Bipods

[JimmyCat]

Has anyone ever considered using a bipod instead of a tripod (or monopod)?

I use a monopod most of the time but there are times when I really would have liked to (and should) have used a tripod however the hassle of setting up my heavy old tripod has discouraged me from this.

On the weekend I saw, for the first time, a bipod in use. It was a Primos Trigger Stick and the lady using it was moving along the bank of a dam and was able to very quickly adapt to changes in the fairly rough terrain and continue shooting. The way she used it gave her much more stability than a monopod and whilst obviously not as stable as a tripod, it gave her much more flexibility.

It struck me as a reasonable compromise and a quick search shows them to be fairly reasonably priced.

Cheers

[Warbler]

Funny you should raise this. I was thinking just the other day that I need a bipod so that I can lay down and use my camera rather than having to sit and use a monopod.

[enseth]

I can just see me thinking I'm using a tripod and walking off leaving the whole box & dice to fall over.

[Mary Anne]

Interesting I had never heard of them before and Thanks for Sharing.
Actually it made me remembered I have a Monopod with three thin legs that unscrew and sit at the bottom of the tube, then go up into the tube when not needed.
Its in one of the wardrobe somewhere used once I bought it for shooting macro though prefer to do it hand-held, not sure if I would leave my gear on it and walk away either

[J.davis]

Try your tripod with one leg not extend, to see if you can work with it.

[JimmyCat]

Funny you should raise this. I was thinking just the other day that I need a bipod so that I can lay down and use my camera rather than having to sit and use a monopod.

Hi Warbler - not sure how low the Primos operates at but I think it drops to about 600mm which may not be enough.

I can just see me thinking I'm using a tripod and walking off leaving the whole box & dice to fall over.

That would it one bloody expensive rig but I think you would only do it once!

Interesting I had never heard of them before and Thanks for Sharing.
Actually it made me remembered I have a Monopod with three thin legs that unscrew and sit at the bottom of the tube, then go up into the tube when not needed.
Its in one of the wardrobe somewhere used once I bought it for shooting macro though prefer to do it hand-held, not sure if I would leave my gear on it and walk away either

I had a look at one of those type monopods MA but they still don't give you any sideways stability.

Try your tripod with one leg not extend, to see if you can work with it.

Good thought John but my tripod is an old Miller with a non-detachable fluid head originally used for video work and only the bottom part of the legs is extendable so not really feasible.

I have had a look at a few YouTubes on this unit and think I might give it a go.

Cheers.

[Warbler]

Hi Warbler - not sure how low the Primos operates at but I think it drops to about 600mm which may not be enough.

Yes, you're right. Still too high for me. Needs to be some home-made contraption I think that attaches to the tripod mount, maybe on the camera rather than the lens bayonet to make panning possible. A mini tripod is not sturdy enough for me. I considered just dragging a bean-bag along and lying on that, but I took a week to get the burrs out of it and I was then stuck in one spot.

[ricktas]

Yes, you're right. Still too high for me. Needs to be some home-made contraption I think that attaches to the tripod mount, maybe on the camera rather than the lens bayonet to make panning possible. A mini tripod is not sturdy enough for me. I considered just dragging a bean-bag along and lying on that, but I took a week to get the burrs out of it and I was then stuck in one spot.

I take a couple of garbage bags with me when I go taking funghi photos. So I can lie in the damp wet, leech filled environs with a bit of protection. Take some with you, and put them down, then your bean bag on top. I find the garbage bags can last a couple of trips before they get tears, degrade. And they are cheap so there is no issue with chucking it out and using a couple of new ones. I use the big bin ones, not the kitchen tidy ones. A couple of them gives you a good ground coverage.

[Cage]

Jimmy me lad, have a real good look at the Manfrotto 055CXPRO3.

http://www.manfrotto.com/shop-by/col...lap9juq3s0i8d3

The legs can be splayed so that your camera is almost on the ground, and if needed the centre column can be mounted at 90°.

Oh, and I happen to have one and can give it

[Tannin]

Interesting I had never heard of them before and Thanks for Sharing.
Actually it made me remembered I have a Monopod with three thin legs that unscrew and sit at the bottom of the tube, then go up into the tube when not needed.
Its in one of the wardrobe somewhere used once I bought it for shooting macro though prefer to do it hand-held, not sure if I would leave my gear on it and walk away either

I had one of them once. It was useless - not stable enough to leave standing with any gear worth putting on top of it, fiddly and awkward to use, and the damn thing rattled like crazy every time you walked around with it! I gave it to a friend. Only monopod I've ever owned, which is perhaps why I've never got the monopod habit.

A bipod is a really interesting idea!