Cape Town-based active lifestyle photographer Nick Muzik recently had the opportunity to try out Peak Designs Capture Clip while doing the Mapungubwe WildRun. These are his thoughts…
Review and photos by Nick Muzik, a Cape Town-based active lifestyle and sports photographer. Nick recently had the opportunity to try out Peak Designs Capture Clip, you’ll find his thoughts on that below, you can also find more information on the Capture Clip here.
I’ve run many a mile with my cameras, through some wild landscapes, and in some wild conditions, but I’ve never been in that much of a rush where I didn’t have time to put my camera backpack down and get my camera out to take a photo.
Last month, when I heard I would be running up to 30km per day through Nature Reserves in Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa on the Mapungubwe WildRun, I knew I had to come up with a different solution to make sure I don’t miss a shot of any wild animals crossing our path. Patrick Benade from Photogadgets kindly lent me one of his Capture Clips, made by San Francisco-based company, Peak Design. I knew about the product, many of my photo buddies have used them, but I had never tried it and I was excited to see how well it would serve me on the run.
While attaching the clip to my backpack the first thing I noticed was the build quality. This is a solid piece of equipment, beautifully made and designed. I attached the base plate to a Canon 5D MKIII with a 17-40 f4 lens on it. I had a 70-200mm and a 15mm fisheye in the bag, which I would change out depending on my needs.
I don’t believe the clip is designed for running, but it’s the only product out there that will work as well as it did. We set off on day one of our run, 30km through the African bush. I had the camera clipped in, holding it steady with my left hand and got running. The capture clip stayed fast on the left-hand shoulder strap of my bag. In 65km of running and jumping over varied terrain, it didn’t budge. If I needed to change lenses, I would leave the camera on the clip, remove the lens with two free hands and simply attached either one of my other lenses to the camera.
For me, one of the main pro’s of the Capture Clip was that I had my hands free to climb when needed or drink water, yet at the same time it allowed me easy access to my camera. Yes, while running, you do need to hold it still from flopping around, but for walking or hiking, the camera stayed where it was supposed to, and did so comfortably at that. The clip has two safety mechanisms built in, securing the camera in place and making it impossible to fall out.
Conclusion
As an outdoor adventure photographer, the Capture clip is a great addition to the kit bag. As I said, it’s well made, thoughtfully designed and adds a versatility when you need it most. In addition that that, the Capture Clip can also double as a tripod mount, making the system even more diverse.
Review and photos by Nick Muzik, a Cape Town-based active lifestyle and sports photographer. Nick recently had the opportunity to try out Peak Designs Capture Clip, you’ll find his thoughts on that below, you can also find more information on the Capture Clip here.
