The rollbar mount consists of:
Bogen / Manfrotto BO635 Quick Action Super Clamp
Bogen / Manfrotto BO2934 2934 3/8" Head Mounting Plate with Lock Screw
Arca-Swiss B1 ballhead
Wimberley SideKick
RRS foot plate for Canon 500mm/f4 lens
I used my 500mm lens about 80%+ of the time (much to my surprise). Using a long lens enabled us to back away from animals and let behavior happen, to get in close to birds (also had my TC's with me), and to do some landscapes that wouldn't have been possible with a shorter lens. I hope the airline carry-on policies loosen back up again, because when I go back, I don't want to be without my longest lens!
Susan
p.1 #3 · Africa: clamp for 500mm lens on rollbar in open vehicle
Sharona wrote:
Weeellll.... that would explain why my shots with the 20D and 100-400 hand held weren't "quite" as fabulous as yours!
That is an enviable set up. Thanks for sharing!
I am enjoying all of your Bots shots - absolutely incredible.
Sharon
Thanks, Sharon! I should say that the parts of this setup "below" the ballhead (the "above" parts of which I had anyway) cost less than $60 - and functioned much better than a monopod. The primary variable in this setup is: how many people will there be in your vehicle? The vehicle is your tripod in this setup, so people need to stay still while you take your shots. If you're in a vehicle with 5 strangers who just want to see the rhino after they've gotten bored with the sleeping lion, the situation is not great. But, if you're with like-minded souls who are willing to stay with a pair of secretary birds for 2 hours when the light is fabulous ---- well then, you can go to town!!!
Susan
p.1 #5 · Africa: clamp for 500mm lens on rollbar in open vehicle
Cool idea Susan. I brought a similar setup on our last trip to Botswana, but found that I was always trying to crawl around the rollbar, and was limited to shots only within the 180 degrees or so in front of the vehicle. I also had a hard time mounting and unmounting the lens from the Wimberley as we started up to move or chase to another viewing location.
I ended up handholding nearly everything with surprisingly good results. The 500 is indeed a heavy lens, but by propping your knees up and resting your elbows on them, allowing for quite low shutter speeds with still sharp images! The best bet for storing the lens when the vehicle was moving was to hang a Kinesis L511 case from the same rollbar and load the setup "gun holster" style right in the top with the hood in the shooting position. This way I could grab the lens quickly to get shots that required quick draw!
p.1 #10 · Africa: clamp for 500mm lens on rollbar in open vehicle
Dean Colprit wrote:
Are the airlines not allowing you to carry-on your 500mm? I use a Lowepro Road Runner Mini as a carry-on with my 500mm. Would this be a problem now?
Dean
Hi Dean,
US airlines should be fine. Flights from England, though, may be a problem - last I heard, they weren't allowing anything more than a small carryone...
Susan
p.1 #11 · Africa: clamp for 500mm lens on rollbar in open vehicle
Gravitytoy wrote:
Cool idea Susan. I brought a similar setup on our last trip to Botswana, but found that I was always trying to crawl around the rollbar, and was limited to shots only within the 180 degrees or so in front of the vehicle. I also had a hard time mounting and unmounting the lens from the Wimberley as we started up to move or chase to another viewing location.
I ended up handholding nearly everything with surprisingly good results. The 500 is indeed a heavy lens, but by propping your knees up and resting your elbows on them, allowing for quite low shutter speeds with still sharp images! The best bet for storing the lens when the vehicle was moving was to hang a Kinesis L511 case from the same rollbar and load the setup "gun holster" style right in the top with the hood in the shooting position. This way I could grab the lens quickly to get shots that required quick draw!
I enjoyed your shots... thanks for sharing!
-Rich...Show more →
Hi Rich,
Our guide was VERY cooperative in repositioning the vehicle for me - glad you can handhold your 500! I actually did use the strategy your describe for shots where I couldn't get in the right position from the rollbar, but felt these were shakey. Thanks for the suggestions!!
Susan
p.1 #13 · Africa: clamp for 500mm lens on rollbar in open vehicle
cbresciani wrote:
Wow nice setup! Reminds me of the old Rat Patrol series, except they had a different type of canon mounted on their Jeep.
Hmm... I don't know why that thought popped into my head...
p.1 #14 · Africa: clamp for 500mm lens on rollbar in open vehicle
papageno wrote:
Viewers might want to look at the ToddPod made by Todd Gustafson. It doesn't attach so is a bit more flexible.Try gustafsonphotosafari.com
