Peak Design has launched a new hand strap for mirrorless cameras called the Micro Clutch. The Kickstarter campaign was fully funded in less than an hour, and shipping will begin in July. Peak Design has sent me one of these new straps for review. Unfortunately, it did not arrive in time for launch day, but I expect it to arrive within the next week. As soon as I have it, I will prioritize a review so that my thoughts on this new Peak Design hand strap are available to people before the end of the Kickstarter campaign.
If you want to secure a 23% discount on the new Micro Clutch hand strap, the Kickstarter campaign will run until June 8th. With the discount, the Micro Clutch is selling for $50. While I would sometimes caution Kickstarter users, Peak Design has an exceptional record on the platform. They are not using it to generate production funding for the product. Rather, they are using it for its marketing value. Backing a Peak Design Kickstarter is about as sure a bet as you can ever hope to make on a crowdfunding platform.
Peak Design Clutch Vs. Micro Clutch
Peak Design has long offered the Clutch hand strap as part of its camera strap catalog. The original Clutch was designed in the DSLR days and doesn’t suit the smaller size of many mirrorless cameras today. That said, there is room for both options on the market. The Micro Clutch is not a replacement for the Clutch. I would still choose the Clutch hand strap over the Micro Clutch for larger mirrorless cameras like the Nikon Z8 and pro-sized mirrorless cameras like the Canon R3 and Nikon Z9.
Here are a few examples of how I would choose between the Peak Design Clutch and the Micro Clutch:
- Peak Design Clutch Hand Strap: All DSLRs, Nikon Z8, Nikon Z9, Canon R3 and all gripped smaller mirrorless cameras, like a Sony a7, a9 or a1 with a batter grip, Canon R5 or R6 with a grip or Nikon Z6 or Z7 with a grip.
- Peak Design Micro Clutch Hand Strap: Un-gripped small mirrorless camera like the Fuji XT or XH series, Fuji X100, Sony a7, a9, a1, Canon R5, R6, R7, R8, all Leica rangefinder cameras, Leica Q series mirrorless cameras, Nikon Z5, Z6, Z7.
Despite being a smaller hand strap, the Micro Clutch is the more expensive of the two options (Clutch – $45 vs. Micro Clutch – $65). The reason for this is the larger aluminum baseplate on the Micro Clutch.
Where to Buy
As always, using our links for your purchases is appreciated. The Micro Clutch and other Peak Design camera straps are available at the links below:
- Peak Design Micro Clutch – Peak Design / B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama / Moment / WEX (UK)
- Peak Design Leash – Peak Design / B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama / Moment / WEX (UK)
- Peak Design Slide – Peak Design / B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama / Moment / WEX (UK)
- Peak Design Slide Lite – Peak Design / B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama / Moment / WEX (UK)
- Peak Design Cuff – Peak Design / B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama / Moment / WEX (UK)
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I had a chance to use mine over the summer with a Fuji X-T3. I am a bit underwhelmed.
First, the need of a proprietary tool to have to unscrew the plate, combined with the fact that you have to unscrew the plate to change the battery are both huge design flaws that should have sent them all the way back to the drawing board. I realize that the whole point of the product is to attach the fingerstrap at a point along the bottom right corner of the camera as opposed to attaching it closer to the middle of the camera, as is done with most hand straps. This is what provides the leverage for your fingers to feel like they are glued to the camera. However, this is just not worth the trade-off of having your battery trapped under a plate that you cannot remove if you drop the tiny tool in the sand or somewhere.
This product could be better pulled off by a company like Smallrig that makes custom, full size plates for each camera. Having a custom sized plate that allows battery access plus an attachment point for a strap at the bottom right corner of the camera would achieve the same sort of thing, but be far more usable (and have a built-in arca plate.)
The second problem with this product is a lack of a 1/4″ 20 hole anywhere on the bottom to attach other plates or accessories. I wish I could attach my Spider Pro plate, as that is my preferred way of carrying my camera. Ultimately, I cannot reccomend.
Thanks for your input, Jeff. I have one of these in a box but haven’t had a chance to test it yet. When I do, I’ll consider your points closely. What you are saying makes total sense with the battery door. I can see how that would be annoying.