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This extravagant strap may be my new favorite piece of camera gear
This strap is good, but the QD system is the real star. Photos: Mitchell Clark Last year, I expressed some dissatisfaction with the Peak Design Slide strap I've been using for the better part of a decade and said that I might replace it with the Magpul MS4 strap. I'm here to tell you that I've done it, and I'm so glad I did. I've only had the MS4 for a few months, but it's quickly become one of my favorite accessories by making my job of carrying around and using a wide variety of cameras that much easier. Much of that comes down to its star feature: the generically named Quick Detach, or QD, system. Most photographers will be familiar with Peak Design's circular anchors, which hang off your camera and let you quickly and easily attach and detach various straps without dropping your camera (usually). The MS4 has two QD connectors: one attaches to your camera, while the other can either be locked into the buckle above the primary one or attached to a secondary point on your camera. With QD gear, it's even easier: you press a button, slot it into a socket, and four metal balls keep the strap securely connected. Even better, it allows your gear to rotate freely, making it much easier to manipulate into whatever shooting position you need without detaching it from the strap. Looking at the mechanism, it's unnervingly easy to imagine an errant button press sending thousands of dollars of gear crashing to the ground. However, I don't think that's likely. The D-ring design makes it so it'd be really difficult for the release button to get pressed while the strap is loaded. The MS4 also has two QD connectors, so if you want to connect it to two different points on your camera, you can, provided your camera has two QD mounting points – more on that in a moment. The strap does a decent job of covering up the eject button. It's also worth noting that the QD system was initially invented to hold rifles, which are perhaps the one thing you'd want to drop less than a camera. It's been in use for over a decade in that world and, so far, seems to be doing alright. Do I still keep one hand on the camera while I'm using this strap? Usually, yes, but that may fade with time, provided it continues to not drop my camera. Beyond the convenience factor of the QD system, this strap is just plain comfortable, even when I'm carting around a heavy full-frame 70-200 F2.8 lens and body combo. It has several adjustment points that have let me carry my camera exactly where I want to, and the wide webbing doesn't dig into my shoulder despite the complete lack of padding. I'd probably miss some foam if I routinely carried around the largest super-telephotos, but that's a bridge I'll cross if I ever get to it. We've bought one accessory, yes, but how about a second accessory? "But Mitchell," I hear you ask. "Cameras don't have QD mounting points. How do you connect this strap to them?" Excellent question. Like any good accessory, this strap has begat more accessories. Alongside it, I bought this QD quick-release plate from Leofoto, which screws into standard 1/4"-20 threads and has a QD socket on the bottom. Two things I love about it beyond the fact that it lets me connect the MS4 to a camera: The screw has a D-ring which lets me get it super secure by hand without needing a screwdriver, coin or hex key. It can mount to my Peak Design Travel Tripod, so I can go straight from strap to tripod with two button presses. This isn't the only option for adding a QD port to your camera; several cages now have them built in. But as someone who's using at least one new camera every month, sometimes with very large lenses, a universal adapter like this plate is by far the better option for me. Still, cages or L-brackets with QD sockets would probably be my best bet if I wanted to use the MS4 in its dual-point configuration; that, or I could use the tripod plate attached to the camera, and a clamp on the lens foot. It's a breeze moving the Leofoto plate between the camera body and a tripod foot. While I've heaped a lot of love on this setup, a lot of that comes down to liking the QD system, and Magpul isn't the only company using it for its accessories. Leofoto also makes a strap with the connectors, and you can buy standalone QD swivels that you can attach to your own favorite strap setup, though doing so might require a bit of creativity. So, if you like the idea but don't think the MS4 strap would suit you, there are options out there. I'd recommend at least checking them out; while QD may not be for everyone, I personally have a hard time imagining ever going back to a strap without it. Magpul MS4 strap $69 at Magpul Leofoto QD Quick Release Plate $25 at B&H
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This strap is good, but the QD system is the real star. Photos: Mitchell Clark |
Last year, I expressed some dissatisfaction with the Peak Design Slide strap I've been using for the better part of a decade and said that I might replace it with the Magpul MS4 strap. I'm here to tell you that I've done it, and I'm so glad I did.
I've only had the MS4 for a few months, but it's quickly become one of my favorite accessories by making my job of carrying around and using a wide variety of cameras that much easier. Much of that comes down to its star feature: the generically named Quick Detach, or QD, system. Most photographers will be familiar with Peak Design's circular anchors, which hang off your camera and let you quickly and easily attach and detach various straps without dropping your camera (usually).
 |
| The MS4 has two QD connectors: one attaches to your camera, while the other can either be locked into the buckle above the primary one or attached to a secondary point on your camera. |
With QD gear, it's even easier: you press a button, slot it into a socket, and four metal balls keep the strap securely connected. Even better, it allows your gear to rotate freely, making it much easier to manipulate into whatever shooting position you need without detaching it from the strap.
Looking at the mechanism, it's unnervingly easy to imagine an errant button press sending thousands of dollars of gear crashing to the ground. However, I don't think that's likely. The D-ring design makes it so it'd be really difficult for the release button to get pressed while the strap is loaded. The MS4 also has two QD connectors, so if you want to connect it to two different points on your camera, you can, provided your camera has two QD mounting points – more on that in a moment.
 |
| The strap does a decent job of covering up the eject button. |
It's also worth noting that the QD system was initially invented to hold rifles, which are perhaps the one thing you'd want to drop less than a camera. It's been in use for over a decade in that world and, so far, seems to be doing alright. Do I still keep one hand on the camera while I'm using this strap? Usually, yes, but that may fade with time, provided it continues to not drop my camera.
Beyond the convenience factor of the QD system, this strap is just plain comfortable, even when I'm carting around a heavy full-frame 70-200 F2.8 lens and body combo. It has several adjustment points that have let me carry my camera exactly where I want to, and the wide webbing doesn't dig into my shoulder despite the complete lack of padding. I'd probably miss some foam if I routinely carried around the largest super-telephotos, but that's a bridge I'll cross if I ever get to it.
 |
| We've bought one accessory, yes, but how about a second accessory? |
"But Mitchell," I hear you ask. "Cameras don't have QD mounting points. How do you connect this strap to them?" Excellent question. Like any good accessory, this strap has begat more accessories. Alongside it, I bought this QD quick-release plate from Leofoto, which screws into standard 1/4"-20 threads and has a QD socket on the bottom. Two things I love about it beyond the fact that it lets me connect the MS4 to a camera:
- The screw has a D-ring which lets me get it super secure by hand without needing a screwdriver, coin or hex key.
- It can mount to my Peak Design Travel Tripod, so I can go straight from strap to tripod with two button presses.
This isn't the only option for adding a QD port to your camera; several cages now have them built in. But as someone who's using at least one new camera every month, sometimes with very large lenses, a universal adapter like this plate is by far the better option for me. Still, cages or L-brackets with QD sockets would probably be my best bet if I wanted to use the MS4 in its dual-point configuration; that, or I could use the tripod plate attached to the camera, and a clamp on the lens foot.
 |
| It's a breeze moving the Leofoto plate between the camera body and a tripod foot. |
While I've heaped a lot of love on this setup, a lot of that comes down to liking the QD system, and Magpul isn't the only company using it for its accessories. Leofoto also makes a strap with the connectors, and you can buy standalone QD swivels that you can attach to your own favorite strap setup, though doing so might require a bit of creativity. So, if you like the idea but don't think the MS4 strap would suit you, there are options out there. I'd recommend at least checking them out; while QD may not be for everyone, I personally have a hard time imagining ever going back to a strap without it.
