Bush Hawk Question

Hi! I've been thinking about getting a Bush hawk for a while now but I'm hesitating because I don't know if I can use it well...the problem is that I'm pretty short (5'1") and most shoulder stablity accessories I've tried with my monopod are too long and uncomfortable to use. Does anyone have any feedback as to how adjustable the support is? Thanks in advance

I've never thought too much about the "rifle stock" camera mount. It looks like it would just be heavier without giving much else. If I was using a monopod then why add this? Perhaps for nature photographers it allows them to pan more easily to follow the flight of birds, and so forth, but other than that I don't see much use for it.

The next thing I'm going to say would have been a joke just a few years ago but now it's much more serious. If you use this thing in an urban environment sooner or later you are going to get a police response and they are going to have their guns out! From any distance away this is going to look to someone like you have a gun, and who wants to get closer to make sure? I'm almost surprised that there hasn't been a nasty ending to someone using a shoulder stock, but perhaps that's because there are so few out there.

I have to agree with DaveG.
A stock is a decent idea for stability, it obviously works for rifles and scopes.
If you are using it in the back-county you'll probably be fine, but use one of these with a long lens near an airport, and I think you can guarantee the quick arrival of the authorities.

Ilah wrote in post #3071439
Hi! I've been thinking about getting a Bush hawk for a while now but I'm hesitating because I don't know if I can use it well...the problem is that I'm pretty short (5'1") and most shoulder stablity accessories I've tried with my monopod are too long and uncomfortable to use. Does anyone have any feedback as to how adjustable the support is? Thanks in advance

You are going to use it with a monopod? Its not clear from your statement. I know two folks with a Bushawk and both find it very useful (neither even own a monopod). One uses it with normal length lenses, while the other used it with a longer telephoto on an African safari. Both shoot Nikon so could use a normal cable release with the trigger.
Mike K

I bought one recently and used it for the first time in probably the worst possible place... an Air Force Base. I used it to shoot an airshow at Luke AFB in Phoenix last month and nobody gave me a second look, including all the military police around.

The Bushhawk is designed to be used by itself as a camera support. I wouldn't consider using it with a monopod or a tripod. It really works well for aircraft and birds in flight.

Sorry that wasn't really clear. I intend it to replace the monopod not use it /with/ the monopod. I do mostly wildlife/bird photography and trying to catch things on the run or on the wing is very difficult with a monopod so I was thinking of this as a solution. Thanks for the feedback I think I'll order one tonight!

I forgot to include a picture of mine with my 20D and 100-400 IS L...

Ilah wrote in post #3077475
Sorry that wasn't really clear. I intend it to replace the monopod not use it /with/ the monopod. I do mostly wildlife/bird photography and trying to catch things on the run or on the wing is very difficult with a monopod so I was thinking of this as a solution. Thanks for the feedback I think I'll order one tonight!

Well you didn't say what you were going to put on it. a 300f4 or smaller would be fine. a heavy lens like a 500 f4, 400 f2.8, 600 f4 I would not recommend as they would get far too heavy. I have one friend who birds with a 500 f4 on a monopod. He uses a Bogen 3232
http://www.reallyright​stuff.com/tutorials/mo​nopods/index.html
with a Arca Swiss style clamp like this Wimberley or RRS
http://www.tripodhead.​com/products/qr-clamps-main.cfm
flops the clamp to vertical and uses the Wimberley sidekick
http://www.tripodhead.​com/products/sidekick-main.cfm
This works great as the sidekick provides efforless vertical panning while roatating the monopod provide lateral rotation.
This is an ideal combination for a birder, like a gimbal head on a monopod.
Mike K

[QUOTE=JWright;3077076​]I bought one recently and used it for the first time in probably the worst possible place... an Air Force Base. I used it to shoot an airshow at Luke AFB in Phoenix last month and nobody gave me a second look, including all the military police around. QUOTE]

If this was at an air show with a lot of people present, then it's understandable.

I got one last week and put it through its paces over the weekend. I shoot macro mostly and it solved a big problem for me. I often found myself in places with a lot of bushes and brier making tripod use clumsy. The Bushawk allowed me to just lean in toward the bug and get the shot.

Yes, it does have a cheesy plastic feel to it and the stock has got to go because it is too long, even fully pushed in, to sit comfortably on my shoulder while using with the camera mounted on the quick release. It is less of a problem with the 100 - 400 lens when I mount it to the lens foot. I intend to replace the stock with one from a gun mounted to a short dowel.

Images may be seen at:

Spider eats dragonfly
and
Familiar Bluet

P.S. Lose the strap that comes with the Bushawk and use your camera strap instead. If the two become separated, which would you prefer not to drop?


.

The brush hawk is to help support the weight .
I found that with a 200 mm lens , I couldn't keep it on a deer phseanent , ducks etc . Too much upper body movement on my part .
This was 20 + years ago - maybe with IS
I had and used a rifle stock type - [It was stolen] it was nice because you could rest on a limb , rock - fender . It is hard to find the rifle stock type today .
They use to have a camera swap meet every Sunday and you could borrow / test out something and bring back the next week if you didn't like it .
I now use a mono or tripod if close to car .

Jim B 01930 wrote in post #3903014
I got one last week and put it through its paces over the weekend. I shoot macro mostly and it solved a big problem for me. I often found myself in places with a lot of bushes and brier making tripod use clumsy. The Bushawk allowed me to just lean in toward the bug and get the shot.

Yes, it does have a cheesy plastic feel to it and the stock has got to go because it is too long, even fully pushed in, to sit comfortably on my shoulder while using with the camera mounted on the quick release. It is less of a problem with the 100 - 400 lens when I mount it to the lens foot. I intend to replace the stock with one from a gun mounted to a short dowel.

I don't think the BushHawk was really intended for use with shorter lenses that don't have a tripod collar. If you look at the BushHawk website, you'll see they have several different extension brackets that will place the camera further back and in a more comfortable position.

http://bushhawk.shopol​.com/Group/9PHBHRPRKR8​N6TA2.htm

Thanks for the link. I could get a tripod collar for the 100 macro. I use the front extension handle and really like it. I'm afraid that if I move the camera back on the mount, whether it be done with a collar or the extension bracket, my forward hand might be too far forward to get the shot. I need to be able to get within 9 inches or so with the 100 mm to get 1:1 so shortening the stock would seem my best option.

Forgive me I dont intend to insult anyone, but is there any one else who thinks this thing looks incredibly silly?

On a more general note, do we care how we look when out shooting?

Maybe in the UK we are slighly more reserved, but I really can't see myself using one of these and not have be openly laughed at on the streets....

Again, no offence intended to any Bush Hawk users...

Since the Bush Hawk's more for use with long lenses, you're not going to see many of them in the streets. More likely you'll see them in the wild, as people track down grouse, ducks, or deer. And there, they'll be no more eye-catching than a shotgun in season.