Waterproof Camera Neck Strap - UPDATE

UPDATE #2 (August 6, 2008) This post is one of my most popular posts. It seems that lot's of people are researching neck straps I just wanted to update again and say that this set-up is still working great. I've been using it consistently for every surf, and so far there have been absolutely no problems. The neck strap (lanyard) is holding up extremely well, no wear at all that I can tell. This has been a good solution for the Olympus 770SW in the water.

UPDATE (November 23, 2007) The red lanyard began to fray where it meets the metal band. I replaced it with a metal lanyard I bought on Amazon for $5. I used it yesterday during a nice swell and it works perfect.

This post is in response to a question Dwight sent me in the comments section.

Dwight
I am using the Olympus 790 SW waterproof camera. I researched a couple straps. A floating strap is sold on the Olympus accessories website but is too bulky for me to be comfortable with. What works for me is somewhat risky but I think the risk is minimal.

The camera comes with a woven synthetic wrist strap that is attached to a small monofilament like loop that attaches to the camera. I didn't like that so I tried to work a metal ring into the same attachment area. That didn't work. So I ended up using the wrist strap that comes with the camera as per Olympus design. I then used a neck strap lanyard (off a monocular I don't use too often) which has a metal clip to attach the neck strap to the Olympus wrist strap. This I wear around my neck.

Since I always wear some sort of top, be it a wetsuit or even a variable thickness rashguard, I am able to tuck the camera into my top when it is not in use. This keeps the camera protected from various impacts like swinging around and getting bashed by my body or my paddle. It also keeps it somewhat dry and out of the water. When I need it in a hurry it's a bit of a hassle to pull it out of my shirt or wetsuit, and I do miss some shots, but overall it is quite workable.

My sense is that it would take a lot when the camera is tucked into my wetsuit or rashguard to remove it and the neck strap from my body and therefore lose the camera. Usually when I have the camera in hand I am off to the side and do not get violently impacted by the wave. If I am going to get hit by rough whitewash then my priorities are value based as follows: $1700 SUP leashed to my leg; $450 camera straped to my neck and hung on to with a death grip; $300 paddle tossed off to the side...it floats quite nicely.

Thanks for the inquiry re this issue. I will take some pics of the set-up and do a blog post so you can see what I'm trying to describe.