'Official' Nikon Hand Strap II Review

I was in the market for a hand-strap. Nikon offers a AH-4 hand-strap for their cameras, but that accessory is over $70 USD. Not something you buy without knowing if it 'suits' you. Sure, I could get the official AH-4, and find out after a couple of days that it's not my cup of tea. Chances are slim that the store will get it back with a full refund, since it's used.

So I started to look around for a cheaper option, and I found one (well, several) on eBay. This Nikon Hand-Strap II is supposed to be official in/from Korea, but even the Korean Nikon website only shows the original AH-4. So it's a (cheap) knock-off, but that didn't keep me from getting one.

Nikon Hand Strap III got the imitation at around $15USD (incl. shipping etc.), andit was delivered in an envelope with bubble-foil without a box or anything else. The manual was in Korean (or something), but had all the Nikon logos to make it more genuine (which shows that logos don't mean anything).

I removed the supplied Arca-Style lens-plate, since I have an L-plate which luckily can be used with a hand-strap. After I got everything in place I noticed that the strap for securing the contraption around the wrist loosened easily (no friction). It turned out that they (the manufacturer) didn't attach the plastic buckle correctly.
After removing the buckle (which needed a little scissor action), and attaching it correctly the wristband stayed put.

Initial experiences with the strap are positive. Will use it in a couple of shoots, and when it really works for me, I'll be getting the real deal. If I do, I'll post a comparison between the two (knock-off versus the real-thing).

Comments

[Daniel]

This is an original Nikon item, of course. It's not third-party, it's not copied, well it is just as original as for example an D300 can be. And it's awesome! So please stop saying it's not original you f#ck!ng retard.

---EDITED BY SITE ADMIN FOR OBVIOUS REASONS---

[Willem]

Hi Daniel,

thank you for your kind words. I may be wrong, but if this strap is indeed the genuine product;
- why is it five-to-ten-times cheaper than the original AH-4 hand strap?
- why can't I get it, or find it in any official Nikon store?
- why is there no mention of this hand strap on the official Nikon website?
- why is it only sold through small online (ebay) resellers operating from South-East Asia?

So in MY opinion (which is something we're allowed to have over here), this Nikon Strap II is a FAKE.

[der Wandersmann]

Your argument is convincing. Please give a URL where I can get one of these fakes. If you don't want to say it in public, you have my email.
Thanks,
dW

[Willem]

On ebay, just search for "Nikon Hand Strap II". I got this type.

[der Wandersmann]

Excellent!
Danke shön!