Photo Gear Review: Spider Holster

About a month ago I received a really neat piece of equipment to try out, the Spider Holster. The Spider system is a camera carrying system that lets you carry your camera at your waist in order to take the stress off your neck and also to have it secured to your body to prevent any mishaps. There are a few of other systems out there similar to this but all with their own nice features like the Black Rapid R-Strap and the Cotton Carrier system both of which I also have so I can make a good comparison.

On first look the Spider Holster is REALLY well built. In the box you get the Spider Belt, the Spider Plate, the Spider holster and the Spider Pin.

Ill start off with the belt..I really like this belt, first off its really easy to adjust to any size you need because of a long velcro strap that goes the length of the belt. Im also impressed with the actual belt buckle, even tho Ive never had problems with other buckles I like the fact that this one requires 3 point of pressure to release so you get that extra sense of security that the belt wont just pop off at anytime..especially when your camera is dangling from it. Last feature on the belt that I really liked was that there is a pad where your camera rests while its all hooked up. Its a nice feature because one of the little issues Ive had with my Double Strap set up is that with my camera rubbing against my jeans, it would wear away paint on either the camera or lens. So having the soft pad on the Spider belt will be handy.

Next is the Plate and Pin, The plate is again really well made and very solid. The plate goes into your tripod socket thanks to the included and plate mounted allen key. Its also very nice because there are several holes on the plate to allow you to screw the pin into and even your tripod plate so that way you can leave the spider plate on and still can use your tripod. It is also really nice because with the system you dont really have to use the plate if you dont want to as the pin can be screwed direct into your cameras tripod socket. Two small issues Ive noticed that are very minor. If your the type of photog that hates to get their cam dirty or scratched then you might not want to use the plate because to ensure a solid grip I have found that the plates tabs that rest up against the sides of your camera grip will actually cause some indentations. This is probably my own fault for not putting the plate on straight or something but if I can do it then it could happen to others too. The other thing is that with the plate on your body with the pin in place it makes your camera a lot higher and might make it so that it wont be able to fit in your camera bag anymore unless you constantly take the plate on and off..Again..not huge deals

On to the real stuff the holster.. This is made out of metal and is reallly solid. Just holding it in your hands you can tell its well made. It has a 2 position lock on it..Either open for quick access or closed if you are going to be doing something crazy where the camera could pop out, the lock makes sure it wont.

I have not had the chance to shoot too much with the spider holster since my shooting season is just started but from the times I have I can say it works great. I have used the Spider Holster in its ” normal ” state a lot but my main automotive set up is a little different then most tho.. My Spider is mounted to my Cotton Carrier vest. I use this combo because I shoot with 2 bodies and since I use a Think Tank harness system the lens pouches do not let me use the Cotton Carrier 2nd camera holder so the Spider works perfectly because it carries the camera upside-down and out of the way of the lens pouches. My second change is that my spider plate is not mounted to my camera but to a Manfrotto 323 RC2 quick release adapter. With it set up the way it is I just have to keep a regular Manfrotto tri-pod plate on my camera all the time and when ever I want to use the Spider all I have to do is click it into the RC2 and Im good to go. Using it like this also takes away my previous issue about the plate making the camera too high to fit in a bag, it is not easy to remove thanks to the quick release plate.

In the field the Spider performs like it should..With the lock open it is really easy to get your camera out to get that shot and then be able to holster it with out even looking. In the locked position the camera does not move and is really good when walking or running across a track to get to he media area. It also takes the weight of a gripped camera with a 70-200 or 300 lens no problem.

Overall Ive been Very impressed with the Spider. Anybody looking for a waist mounted holster this is the one to get. Its well made. easy to use and very adaptable to different set ups. Plus with the new adapters that will be coming out like a dual camera set up as well as an adapter so you can mount the spider holster directly to your ThinkTank or LowePro belts.

For more information and photos go check out

www.spiderholster.com