SANParks.org Forums

:

Hi Mutiman;

I bought one just last week; specifically for my upcoming trip

It's effectively a compact beanbag that screws onto the tripod mount of your long lens; which means when you're swinging the lens around from one side of the car to the other, the 'beanbag' stays with you; minimising the amount of time you need to set-up on the other side...

Only been able to give it a brief test so far, (planning to give it a workout at a 'safari-park' next week before we go); but I see no reason why it won't work in practice... (I'm still taking a beanbag just in case); but on the face of things; it looks good...

Cheers...

Tried it, and gave it away. It's nice for compacts, but for the lenses we use (300+ mm) it's way too small.
And it has an additional hindrance, it screws on, so if you need to turn the lens a bit to keep the horizon level it works against you. Especially if you decide to go for portrait photography.

:

For anyone who's interested; thought I'd just post-up my experience of testing out the Pod...

Test kit; 40D + 100-400 - mostly fully extended at 400mm... In-car in a safari park in the UK...

Net overall impression; pretty-good. Clearly has plusses & minuses like any other piece of kit. I've yet to find the perfect solution to all eventualities

Major plus over a beanbag;
- Fixed to the lens; so when you move the kit from one side of the car to the other; the Pod moves with you and you can settle the lens immediately without needing to re-seat a beanbag.

Major downside;
- Fixed to the lens; so when you want to hand-hold the lens, it's added weight that you need to take into account.

I didn't find the levelling or portrait use an issue. Levelling just needed a jiggle about - just as you would on a beanbag; while using in portrait mode just required slackening off the tripod collar. I did find though that keeping the Pod on the collar in portrait mode worked well when bracing against the car door jam... not something easily done with a beanbag.

In short - I will be taking both the Pod and a beanbag with me in just three weeks time - yippee!