Today, we're changing a small detail of the Luma Loop to address our number one question: "What size Loop should I get?". When we launched, we offered three sizes so that we can provide an adjustable loop without a loose dangly bit of webbing on the back. Keeping things nice and clean looking is a big part of our design philosophy. In the last few weeks, however, we have designed and implemented a small modification to the Loop that allows us to provide the full range of adjustability provided by our previous three sizes in a single universal size.

This means no more guessing about what size to get. And no more need to exchange sizes if you guessed wrong. It's a win/win all around. Best of all, we sorted out how to do it in a way that doesn't impact the way the Loop works at all, nor it's appearance when you are wearing it.

All pending orders placed on or after Friday, January 15th will be upgraded automatically to this latest universal size Loop. That's the way we roll.

One of the things that's been awesome about launching the Luma Loop is watching other people put it to good use. Here's a photograph that we just got from Brandon who took his loop to SE Asia, including Vietnam and Cambodia. Looks like he had a great trip!

During the design of the Luma Loop, we evaluated every connection method we could dream up. We created prototypes using carabiners, quick disconnect fittings, and even aircraft cable. We found that the side release buckle--ubiquitous on all sorts of straps, harnesses, and backpacks--offered something that nothing else did: effortless attachment and release of the camera from the Loop. It was so amazingly smooth that we set aside the other options on the table and spent months evaluating all sorts of buckles before we found the one that we wanted to use. The Duraflex Rock Lockster®.

But would a plastic--ahem, engineered plastic--buckle really be up to the task? Can it hold the weight we need it to? The only way to find out is to test.

How do you test the strength of a buckle on a Luma Loop? One scenario is that you drop your camera from shoulder height to hip height. Another is that you've got the camera at your hip, but jump off a tall curb. In all the use cases we could come up with, there's are several of variables that are really hard to control for, most especially the malleability of the human wearing the Loop. After all, if you drop a camera on the Loop, there will be significant force transfer into your shoulder. Let me tell you, after attaching 10 pound weights to a Loop and repeatedly trying all the borderline-stupid scenarios that we could think of, there were a lot of sore shoulders at Luma Labs HQ. And no broken lanyards.

A better way to do it--one that's less harmful to the body--is to do what engineers around the world do: Measure the ultimate strength of a part and ensure that the number exceeds a factor of safety for the expected static load. Building structures are typically designed with a factor of safety of 3 to 5. Suspension rods in bridges use a factor of 5 or 6. Parts subjected to repeated shock loading should have a factor of safety of not less than 10. (Reference: Engineering and Applications Factor of Safety Review) Climbing gear is typically designed for a factor of safety of 20.

In the case of the Rock Lockster-based Lanyard, we're seeing a factor of safety of greater than 50 for a 5 pound Nikon D3s paired up with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. For a lightweight 1.6 pound Canon Digital Rebel XSi with the kit lens, the factor of safety is over 150.

Of course, all of these numbers assume a buckle that's in good condition and well engaged. It's easy to tell that your buckle is working right. It makes a nice satisfying click when you engage it. If, for some reason your buckle isn't working right--say you slam a car door on it or it's been abused by baggage handlers at the airport--don't use it. Get in touch with us immediately and we'll get you fixed up and going again.

One of the big things that people been asking for the last few days is a video showing the Luma Loop in action. We're pleased that after spending two days scripting and shooting and then spending a bunch of time in Final Cut Pro, we now have an Introduction video.

This is just the first video of many. We'll do some with more polish and some behind the scenes. But, for this first one, we wanted to focus in on exactly what was being asked for. What is the Luma Loop? How does it work? How does it attach? And, how does it look on a 30-something year old photographer? Well, you didn't ask that last question, but we answered it anyway.

When we opened up this site a few days ago, it was our plan to start off slow and build momentum. As we built, we were planning to use the proceeds of each batch of LumaLoop sales to fund the continued development of our website, including videos showing the product in use. After all, when you're starting something from scratch, you don't know what kind of reception you'll get and managing cash flow is paramount. Given that we didn't know what kind of reception the LumaLoop would get, it seemed a good plan.

That was all pushed aside in the span of a few hours yesterday after a mention on Daring Fireball. We couldn't have asked for a better review from John Gruber, and we're totally thrilled that so many people came so quickly and ordered their own LumaLoops. While it's still too early to tell what our long term run rate will be, the reception that people have given us as a result of being fireballed has shown us that we're onto something great here. We're blown away.

On the other hand, it hasn't all been roses by any means. It's was pointed out on our previous blog post that some serious upgrades to our marketing collateral, most especially a video showing how to use the LumaLoop. are in order. We totally agree and we've definitely shifted gears and are speeding a first cut video through production right now. We've also received feedback on what some people need to see if the LumaLoop is right for them. We'll be making those changes ASAP.

On that note, it looks like the latest clips have been imported into Final Cut Pro. I should wrap up this quick update and get back to it. Thank you so much for your feedback and support.

The journey of the last year designing, building, and then starting to manufacture the LumaLoop has been a very interesting one. After evaluating design approaches, materials, more materials, and how to assemble everything in such a way to guarantee quality and reliability, we're ready.

In our run up to this point, we've sold and shipped several dozen LumaLoops to a select group of friends and acquaintances. The reaction has been stunning. Everyone has loved what they've seen and are ready to tell all of their friends to get their own LumaLoop. Therefore, its with confidence that we take the wraps off this website and let the general public get their own LumaLoop.

Though it's been a ride to get to this point and we could be tempted to take a bit of a break, we're not resting on our laurels. Greg already has a few more product ideas baking in the labs, some of which will probably show up here in very short order after they get all the way through the development and manufacturing process.

Thank you for being one of the first to take a look at what we're doing!