The Cotton Carrier Camera Vest is the perfect camera carrying system for those who want their camera easily accessible, while keeping hands, hips, and back free for other things.

The Camera Vest is well supported via two shoulder straps which cross at the back of the vest and one strap crossing the lower part of the chest. Each strap is fitted with plastic snap buckles and is fully adjustable, meaning the Camera Vest fits different body types as well as fitting over different seasonal clothing, like a t-shirt in the summer or a thick, down-filled parka in the winter.

Combine the ergonomic design with the mesh material and you have a carrying system designed for all day comfort. With traditional neck straps there is significant camera movement, not to mention strain on the neck, and in the case of shoulder straps, it doesn’t take much for that out of sight camera to bump into something that could potentially cause damage. The Camera Vest keeps your baby, the camera, always in view, close and safe.

With a shoulder strap, like the Camdapter SlingStrap pictured here, the camera rests on your hip, but carrying a backpack is not feasible.

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With the Cotton Carrier Vest, the camera is attached securely to your chest, leaving your arms and back free for other things. With the camera on your chest, it’s much easier to ensure the safety of the camera.

With the Cotton Carrier, the camera attaches securely to the Camera Vest via a “Camera Hub” which is screwed into the tripod mount on the bottom of the camera. When attached to the vest, it remains in place with the lens pointed down. It only takes a 90 degree twist of the camera and an upward pull to release the camera from the vest and you’re ready to take pictures.

The all important Cotton Carrier Camera Hub which holds camera to vest. It attaches to the camera’s tripod mount.

I have used the Cotton Carrier Camera Vest to carry my camera during day long hiking treks through mountainous terrains and I can attest to its comfort. It’s not an exaggeration at all to say after some time, you forget the camera is even right there, hanging in front of you.

You might be thinking, why the need for a the camera vest when you can easily carry your camera in your back pack. Well it’s true you could choose this route, but when your camera is tucked safely away in a back pack, I can assure you that you will be passing up photo ops just to avoid the hassle of getting the camera out of the back pack. Fortunately, that’s not the case when wearing the Camera Vest, with the camera right in front, an extension of your body as it were and as it should be.

The Cotton Carrier Camera Vest system integrates well with a backpack, like the Search Results Lowepro Pro Trekker 400 AW pictured here. The camera is easily accessible and as an added bonus, having the camera in front helps distribute some of the weight to the front.

My back pack, when filled with my camera, lenses, tripod, water, and other camera accessories weighs 15.2 kg (33.5 lbs). It’s amazing what a difference it makes to have the 2 kg (4.5 lbs) of the camera and lens on the front rather than on the back, acting like a counterweight. More importantly, you don’t miss those fleeting photo ops that might have disappeared had it been required to remove the backpack and take the camera out instead of a simple 90 degree twist.

If you shoot handheld, read no further, the Cotton Carrier Camera Vest is a great camera carrying solution. It’s well supported, completely adjustable to fit different body types, and comfortable for long hiking treks.

You can purchase the Cotton Carrier Camera Vest at select retailers or directly from their website. They also have different configurations from a holster to multiple camera configurations. The Cotton Carrier Camera Vest currently retails for $149 (CAD & USD).

If you shoot with a tripod and have a quick release plate (which quickly connects camera to tripod), permanently attached to your camera, there is a problem with using the Cotton Carrier. The quick release plate attaches to the tripod socket on the bottom of the camera, just like the Cotton Carrier’s all important “Camera Hub”. You can’t use both at the same time. Yes, you can connect the Camera Hub to the quick release plate, but then the quick release plate looses its functionality. And removing the Camera Hub every time you want to connect camera to tripod is neither practical nor time efficient.

A quick release plate allows for quick mounting of camera to tripod. An L-Plate, like the one pictured here from Really Right Stuff, enables mounting of camera on a tripod in either landscape or portrait while keeping the camera’s load centred on the tripod’s apex. The two D-Loops are for quick connection to the Campdapter SlingStrap.

Luckily, the good people at Cotton Carrier came through with their very own quick release plate. They call it the Universal Adapter Plate.

The Cotton Carrier Universal Adapter Plate
1. A screw attaches the plate directly to the camera’s tripod mount on the bottom of the camera or an L-plate.
2. The all important Camera Hub which connects your camera to the vest or another Cotton Carrier product
3. The metal plate with a set of mounting dovetails
4. Rubber spacer which may be needed since the screw is a little long. It also has a cut out on one end to which a hand strap can be attached

The Cotton Carrier Universal Adapter plate mounts directly to your camera or to an existing L-plate and then the Camera Hub connects to this and you’re good to go.

Camera with Cotton Carrier Universal Adapter Plate and the Camera Hub, all ready to be connected to Camera Vest.

The Camera Hub remains in the center of the camera, meaning the dovetails on the plate portion are slightly off to one side. This isn’t really a problem, but does mean the camera load is not centered directly atop the tripod’s apex, meaning some vibration damping might be lost.

Using the Cotton Carrier Universal Adapter Plate with a tripod’s quick release plate means the camera’s load will be off centre.

As you can see in the picture above, when using my Really Right Stuff Quick Release Clamp, the quick release lever touches the base of the camera hub when locking the camera in place. Also, the universal adapter plate is not wide enough to cover the entire quick release clamp. Having said that, the camera was still secured tightly, and I never thought twice about taking a stroll during long exposures.

The Cotton Carrier Universal Adapter Plate is a great addition to a perfect camera carrying system.

You can purchase the Cotton Carrier Universal Adapter Plate at select retailers or directly from their website. The Cotton Carrier Universal Adapter Plate currently retails for $39 (CAD & USD).

Happy carrying and happy shooting!