Bean bag fill

Are there any recommendations for camera support bean bag fill? How do you guard against mold if natural beans or rice is used?

How do you guard against mold

well, don't let it get wet, or if you do , open, spread, and dry.

 

It's not a bad idea to have a zipper to be able to empty/substitute/etc. in any case. Given customs/security dearches these days, perhaps a necessity.:rolleyes:

 

any recommendations for camera support bean bag

some of the fine (marble) pebbles sold for fish tanks? Garden places often have a brown 'varnish' gravel (often of Pliocene origin in my area). ['Varnish' is natural polish .not painted on]

 

Wash carefully before using in any case

I've used blasting sand for this and it works well.

Personal taste - I use dried beans and a soft plastic bag inside the beanbag. If going abroad, buy the beans on arrival and discard when leaving.

Transporting any sort of seed or foodstuff is frowned on by many border-control authorities these days.

 

Plastic pellets would be my choice.

Brian, I have used buckwheat hulls and I keep one of my larger bags filled with the stuff when I don’t travel. You have to keep them dry. Besides being a little heavy, like Rodeo said they are a foodstuff and that can be problematic. I have a small bag that I throw in my luggage that has plastic foam pellets. Foam pellets are by far the lightest and probably least expensive. I have purchased mine at B&H at a premium but I would suggest a UPS store as a much cheaper source. My favorite large bag is a Vertexphoto molar bag that I use a lot at Bosque del Apache. When I fly into Albuquerque I stop at the Sams or Costco, they are across the street from one another, and I buy a large bag of dry beans. They have bags full of rice as well. I like the extra weight when I am sitting a 500 or 600mm lens on the window of my rental car but I don’t take the beans home with me. I usually leave them in my hotel room with my tip. I would suggest using a bag fill that is too large to leak out. Sand is used for some bags to hold down light stands but I would be terrified of it getting into my lenses and bodies. Any way there is a balance between being too heavy and too light. Good hunting.

The small oval plastic polysyrene beads are cheap, light, inert and work well. I get them at "Jo Ann Fabrics."

Rice or beans in a Ziplock bag possibly inside of another bag. Like someone said if you travel just take the bag then buy what you need at your destination,

I'm far too lazy to sew an outer bag. My beans (pinto) are in two zip-lock freezer bags, one inside the other. If the beans start to degrade I will see it. In any case, I checked they had a year of shelf life when I bought them, and before that I expect inflation will force me to eat them.

I recorded video in my car when traveling with a bean bag on the dashboard. Beats holding the camera and getting viewers dizzy when you put together the video show. Very steady. Have no idea what was in it.

Polystyrene beads are probably the way to go but having said that I've got rice in mine (all I had at the time it was needed).

Sand does not rot and it's free !

Sand does not rot and it's free

 

Unfortunately, unless carefully washed, it's also likely to be dusty. Small grains can leak out and wreck things. Use pea- or bean-sized pebbles or some such.

Sand does not rot and it's free !

Hmm, my abandoned polythene sack of builder's sand had a green crust on it last time I looked. And it's at least £30 worth of motor fuel round trip for me to get to the nearest (and muddy) beach.

Maybe the coarse quartz gravel used for fish tanks would work. I like the idea of plastic beads or chunks, but have no idea where to get them. Plant materials, including rice and beans, deteriorate rapidly, are subject to insect infestation, and can't be taken across many international boundaries (or into California). Lead shot works too, and can be used as an "attitude adjuster". Not sure if it would pass TSA inspection.

I like the idea of plastic beads or chunks, but have no idea where to get them.

I think the raw plastic used in extrusion/moulding machines comes in the form of small pellets. But where you'd buy it in less than industrial quantities, I don't know.

 

An only semi-serious suggestion: If you're a plastic model-kit builder, or know one, then the 'trees' that the parts come attached to could be chopped into pellets with a pair of side-cutters.

Unfortunately, unless carefully washed, it's also likely to be dusty. Small grains can leak out and wreck things. Use pea- or bean-sized pebbles or some such.

I have some leg/ankle weights that I sometimes use to exercise. They are just bags filled with sand that weigh about 10 pounds each. Even though the front of the box that they came in said: LEAK-PROOF, I have to vacuum the rug every time I use them. Right now I would say they probably weigh about 9.5 pounds.

I bought a support bag filled with polystyrene beads but it is the shape I find so useful. It is made like a miniature set of panniers that I can place over the top rail of a fence or over a rolled down car window or just use flat to support camera and long lens. Much prefer this to fiddling about with a tripod.