My Favorite Photo Accessory: The Peak Design Capture Clip
Peak Design Capture Clip V3
I have to admit that I tend to be a bit of a gear-head when it comes to technologies and photography. I have switched backpacks as well as cameras quite a few times over the past ten years I have practiced photography. However, as I am trying to become more of a minimalist when it comes to my possessions, there’s one piece of gear I’ve kept for the past few years that I have no intention of replacing or getting rid of.
Back when I lived in the US, I had few possessions and I realized that I wanted to pursue in this direction when I moved home to France. So when I came back to Paris, I decided that I would reduce the amount of possessions I had on a daily basis. For a while, I had a Fujifilm X100, an expert compact camera that has a fixed 35mm-equivalent lens, that I had in my backpack every single day, whether in Austin, TX or in Paris. It was perfect for street photography, as it was very inconspicuous with its analogue camera look, even when I kept it around my neck walking in the streets of various cities.
I realized however that the Fujifilm X100 was less ideal than a camera with interchangeable lenses would be, especially for more advanced landscape photography. I eventually acquired the Fujifilm X-T2, first with the 18-55mm f2.8-4 kit lens, and very quickly thereafter I bought the 23mm f2 lens (so a 35mm-equivalent for full frame cameras), which was a great replacement for the Fuji X100. However, there were two drawbacks to having a bigger, heavier camera: it was less inconspicuous, and it weighed around my neck in the streets; and when I was hiking, especially in the Fontainebleau Forest, about 30 miles from Paris, it would dangle dangerously around my neck or on my side and it did hit rocks a couple of times.
Hike in Landmannalaugar, Iceland. Shot on Fujifilm X100S, 23mm (35mm eq.), ISO 400, f/8.0, 1/420s
I found the solution to both street and landscape problems in 2017, when I first heard of Peak Design. Back then, the company was launching its third iteration of the Capture, an aluminum camera clip that allows you to attach your camera to a backpack strap or a belt. The first version was created in 2011, and over the years, the various versions allowed one to attach their camera to their clip as well as their clip to their backpack strap more easily. The clip also is now smaller but has remained compatible with most tripod mounts (as pictured below on the left with the Joby GorillaPod). Since early 2020, it also clips very fast onto Peak Design’s own Travel Tripod (image on the right below), which makes it great if you need to quickly get a shot of a setting sun for instance.
Since 2017, I have had this clip attached to my backpack strap virtually everywhere I go, as it is probably been the most useful photo accessory I own. It is especially useful in the wild so that you don’t really have to pay attention to a dangling camera not hitting branches or rocks.
It can be used for street photography as well, and if you are not exactly inconspicuous walking around in cities with a camera attached to your torso, once it is locked and the capture is properly attached, is virtually impossible to snatch the camera away from the clip. To make sure it is locked, just turn the switch towards the front (in the images below, the Capture Clip is locked on the left and unlocked on the right). To release the camera from the clip, just press the switch towards the left.
In terms of wearability, I never really feel the piece of aluminum pressed against my torso, unless I am only wearing a t-shirt and have quite a heavy trekking backpack, but even then, it never gets to the point where it becomes unpleasant.
Of course, this review is only based on my own experience with the Fujifilm X-T3, a relatively small and light camera, used with the Capture Clip and your experience might be different if you have a bigger DSLR with a heavy glass. My best recommendation would be to try it first if possible. Do you own the Capture Clip? What are your thoughts on it? Are there other camera accessories that you find particularly useful? Feel free to tell me in the comments!