new... good luck.  Anyways I got it to work and has served me well... I dont like the rubber inside feel of the ebay grips... and even the E2 that neuro posted, while nice, appears to be more narrow than the E1, and isn't quite the same...

Got my ebay grip.... works as advertized, however  I wish I could feel more secure, it seems like something will give and my 5d will crash to the ground with the 70-200ii attached   

[dstppy]

I have the E1 on my 7d... I dont have a grip on my 7d... I bought one of those cheapie ebay ones that comes with the mounting plate on the bottom of the camera and removed the ebay strap, added the E1... took some finesse because the plates want the nylon straps to bend in almost a 90 degree angle and when new... good luck.  Anyways I got it to work and has served me well... I dont like the rubber inside feel of the ebay grips... and even the E2 that neuro posted, while nice, appears to be more narrow than the E1, and isn't quite the same...

Got my ebay grip.... works as advertized, however  I wish I could feel more secure, it seems like something will give and my 5d will crash to the ground with the 70-200ii attached 

Is it secured with a plastic piece?  I love the arca-swiss plates that I have on both, they even have threading for a strap/other tripod mount but are secured so tight it feels like part of the camera.

[K-amps]

Is it secured with a plastic piece?  I love the arca-swiss plates that I have on both, they even have threading for a strap/other tripod mount but are secured so tight it feels like part of the camera.

Yes it is, but it does not inspire a lot of confidence, maybe it is my first time with such a strap.

[dstppy]

Yes it is, but it does not inspire a lot of confidence, maybe it is my first time with such a strap.

You may consider trading out for one of the aluminum plates, I'd feel confident of those I'm using on the cameras now as much as the default socket.

One last update, checking basically ALL markets, it looks like these knock-offs are totally flooding 3rd party vendors at this point.  Sort of stinks since I successfully was using both bodies for 2-different things at an event last weekend and was so glad I brought my 60D on top of shooting with the 5DmkII (one on the tripod the other on a sling) -- can't wait to secure another genuine hand strap.

[neuroanatomist]

One last update, checking basically ALL markets, it looks like these knock-offs are totally flooding 3rd party vendors at this point.  Sort of stinks since I successfully was using both bodies for 2-different things at an event last weekend and was so glad I brought my 60D on top of shooting with the 5DmkII (one on the tripod the other on a sling) -- can't wait to secure another genuine hand strap.

Interesting.  B&H indicates that the E-1 Hand Strap has been discontinued by the manufacturer and is no longer available. 

I surmise that the E1 has been replaced by the E2 (the former only works with gripped/pro bodies, the latter with any body).  Although B&H and Adorama list the E2 as out of stock, it's available directly from Canon USA.  The tripod mount is removeable, meaning you can attach it to the top/bottom lugs on a gripped/pro body just like the E1.  FWIW, Nikon's handstrap comes with a removeable body plate like the newer Canon E2. 

The E1 looks like a nicer strap - I'm glad I already have two of them...

[Ryusui]

FWIW, the E1 is still on Canon's dealer pricelist, which was apparently updated 2012-01-09.

[Michael_pfh]

Half of the 'n' is missing on the left one - definitely a fake!