nanciej

Hi there
I have safari'd in 5 countries, always handholding and always in open-sided trucks. (No pop-up roofs) I have always just tried to steady myself leaning on my knees, roll bar, or stuffing my hat and using it as a support. Am thinking of trying a monpod or proper bean bag on my upcoming Kenya trip-also open sided vehicles. My naive question about the beanbags-we arrive late at night and leave in the am for the bush. I keep reading to get rice or beans etc when we get there, but not sure how to do that if we have a quick turnaround. Do you get them at the lodges? Do you pack them in your checked luggage? Goofy question, I know. Also-open sided trucks don't seem to have many places to put a beanbag-where are you all positioning yourselves in the truck for best bet? Is this bag recommended?
http://www.vertexphoto.com/BeanBagTV.aspx Other suggestions?

And does a monopod help or is it a pain in the butt?
Can't wait to try out my new Canon 7D! (and maybe a new 300L lens? ;-))

thanks
Nancie

fourwheelinit

We went to Uganda and Tanzania in November. My travel partner had a Canon and needed to have a beanbag. We did, however have land cruisers where the top came off/up.
In Uganda we stopped at a small store on the way and just used the plastic bags with the rice that they bought.
In Tanzania, our guide got us one of those blowup airplane pillows and had it filled with rice at the lodge.
Unless you know you are going to use the beanbag repeatedly, (I've never had one but) being cheap, there are other things you can do. I had even taken a plastic ziploc but with my camera, I never needed it. (Not a dSLR).
My friend also took a monopod and only used it at one of our lodges where we had a tent that overlooked a gorge where we could watch animals. If you asked her based just on the use she got out of it, I think she would say that it wasn't worth hauling all the way to Africa.

fourwheelinit

PS. Definitely get the lens!!

christabir

Maybe a consideration-

http://www.jr.com/joby/pe/JBY_SLRGOR/

My nephew loves his.

nanciej

ya-I hear a monopod is more of a hinderence than help sometimes!
I have looked at the gorilla-trying to imagine what I could secure it to. They seem pretty rugged!

Thanks
nj

sdb2

Nanciej, don't know if you're in the US, but if you are this may be an easy and reasonably cheap solution for you. I am a big fan of the bean bag, which does help keep long lenses steady, which is especially useful when shooting during low-light situations. I found that the Carex Bed Buddy Hot/Cold Pack is the perfect consistency. It costs about $10 from places like Bed Bath & Beyond or drug stores (e.g., Walgreens). You can cut it down on one end and stitch it back up to get the right shape. It weighs about 1.5 lbs and I just pack it away in my check-in luggage. Most important, it works well. Steve

christabir

Many of the safari vehicles we've been on have bean bags and they usually have them at the "front desk". The gorillapod could hang on the roll bar, twist into shapes to form a tripod on any surface (hang one leg on the roll bar and curve the other two onto the seat in front....) But do you want to drag it all the way to Africa? I might just choose rice in a baggie as fw suggests.

nanciej

I know the trucks "often" have a beanbag, but not always more than one And I prefer to have my own.
I'm in Canada but will take a look for the Carex bag-good idea.

Thanks
nj

PacoAhedo

Hi Nancie,

this is and excellent post by Safarichuck with links to Andy Biggs website that contains lots of great information about beanbags and other camera supports for safaris.

http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...aphic-gear.cfm

Paco.