Newbie question, but I'm looking at picking up a beanbag for the car and for when I do a bit of belly crawling. Do any of you have a favorite brand / model or are they mostly pretty much a commodity item?
Newbie question, but I'm looking at picking up a beanbag for the car and for when I do a bit of belly crawling. Do any of you have a favorite brand / model or are they mostly pretty much a commodity item?
Paul - I don't think you want the same piece of support gear for your car as you do for belly-crawling. I use one of Artie's "BLUBB"s (no comment on the name...) for the car - it is a great piece of gear for the car window, but once you have put 15lbs of beans in it, it's not something you want to try and slide in front of you when you are belly-crawling. For "true" belly crawling, you want a skimmer / ground pod that will easily move over the ground with you. There are lots of different types available commercially (I'll let those shorebird shooters that get a lot more use out of them than I do comment on specific models), but if you're on a budget, I've seen some made from things like frisbees and cheap frying pans with an old tripod head that seemed to work perfectly well.
I use this beanbag. Works great and didn't break the bank .....
http://naturephotography.fredhurteau...agballhead.htm
I am one of those that use a frying pan for a ground pod. Works great.
As far as looking silly goes, that's why you wear camo, preferably a full Gillie Suit :p
Ulli
Isn't a frying pan noisy if you bump it against a stone or something? And do you drill it and put in a screw for your tripod head? And frying pan or wok (wok being lighter and with higher sides)? And handle off or on?
I'm not a regular bird photographer so I never heard of this. It sounded like a joke, but when I thought about it, maybe not!
Paul - not a joke!
I don't think you would want something as deep as a wok - all you need is something that slides along, provides a solid base for your tripod head and can "buoy" your set-up out of the dirt, sand and muck. When you look at a Skimmer pod, you are paying ~$100 for about $0.73 worth of injected molded plastic and a bolt - it's not surprising the frying pan is popular!
Here's a few blog posts from some of the very talented BPN regulars on just that subject:
Sid Garige - http://www.photomigrations.com/articles/0701300.htm
Glenn Bartley - http://www.glennbartley.com/natureph.../thepanpod.htm
I don't know this photographer, but a quick google search linked me to his "how to" blog - http://cameraguyzack.blogspot.com/20...pod-ideas.html
Thanks Jeff... Sid has it one way and Glenn the other! Looks like fun to try as a Skimmer pod would cost me a bundle in postage too. I bet mine ends up looking like that of Cameraguy Zack rather than Sid's elegant device, though.
To Paul.. the original poster - sorry for getting a bit off topic. I think people definitely have a favorite bag! One solution to the beanbag issue raised of "what's big enough for good for stability in or on a vehicle is way too big for lugging around and using on the ground" is a bag with two separate compartments, each with a liner that can be quickly removed to give you a half-size bag (leave the filled liner in the car where you can pop it back in when you return from your crawling). That's what I have, but won't be for everyone. Those who want to use a gimbal head and don't mind the extra height and weight may like the option of a tripod head screw. Definitely not a commodity item nowadays and worth shopping around a bit to find the one that will suit your needs best rather than just buying what someone else uses. There are so many available in the US now - you have great choice.
Try the Puffin Pad light weight and fits in your suitcase for traveling. It is available from Hunts, B&H, Adorama, Amazon etc
I fill my bean bag up with rodent litter instead of beans and it is MUCH lighter. It works in the field as well as on the car window.
With all due respect a rolled up sweatshirt is better than a Puffin Pad as the thing does not fit snugly on the window so it moves as you point the lens up and down... A total waste as far as I am concerned.
My fave is the BLUBB of course. I designed it myself. I am down to using about 12 pounds of beans :)
We also carry the Skimmer II and the Panning Ground Pod. I use them both.
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
I prefer bean bags with a flat top, as those with a V inhibit left/right motion and move the focus ring when panning. Flat top bags used with dual Wimberley Module 1..M-1 Quick-Release Arm in opposing direction attached to the lens foot plate allow easy rotation and stability atop the flat surface. Moreover, some bags incorporate a removable flat plate and a removable tripod screw so that you can attach a ball head or gimbal head atop the bean bag.
Apex beanbag ... http://www.essentialphotogear.com/pr...od=ApexBeanBag
Chas
If you want something smaller, there is the
The Kinesis SafariSack
http://www.rue.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=7
I use the Kinesis Safarisack that Roger has mentioned. Its small but good enough for me as I shoot with 400f5.6L lens. When flat, it gives excellent water/ground level shooting angle. One can pull the two straps to make it U-shaped and raise the lens. I like that a lot as it is very good for controlling the shooting angle. As you know, a few inches make a big difference in the background.
I made a bean bag by sewing two pieces of heavy green fabric together and stuffing it with rice. It's low, light, cheap and does the trick.