Review: Peak Design Capture Clip and Clutch camera accessories

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Peak Design got its start on Kickstarter almost a decade ago and has grown to raise over $15 million over six products on the Kickstarter platform. You could literally say they dragged themselves up by their boot camera straps!

Now they’re “leaders of carry,” with over 100 products under their belt. We’re looking at two today, the Clutch CL-3 hand strap and the Capture Camera Clip V3.

Coming in clutch

Okay, so first up is the Clutch hand strap, for that extra support and safety when using your camera off-tripod. Important things to look for are ease of adjustment, ease of attachment, and also comfort in use. The Peak Design Clutch builds on the previous two models to make what I think is the best camera hand strap on the market.

The top mounting point goes through the usual D link on your camera, but there’s a couple of twists here. First, the carabiner-like clip that stops you having to faff around with double lengths of the strap, or any of the other subpar mounting systems. I mean, if they’re good enough to catch climbers when they fall, they can secure your precious camera.

READ MORE: The PhotoStick Omni may look hideous, but it’s insanely practical

Then there’s Peak Design’s quick-adjust strap. Yank it down to tighten, pull up on the bottom edge to quickly release tension. This is fantastic, nobody likes fiddling for adjustment points when they’re holding their camera so reducing the necessary movement to a tug is superb.

It’s also got Peak Design’s signature Anchor system to connect to the bottom of your camera, which offers a super-secure yet super easy to quick-release mounting point. Perfect for when you don’t want the strap getting in the way of extra equipment, such as a camera cage.

All in all, it’s a ridiculously secure strap that works just as comfortably with smaller mirrorless cameras as it does with larger DSLRs. Oh, and it also works with the Capture Clip plate, which means you don’t even have to take the Clutch off to use your tripod.

Capture your imagination

The V3 of Peak Design’s Capture Clip is smaller, lighter, stronger, and totally made from metal. Unscrew the pins slightly, flip it open, then flip it closed over your camera strap/belt/tie or whatever else is to hand. It’ll grip tighter than a metal gecko, providing a secure, unwavering mounting point to slide the capture plate into. That plate is Arca-Swiss compatible so most quick-release camera gear will work, or you can grab a Manfrotto/Arca plate as an added upgrade if you’re into RC2 tripod heads.

Once the plate is secure, nothing short of a herd of wild elephants (or the quick-release lock button) will dislodge it, keeping your gear safely tethered to you. I love this, as taking time to fish in my camera bag for my camera often makes me miss the shot I wanted. Having my camera out at all times with only a couple of seconds needed before I can take aim is like I’ve got an extra arm to help.

So, should I buy it?

Listen up, if you’re deathly scared of dropping your precious, expensive camera equipment, you should totally check out Peak Design’s gear. The $70 Capture Clip system works flawlessly to keep your gear where you need it so you don’t miss the shot, and with Arca-Swiss compatibility (and Manfrotto via an adapter), there’s no need to swap plates to use your tripod or other support gear. Ditto with the $40 Clutch hand strap, which gives you all the support needed when shooting untethered, with the quickest-adjusting strap I’ve used to date.

The only thing missing from the picture? A good bag to clip it to…

Editors’ Recommendations:

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• Hey Joe, what’s in your photography bag?

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here for more. Sample units were provided for the purpose of this review.

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.