If you want to have your camera ready for anything and the ability to truly photograph on the fly, or if you're heading to an event where there's no point in bagging your camera because the photo opportunities will be coming thick and fast, a camera strap will be necessary. 

The camera strap is an important part of kit. It may be a simple concept, but what sort of neck strap you want can be a very personal choice. There are loads of different designs and concepts out there, and in this article, we will be focusing on the following camera straps:

• Miggo Two Way Speed Strap
• 4V Design Lusso Brown Tuscany Leather Neck Strap
• OTZI London Design Studio Personalised Camera Strap
• Peak Design Slide Camera Sling Strap
• Sun-Sniper Rotaball Pro, One, Traveler and Surf
• Hawkesmill Leather Camera Strap
• Barbershop 'Moustache' Camera Strap
• Heavy Leather Classic & Slingshot
• 1901 Steichen Leather strap
• Capturing Couture Sofia Black 
• WP Studio ScarfStrap
• Eddycam Elk Neck Strap & Hand Strap
• BlackRapid Curve Breathe
• Cecilia Camera Straps
• Stroppa Camera Straps
• COOPH Braid Camera Strap

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Miggo Two Way Speed Strap 

The Miggo Two Way Speed Strap is made from soft neoprene. It's a modular system that comes with 2 different fitments that clip onto either side of the strap. One set allows you to attach the strap to the shoulder lugs on your camera (if it has them) and the other ones screw into your camera's tripod socket. This fitment is meant for when you're wearing the camera across your body rather than around your neck. 

There is a lock on the strap's clips so you can't accidentally undo them when they're supporting a camera. Both sides of the strap are adjustable in length and each side has a plastic loop for attaching additional kit to. 

If you're the type of photographer that likes to shoot on the fly but doesn't want the camera weighing you down around your neck, this strap could be ideal for you. It's available for £21 on Amazon. 

4V Design Lusso Brown Tuscany Leather Camera Strap

The 4V strap is a luxury option and if you like quality, real leather products then you'll love this. It's classically stylish and the shoulder pad is really comfortable. What sets this strap apart from other leather straps is its padding and also its unique grippy, yet not sticky undercoat which keeps it firmly on your shoulder. It's made from Tuscany leather and top quality cotton tape. 

It attaches to your camera via the two strap lugs and the length can be adjusted. The 20mm wide ribbon is all cotton and the shoulder pad itself is hand-painted on the edges. It's really comfy to wear even with a relatively weighty DSLR attached.

The 4V strap is available in a few different colour, including black, washed green and brown/cyan and black/cyan. It's also available with a medium sized and slimmer shoulder pad. The large is available for €104.90. 

OTZI London Design Studio Personalised Camera Strap 

OTZI is a London based design studio which will create bespoke and unique leather products.

They have recently teamed up with Olympus to provide a range of camera straps which can also be personalised. If you want a traditional, no frills camera strap then this is the one for you. Real leather, hand-made, simple design and no padding, it oozes style. 

The strap will soon be available exclusively from the Olympus camera shop. However, you can use it with any brand of camera. 

Peak Design Slide Camera Sling Strap

A clever camera strap that can be used as a slide strap, a neck strap and a shoulder strap.

The strap comes with attachments for a number of cameras and is also compatible with Peak Design bags, and the Peak Design Capture Camera Clip. The attachment for the tripod socket of the camera is also ARCA-compatible. The wide strap is padded internally, and there is a grippy section for when wearing the strap on your shoulder or around your neck. You can quickly adjust the length of the strap with the aluminium quick-adjust handles.

The Peak Design Slide comes with a lifetime warranty, and is available for around £50 from Amazon.

Sun-Sniper Rotaball Pro, One, Traveler and Surf

The Sun-Sniper Rotaball strap system is a quick access strap that attaches to the bottom of your camera, and lets you quickly use your camera. It’s available for larger DSLRs (as the One or Pro system), for mirrorless and mid-sized cameras, as the Traveler system.

The straps have a metal wire running through the middle of them to stop someone cutting the strap and stealing the camera, and the Rotaball has a “Blokker” which is designed to make it more difficult for someone to unscrew the camera from the strap. The strap also has a “Limiter” so that the camera doesn’t end up sliding too far behind your back.

The Pro and One straps have a shock-absorber built into the strap to help reduce strain caused by heavy cameras bouncing up and down as you move, as shown above. The Pro and Traveler come with insurance, as well as a “Pitt” strap to keep the strap in position. The padded area is quite large on the One and Pro straps, at nearly 3 inches wide, and just under 2 inches on the Traveler.

Another option is the Rotaball Surf, which can be attached to an existing camera bag strap. The Rotaball Pro is available for around £80, the Rotaball One for around £55, and the Rotaball Traveler for around £75.

Hawkesmill Westminster Leather Camera Strap

This Hawkesmill offering is made from Horween Chromexcel leather, known for its durability and softness. The strap is available in two colours - brown with orange stitching and black with red stitching. 

There are high-quality split rings to attach the strap to your camera and bumper guards ensure that they don't scratch it. The straps are handmade in England.

The strap is precisely made with careful stitching and the underneath of it is comfortable on your skin. It's a classy strap that's simple but screams quality. It comes in a soft carry bag that's a nice touch. It's available for £115 on the Hawkesmill website. 

Barbershop 'Moustache' Leather Camera Strap

Barbershop straps are handmade in Italy with the best leathers. The Moustache strap has a thin strap and a padded area for your neck with soft underside. It's stylish and the neck pad makes the strap comfortable. The thin strap makes it a more appealing choice for those of a slighter build. 

You can adjust the length of the camera strap at both sides and there are fabric lugs which attach it to your camera. We love the fine detailing of the pins on the strap and the neat stitching. It's available for £89 on the Barbershop website. 

Heavy Leather Classic & Slingshot Camera Straps

Heavy Leather is a famous NYC brand that makes guitar and camera straps out of top grain cowhide leather. Here we have their Classic and Slingshot straps.

The Classic strap is  made from soft Italian cowhide that Heavy Leather say will age gracefully and mold to your body straight away without the need to break it in. The leather adjuster straps can attach straight to your camera or you can use the key rings. 

The strap is really comfy and soft and is a good width to remain comfy around the neck even with a heavy camera on there. It's a high quality strap that any discerning photographer will love. It's available for $95. 

The Heavy Leather Slingshot is an option for those that want to wear their camera on one shoulder or across the body with quick access. It's adjustable and attaches at the camera's tripod mount. 

The shoulder strap is wide, well padded and even has a handy business card holder. Like the Classic strap, it's handmade in the USA. 

The padding on this strap and underside leather is really soft, making it really comfy when worn. The silver buckles add a touch of bling. This is a strap that you can tell will last a long time. It sells for $155.

1901 Steichen Leather Strap 

The 1901 Steichen strap is available in 7 different colours from tan to stone grey and is available in custom lengths, the standard being 115cm. It's available for £25.95. 

It's a minimalist strap that's supple yet strong and designed for 'real' photographers. They're made in the UK using fine quality full grain English leather. The grommets are machined in stainless steel and have a quality finish. The leather ends unhook from the grommets allowing you to attach the camera. 

This is a sleek camera strap that has extra layers around the shoulder for comfort and is very neatly finished. 

Capturing Couture Sofia Black Camera Strap

The Capturing Couture black camera strap has a plush velvet underside and nylon webbing to prevent wear. It has a rather Jazzy design and there are lots more designs and styles to choose from on the Capturing Couture website. The Sofia black is available for $39. 

The strap is flexible and feels comfy on. It's a great choice for the lady photographer who wants to express her personality while out shooting and is adjustable so that it fits well when worn. 

It's quite a blingy camera strap with silver personalised rivets and it's well made and feels sturdy.

WP Studio ScarfStrap

The WP Studio ScarfStrap is a camera strap made from a scarf - so from the back, it looks like you're just keeping warm. 

It's manufactured to be strong, soft and comfy. The camera attachment is secured to the scarf strap through a leather pad that's really well sewn, so there's no chance of it coming undone. 

The scarfstrap is available with many different scarf designs on the WP Studio website for £35.50. It's a lovely idea especially for women who want something a little different to the usual camera strap. 

Eddycam Elk Skin Camera Neck & Hand Strap 

Eddycam straps are made from elk skin. Elk skin is thick, elastic and really soft to the touch, making for sumptuous camera straps. The two we had on test were the 60mm neck strap and the sling strap, which is a hand strap. They both attach through the eyelets on either side of the camera. 

The neck strap is extremely mouldable and fits to your neck well. It's amazingly soft to touch and really flexible. It takes the weight of the camera well due to its elasticity. They are available in a wide variety of colours including brown, black, yellow, red, tan and blue. Prices start from 169 Euros. They are available in the UK through JP Distribution

The hand strap is reassuringly strong and feels nice against the skin. It too is available in lots of different colours and colour combinations. Prices start from 99 Euros. Both straps are classically stylish and amazingly soft and flexible.

BlackRapid Curve Sling Strap

The BlackRapid Curve is a shoulder strap that sits across the body allowing you to 'quick draw' the camera from your hip. It's available for £75 and is available in the UK through JP Distribution. It attaches to the camera through the tripod mount on the bottom. There is also a strap that fastens under your left arm to keep the strap in place. The shoulder strap is well padded and breathable, and features a textured fabric pattern on the bottom that makes it grip to your shoulder. 

The length of the strap is adjustable and can be unclipped from the back. The camera attachment is on a robust carabiner that is slidable on a metal bracket. The camera attachment can be removed from the carabiner if need be. The underarm strap can also be removed if you don't want it. The strap feels and looks really well made. 

Cecilia Camera Straps

Cecilia Camera Straps come in a range of sizes, as either neck straps, or alternatively wrist straps, as shown here. The neck straps are available in wide or slim sizes, and there are a range of wrist straps. The unique thing about Cecilia camera straps is that they have a number of straps available that are made out of baby Alpaca wool, as well as some made of leather. The branding is subtle, and the leather is reinforced for extra strength. 

The wrist strap is quite thin, so isn't recommended for heavier cameras, but should work perfectly well with smaller mirrorless cameras, and compact cameras. The strap has protection for the camera, to avoid the metal ring scratching the camera, and the strap feels very well made. Prices start at a very reasonable $36 for a leather wrist strap.

Stroppa Straps

Stroppa is a Polish brand that specialises in rope and real leather finished camera straps. They give a premium look with an affordable price tag - they can be picked up for around £30. 

There are 3 types of strap available and all are available in several different lengths:

• Flex - This strap flexible but also very difficult to break and is available in different colours
• Duo - Has a denser braid and an on-trend mottled effect
• Active - This is the toughest strap Stroppa make and they say it can take any abuse you can think of

These straps are certainly unique and fasten to the camera using metal rings for a secure fit. They are very well made and surprisingly comfy. If you want a custom and unique strap that won't break the bank, this is it. The straps come in a drawstring canvas bag, which is a nice touch. 

COOPH Braid Camera Strap

The COOPH Braid Camera Strap stands out from the crowd but don't let its quirkiness fool you as it's well-made, durable and very comfortable to wear.  It's a stylish strap that should appeal to the younger generation and most photographers will appreciate the quality of craftsmanship on offer, too. 

The COOPH Braid Camera Strap is available in 11 colour choices, two sizes (100cm and 125cm) and is constructed from a strong yet lightweight braid and Italian vegetable-tanned leather details.

The Braid Camera Strap is actually handcrafted, which is a nice touch, and as well as being colourful and eye-catching, the Braid Camera Strap is also dirt, mould and water resistant so even though it may not feel like you could be OK in a sharp shower, you should be. 

€54 Euros is what you'll be parting with if you fancy purchasing one of the stand-out designs and this price is for either the 100cm or 125cm version.