That Rubber Thing on Your Canon Strap is for Preventing Light Leaks

Here’s a really neat quick tip about your standard, in-the-box Canon camera strap that you probably didn’t know about. That rubber thing attached to the strap? It’s actually serves a very specific purpose.

Photographer Bassam Sabbagh explained the point of the “rubber thingy” to the folks at DIY Photography. Apparently, it’s there to block your viewfinder when you’re taking extra-long exposures, so there are absolutely no light leaks coming in through the back of the camera. Check out the video above to see how it works.

We absolutely love simple little tips like this. Do you know of any others we should share?

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Update: Some readers called the light leak conclusion into question, so we dug into the Canon 80D manual. Here is what it has to say about the Eyepiece Cover (AKA: The Rubber Thingy):

When you take a picture without looking through the viewfinder, such as when you use the self-timer, bulb exposure, or a remote switch, stray light entering the viewfinder can cause the picture to look dark. To prevent this, use the eyepiece cover attached to the camera strap.