Car Door Support for cameras

[tjphxaz]

A six inch piece of one of these swimming noodles slit lengthwise and slipped over the edge of the car window. Cost < $1 and weighs next to nothing in luggage. Can be bought at any Walmart or similar store.

View attachment 111814

I use two pieces both about 12 inches long. One over the window glass and one in the passenger seat to separate the two camera bodies/lenses that I have in the seat when traveling the backroads to keep them from banging/vibrating against each other.

 

[RussellT]

I re-watched Steve’s video on this. What is it about Safari trucks that makes bean bags effective for him to use, but not so much the foam piece that he uses locally in his car at home?

There’s something I don’t know about these Safari trucks.

Noodle work if you self drive or similar as it fits over the partially open window glass. Safari vehicle has no windows

 

[RussellT]

Noodle work if you self drive or similar as it fits over the partially open window glass. Safari vehicle has no windows

Another comment, if you self drive and buy a rig that either attached to the window or vehicle, is not so easy to roll up the window of you need to. Not an issue on a safari vehicle

 

[viper699]

Very rough roads! Plus, you might want the window all the way down to get as low as possible as the safari vehicles typically sit fairly high.

But Steve is shooting stationary he’s not in transit.

Also some people say there are windows and some say no windows so seems there are different designs for vehicles.

I would have thought Safari vehicles all have windows that go completely up/down, not some built without windows.

 

[JacobGM]

For beanbag fill, recently I’ve started buying one of those airplane “wraparound“ neck pillows, and cutting it open to get to the fill material. Works great in a beanbag, cushions well and weighs next to nothing.

What a great idea! Totally trying this! Styrofoam beads are unconscionably overpriced.

 

[Garfield]

Yup, Eckla Eagle knock-off. I find the EA is a good compromise for me (I shoot video)...

 

[Garfield]

How about one of these...

Door Mount MKII | Gimpro

The GimPro MKII Door Mount is the NEW upgrade to the original swivel head clamp-on door bracket. Now with a much lighter and sleeker design. Ultimate versatility where you need it most. The first and only door mount to give you so much freedom of movement and stability while totally securing...

gimprogear.com

I actually own one but have yet to use it.

 

[macwalter]

When on safari in Africa we always were in open vehicles with no windows. Also sometimes no roof which I prefer to go for the unexpected flyby. I would never agree to go in a vehicle with any kind on windows. However the main problem aside from the rough rides as we would often go off road was the dust. So having something to cover your gear is essential.

 

[Len Cohen]

That looks good, but most people just use one of the various beanbag options. They generally run $29-69.

Dont waste money. Nothing comes close to a beanbag. The only issue with a beanbag is that it obviously has to be at the right height...suggest winding the window up or down!

 

[jfbacks]

I've used pipe insulation and pool noodles with noodles being the better of the two for better cushioning. I've switched to a bean bag and haven't looked back, for the simple reason you can balance your camera/lens combo well enough that you can let go for short periods without having to remove them. All the mechanical connection devices look like Rube Goldberg contraptions that severely limit your range of motion. They might be much better for video but I wouldn't use them for photography.

 

[Roy]

A cut in a pool Noodle fits over the glass windows giving great support...

 

[gKhan]

I ran something like that from Kirk many years ago. It can definitely work and does allow you to mount a tripod head like a gimbal on it but to me it wasn’t worth the effort to set up, tear down, store while not in use and it was one more bulky thing I didn’t want to travel with.

As Eric posted a lot of folks use a bean bag but I’ve gone to Steve’s simple solution of just carrying a short piece of foam pipe insulation to pad the top of the open window as discussed in this thread: https://bcgforums.com/threads/my-in-car-window-support-strategy.1054/

That's all I ever use and it works great.