The Wheat Bag Tripod - Stable Camera Support

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http://www.australianlight.com.au/blog/post/the_wheat_bag_tripod/

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I was wandering around the city with a compact camera and no tripod, when I came across the old Regent Theatre and it's magnificently decorated interior walls and ceiling.

The theatre is dimly lit and flash is out of the question, so a long shutter speed was the only answer, but as I mentioned above, I had no tripod. (not that the management would have allowed me to use one anyway)

So I dropped into a number of chemist stores looking for a hot/cold pack that is normally used for treating injuries. At my 5th chemist I found just the one... "The Wheat Bag" at 180mm x 190mm.



This bag allows for easy and stable positioning of smaller cameras in either horizontal or vertical orientation on just about any surface. I have tested it with my compact cameras on coffee cups, chair arms, fence posts, car roof, coke cans etc., but to my surprise I have found that it easily supports a small DSLR also!

There is also a longer Wheat Bag available at 180mm x 380mm and I have used it to support my 1Ds2 (that's a big DSLR) with my 70-200/2.8 telephoto attached. The beauty of the longer Wheat Bag, is that it can be folded to provide different levels to support both camera body and lens.

Another great thing about bags like this, is that they get your camera closer to the ground than any other method and this can provide some interesting and unique viewpoints, that would otherwise be "overlooked". ;) ...pun intended.

Similar products have been around for cameras for quite some time, but when the word "photography" is attached, something strange happens to the pricing structure and we end up paying around $60 or more, while the Chemist purchased Wheat Bag comes in at a mere $15.95..... plus you can always use it as a heat/cold pack after a hard day of lugging the camera gear around.

If you are handy on the sewing machine, these would be pretty easy to make using a couple of handfuls of bean bag balls.... this would make for a lighter option also.

Cheers

Rusty

Tags: tripod tripods camera support platform