bean bags?
 

Where's the best place to purchase a bean bag?
I know how great they are for shooting- but would like to get a cool looking/cheap one. In the U.K they have such
a variety of patterns/styles
but all I find here are the pods or ones that are way too much money for something so basic. Don't want to have my Mom make one. [leaving end of July]- THANKS

In a pinch, use a zip lock bag filled with beans, rice or sand. Grab a small gym towel to wrap it and you should be set.

Failing which, check out a local kids shop and you could get it right. I don't know, but seems to me that doll stores mights have miniture pillow cases....

I used to use a old bank bag, to cover a plastic filled bean bag.

We have stable T-mounts for our long lenses (500 mm), which hold normal tripod heads, but for a bean bag for short lenses we just take a small knapsack (like a kid would use for books) and buy a 5 kilo bag of rice in Arusha to place inside it, and that works fine. At the end of the trip we offer the bags of rice to the driver.

Bill

Good to see somebody trying to minimise reliance on the human body for camera support.

Cheapest and very effective (but not exactly cool-looking) is an old fleecy top or jacket which is no longer a prized part of your wardrobe.

But try http://kgear.com/ They have a good range of beanbags and tripod ballast bags (even tripods need help sometimes), both cheap and expensive...in very hard-wearing material and very well-designed. Yes, believe it or not, bags can be badly designed. I have their R420X model of SafariSack (whose price has doubled since I bought mine), but they do have cheaper ones. Of course, a good safari operator with photographers in mind has beanbags available in their vehicles.

If it's for your safari....don't bother buying and carrying one as most safari vehicles carry one. Email your operator/travel agent/camp to chk these details.

Hari

And if your safari camp does not provide one, take a pillow case from the bed and fill it with sand. They will get the message. :-)
regards - tom

Even if that's a joke, it's a stupid suggestion. Firstly, misuse of somebody else's property is not the way to go; secondly, a pillow-case filled with sand would be a poor camera support for reasons I won't bother to explain.

I'm always forthright in what I say, so I do appear to be critical of safari operators who don't provide beanbags (or other things which I consider important). But that doesn't mean I show them a total lack of respect with some gutless gesture which is meant to convey a 'message'. You politely and firmly ask the camp manager to correct the deficiency. If they don't have proper beanbags, you'll find some folded tough material like a blanket will do a pretty good job.

It's a stupid suggestion because it is a joke.
regards - tom

Good. Now we know for sure. I'm glad you acknowledge it's a stupid suggestion...I wonder why you bothered to even make it. Jokes don't go well on internet forums because smileys are often mis-used and therefore greatly over-rated. As a journalist, I was constantly amazed by people who ended up in court pleading "I didn't mean it, it was a joke."

Well, I don't know, you're making me reconsider. So on second thought, it's really not such a bad idea. The main problem would be carrying the pillow case filled with sand to the game drive vehicle. It would probably weigh 80 lbs or more. Depending on how large the pillow case is and if the sand, or dirt, were wet. (As your a journalist, please notice my proper use of the word "were" and not "was", as in "were wet"). And, it would be large enough that two or more persons could share it. It would, however, be a real handful should we want to pass it back and forth between rows of seats. It might also be handy to sit on during sundowner drinks. But wait, I know, we won't use just one pillow case, we will use TWO pillow cases and fill each only half full. This will make them much easier to carry to the vehicle not to mention passing them between rows.
What do you think?
regards - tom
ps - if I have misspelled any words it is because I am not a journallist but an electrical engineer. Engineres can't spell. Oh, also, no smileys here because I don't want to misuse them.

People were talking about a bean bag! Let's not get all crazy on each other. I am going to find out if my camps have them already.-Thanks for the info & entertainment.

guys guys guys guys guys. Jokes are always embraced on the internet. Especially here! Seriously, I recommend the Kinesis Safari Sacks. They are currently the best bean bag solution out on the market. I use them on all of my safaris, and I provide them for all of my travelers. I have never had any negative feedback from them, unlike other bean bags I have used in the past.

Amen
tom

Hi guys,

I am glad I stumbled upon this thread on bean bags because I was just considering options since I am headed for Kenya on the 12th July. I am just an amatuer and will appreciate any advice on the ideal size/dimensions for a bean bag. Was thinking I could get one stitched and carry it with me and then buy some beans or rice and fill it up when I get to Kenya.

I can't enorse the Kinesis Safari Sack strongly enough. One can always jury rig some apparatus for the odd shot or two but when on safari, for seveveral days or weeks, you need a good camera support. In Tanzania and Kenya, the vehicles are nearly all closed and you shoot from the open top or window. The Safari Sack is made so that you can modify its shape and use it from the windo or window ledge. It has straps in just the right places and it is rugged. I place camera support right up there with camera backs and lenses. It's nice to have stabilized lenses and cameras but even with these I use a bean bag. Need proof, look at Andy's website. You can take the Safari Sack empty and ask your guide or the first camp to supply you with about 7 lbs of rice or beans. I know people on this forum have claimed their tour operators supplied bean bags, don't count on it. They are not expensive to buy from Kinesis. We looked into making our own and saw that it would cost nearly as much as these very well designed bags. By the way, I don't work for Kinesis. Boy this was a funny thread. :).
Cheers, CJ

I used my inflatable neck pillow (3/4 filled) to stabilized my digital SLR w/zoom lens and it worked great. It also came in handy on the plane and for naps in the car on the long drive between game parks...

liveforholiday!!!

WTG!!!
What a great idea! Thanks. Have been agonizing over whether to make my own bean bag, buy one, fill it at home, buy the beans/rice there etc...

I will do just what you did! Solves all of my problems.

Thank you!!!

Hi - How do you fill the neck pillow? The neck pillows I have (several) all have such a small "blow hole/spout.

Hi - can anyone tell me where I can buy a kinesis safari sack in the UK please?

dmjapril,

Sorry I can't help you with UK distributors...I'm in Oz, and had to order mine from the US, and you may be in the same situation. You can email Kinesis to ask.

I'm pleased there are other strong endorsements for the Safari Sack. It's an excellent product...what I like about it most is the very hard-wearing, smooth fabric. Selinda Reserve's beanbags are made of similar material, ideal for heavy lenses.

Very funny, tom. I do appreciate your sense of humour, truly. Mine is similar. Where I was coming from is that camp managers (who also have wonderful senses of humour, it's obligatory when they have to deal with people like us) do not appreciate bad jokes about their amenities and their way of doing things. Unfortunately, jokes on the internet don't stay on the internet. Managers tell some wonderful horror stories around the fire late at night. None yet about pillow cases, but it'll happen one day. Still, my reaction was probably a bit strong. No hard feelings, mate.