safarichuck1

Recently, while browsing Andy Biggs website/Blog, I checked out a reference to bean bags and their application for different styles of wildlife photography. I is an excellent review on an important topic, one that comes up often on this forum. So without wanting to plug anyone or any one product I'll post the reference here. By the way, I also use the Safari Sack by Kinesis and give it high marks.

http://www.chobesafari.com/photograp...or-safari.html

Hope some of you find this useful, if so thank Andy.

Chuck

sdb2

Chuck, thanks for posting this. I'm one of those who always recommends the use of bean bags and I appreciate seeing this comprehensive review.

BTW, did you buy your Safari Sack with or without fill?

Steve

safarichuck1

Hi Steve,

Actually I bought to Safari Sacks and the buckwheat fill for one and the polystyrene fill for the other. Actually I have never taken either the buckwheat or the styrene on safari. Instead, I found it easier to take the sacks empty and then fill them once I arrive with either red beans or rice. I'm a rice guy but many prefer beans. I just find that rice has the weight that I want (also, beans give you gas). When I go to Tanzania I just go to the market in Arusha and buy the fill from a local stall, kind of fun. In Botswana I fill the sacks at each camp and return before leaving and then refill at the next camp. Allthough I have a pretty nice clamp/ballhead/Wimberely set up for Botswana's open vehicles, I still like the freedom of being able to throw a beanbag over the grab bar for the quick shot. Occasionally I'll use two sacks (one on top of the other) to gain the best angle. Sometimes, if my driver/guide is also shooting, he will appropriate my second sack.
Regards-Chuck

sdb2

Thanks, Chuck, for the details. So, do I have this right?...when you get to a safari camp, you ask to 'borrow' some rice from their kitchen supplies? Is that something all/most of the Botswana camps are used to and will accommodate?

Steve

safarichuck1

Steve,
I have never ever found a camp that couldn't supply beans or rice. I like to kid around when I arrive and usually ask for brown rice and then act disappointed when they say they only have white rice. I do confess that my experience in Botswana has been entirely at Wilderness Camps (I've been to most of them now) but I'm certain any of the permanent tented camps have ample supplies. I leave the sacks in the vehicles overnight so that I don't have to carry them back and forth and so far no rice eating critters have attacked the sacks. In East Africa where you often have one driver/guide for the entire safari, I leave the fill with the guide (kind of an added tip). One additional caution, many people think that the camps or outfitters supply "bean bags". Well they often do but these are not the sort of bags I can use for serious long glass. These small bags are useful for only the point and shoots or small SLR's with short zoom lenses. Also, I no longer bring a tripod or even a monopod, just not enough room for the amount of use I give them. Instead, I stack the sacks on top of a log, railing or other fixed object and get adequate support. I'm not a landscape guy so my requirements are simple.
Regards-Chuck

sdb2

Thanks, Chuck. Speaking of critters eating bag contents, when I was at the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, I'd forgotten my bag for one ride (just me/driver) and the driver gave me a rice filled bag, which was leaking a bit. When we stopped one time I noticed a Speke's Weaver at my feet gobbling the kernels. He spent a lot of time all over the vehicle, hopping from the floor to the seats to the roof. He was a bold little fellow and it made for some very easy, close-up, albeit unnatural, photography.

Anyway, thanks again. Best, Steve

sundowner

Have you guys seen the Apex beanbag? It works as a traditional beanbag but it also has an an aluminum plate you can insert and use your ballhead or gimbal head. I've seen one in use and it's pretty sweet. http://www.essentialphotogear.com/pr...od=ApexBeanBag

I have no connection/interest in the product or the website. I really, really wish I had purchased one for my recent trip to Tanz and Kenya.

safarichuck1

Hi sundowner,
The Apex looks similar to the Molar and some other beanbags with the addition of a plate to add a gimbal mount. It might work O.K. on the side of a conventional automobile door when placed over an open window sill but I think it would be very difficult to use in any open safari vehicle like htose in Botswana. I can't see how it would work in a pop top like those used in East Africa either. I would like to see the camps putting a little bit more effort into their vehicles so that photographers would need to do less jury rigging to accomplish stabilization. It might be a good marketing gimmick and with the decline in tourisim, might be an attarctive incentive for camps trying to lure photographers? Someone should start a petition and send it to camp operators or their marketing companies. I use a superclamp (manfrotto) attached to a Really Right Stuff Ball Head and a Wimberley Sidekick. The rig works very well. I have also seen a picture of a rig Andy Biggs was trying out (Novaflex, I believe) that looked really sweet. I have also seen that many photographers fail to use really good long lens technique when shooting on safari. In other words, it is important to place the non camera hand over the far end of the lens barrel in order to prevent it from wobbling or moving up and down when the shutter is pressed. When executed carefully, one can shoot using a bean bag at really slow speeds. Sometimes that is really critical. O.K., we just booked a safari at the last minute so I had better start packing, only 6 weeks left.

Cheers-Chuck

cary999

On my recent safari in 13 days in camp I saw only two "serious" camera kits. (Still working on trip report). Maybe it's the type of guests those camps attract that are not that into photography? But anyway, I doubt that those camps would be keen on doing anything in the way of vehicle camera supports. Other camps???

A perhaps a more requested assistance for photographers would be battery chargers. Yeah, the camps would have to have about 8 different kinds. And they would have to be used only in the camp office (so as to not disappear). On last safari a lady had lost her Canon charger and neither the camp nor guide (who used Canon) could help her. I rescued her by rigging wire clips from my Nikon charger to her battery. Charged it three times for her.

And hey Chuck, safari in 6 weeks you say - where you and the charming Mrs. going??

regards - tom

scruffypuma

I also use the Safari Sacks and like them very much. At a tented camp in Tarangire, no rice or beans, so I was stuck with sand. I took a large, empty ZipLoc bag (always have a supply of those) and put it inside the safari sack, filled it, zipped it shut then closed the sack - worked well, no escaping sand to be found.

Tom: Anxiously waiting for photos...

safarichuck1

Hi Tom,

Glad to see you made it home. We were having Africa safari withdrawal (5 months since returning from Botswana). So we put together a nice trip to Botswana starting November 23rd. We will go to Chitabe, Selinda, Duma Tau, and Kwetsani. Two of these camps will be new to us but I expect to see some old friends who have moved there from other camps. Once, before the economy tanked, we would have been unable to book on such short notice.

How was your safari? I haven't seen you post recently so I assume you just returned. I admit though that I don't look in here at Fodors as much as I used to. Have you started to plan your next one yet?

Regards-Chuck

cary999

Hi Chuck- Your Bots safari sounds great. Perhaps Bots will be my next destination. I was told by both my last safari camps (King Camp and Kirkmans) that for South Africa the month of July is actually the best month to safari. No chance of stormy/cloudy weather like in Sep and not windy like in Aug. But can be very chilly July mornings. However, July 2010 is not a desirable travel time in SA for me (World Cup mid Jun - mid Jul).

I've been back two weeks and still wading through and working on photos. Even to just get a couple dozen ready for a trip report which I hope to finish in a couple of weeks. Watch for it, it will be worth it

regards - tom

safarichuck1

Tom,
I'll be watching, your reports and pics are always worth watching for. Hope your sleep cycle retruns more quickly then mine.
Regards-Chuck

safarichuck1

Tom, Re: South Africa, I had planned to return to Mala Mala but their private vehicle policy is just insane at $575/day. I guess they can get it so more power to them but I find that it's a bit of a stretch to charge so much. I guess they really don't want to provide private vehicles except perhaps to special groups. I thought Mala Mala had the best Leopards until Mombo Camp and Tubu Tree last May and June.
Chuck

cary999

Ohhh, Mombo and Tubu Tree beat MM for leopards???
Now that's interesting. On a day-per-day basis?? I.e., higher "density" of viewing?

regards - tom
ps - just got reminded why I have not been to nor going to Mombo - rates of $1,350 to $1,630pppn

cary999

Yeah, but-
So MM private vehicle is $575 per day. Still adds up two people and vehicle for a lot less $$$ than two people at Mombo. (Same as only one person at Mombo, stay MM twice as long ).

With your own vehicle at MM, pack a lunch and stay out all day. Can do at Mombo when sharing vehicle? At MM can stay out well after dark to follow lions hunting. Can do in Moremi after dark?

regards - tom

andybiggs

Hey guys & gals-

I have been trying out every single stabilization method on the planet for my southern African safaris. Some are kind of hilarious (notice the PVC pipe setup in the link below), some are great, some are e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e (Novoflex) and some are really really smart (4th Generation Designs Safari kit).

I have been working with 4th Generation Designs to help them design something, and I think it is about time for them to start selling what we have been working on. The solution involves bringing your own monopod, and they provide the rest. Look at some of the images in the link below. I apologize, as they are out of order, but you will be able to piece together what is going on.

I am headed out tomorrow for a workshop in Santa Fe that I am leading, and I will have sporadic access to the internet during the workshop. I would love to answer any questions about any of these solutions that I have either used or witnessed.

http://www.andybiggs.com/stabilization/

safarichuck1

Hi Andy,

Thanks for the great link. I wish I had that information before I set out to design my first rig for

Botswanahttp://www.andybiggs.com/stabilization/

Photo 22 is similar to my own rig but with a monopod in addition. Photo 23 shows Andy shooting with a Safari Sack much as I describe above and Photo 24 shows a small camp style beanbag being used more as a cushion than for stabilization. The Novoflex gear is elegant but I gather way to expensive? I like the 4th Generation design. Andy, can it be used with a Really Right Stuff BH55 and a Wimberely Sidekick instead of a Full Wimberely? I wouldn't be shooting at anything over 500mm. I can't tell you how many hours I spent researching out the information you provide in this link. This would have saved me days of of searching and I would have fewer odd parts in my phtographic closet

Tom, I hear you concerning the cost differences. Until our stay at Mombo I would not have thought the cost difference worthwhile but both the number and quality of the sightings were indeed extraordinary. We spent hours with Lagadema and days with her daughter Pula (Leopards of Joubert fame). We watched and shot Pula making a kill and it was at the exact golden hour of sunset to boot. Even the lions were fun (no flat cats). At Tubu Tree we had 11 different leopards (in 4 days). I hate comparing camps in South Africa to those in Botswana, they are just different and the game drives have a different flavor. In Botswana I never know what to expect while in SA I feel as though events unfold in a more predictable manner. Perhaps it is the earphones the guides use to communicate with each other and not being able to hear their excitment when they do make a sitghting? My own strong preference is to go only to those camps where I can secure a private vehicle. The camp cusine and accomodations take second place to game viewing keen guiding. If the economy stays in tank much longer, I would hope all of the camps take a close look at attracting the Africa Addicts and photographers and reducing the number of guests per vehicle. Without a private vehicle I think 4 (+ driver) is the maximum number of guests per safari vehicle. On the one or two occasions that we have taken friends along who were not photographers, they always managed to move at just the wrong moment as I pressed the shutter. Sometimes we take along the camp manager or manager trainee and they make great companions, it just depends. I like people but hate when they jump around and talk while at a sighting, getting crodgy I suppose.
Regards-Chuck

spassvogel

I have the Kinesis bean bags for presents incl. the inlay for water and sand.

These are extremely welcome presents.

I also use a monopod for gamedrives in topless/open vehicles. I put the cam on to the pod and keep it in between legs (of course covered with a Kikoi)while driving. Gets quickly adjusted to the height/up and down. Offers great steady photography. Very useful when not having a roof or window to lay the cam on to beanbag.

SV

cary999

Thanks Chuck for your experiences and insights on Bots camps.

"I like people but hate when they jump around and talk while at a sighting, getting crodgy I suppose." Count me in for that also. Especially when I'm trying to make video clip of the action. Sure I can cut out unrelated chatter but you need good related sound to replace it with. And a bouncing vehicle ruins it all. Just another challenge I suppose.

regards - tom