The Red Pod Bean Bag Camera Support from The POD is a durable bean bag camera support that stabilizes a compact camera when braced against a table, car, railing, bench, tree, or any other surface. It's light and compact enough to stay on your camera when traveling and works very well in low light situations where tripods are unwelcome, such as museums, churches, galleries, etc. The Red Pod has a built-in 1/4" universal mounting bolt.
- Beanbag Support for Compact Cameras
- Built-In 1/4" Camera Mount
- Support on Uneven and Flat Surfaces
The Pod The Red Pod Overview
The Pod The Red Pod Specs
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The Pod The Red Pod Reviews
Dashboard platform for GoPro camera
I like to be able to record my trips on the road, in the event of any issues I come across. The GoPro window suction cup accessory is useless now due to the suction cup drying out. Would be nice to be able to be able to add more beads, or watever, to the bag for even more stable use. Now to figure out a way to record video out the back of the car. Not using another window suction cup.
Best Bean Bag
I needed a small, easy to carry tripod for hiking. This bean bag camera support fit the bill exactly. It's sturdy but not too heavy. Best investment I've made for my camera.
Only for small cameras/lenses
This small beanbag with a centered connection to the camera only works for quite small camera setups. For example, my Sony HX-90 point-and-shoot. My full-frame Sony a7iii, even with a tiny 50mm prime lens, is too front-heavy, and the Red Pod can't handle it. I'm going to try the Green Pod, which allows a larger camera setup.
Terrific
One of those things you think you'd never need - but then you do... it's great
Perfect for run-and-gun video work
I shoot a lot of documentary-style B-Roll in cities around the world for corporate branding films. I've been using the original Pod for nearly 10 years, and this thing is irreplaceable. I never bring a tripod to shoot city scenics. It draws too much attention, takes time to set up each time I stop, and is a pain to carry around all day. Here's my kit for stealthy B-Roll in Shanghai or Paris or Sao Paulo, to make me look like a tourist rather than a filmmaker without a filming permit (nothing shouts professional filmmaker quite like a tripod on a sidewalk at 2pm): - Lightweight nylon backpack - The Pod in the bottom of the pack, for padding beneath my camera - Sony A7III sitting on the Pod (unattached) with a 24-70 lens - Longer lens in another compartment, just in case - Combo polarizer/variable ND filter to control exposure when filming - Lightweight rain jacket or sweater From there I walk around the city looking for interesting scenes and iconic structures. It's super quick to stop, pull out the pod and drop it on the ground or set it on top of a post, then set the camera on top and quickly squish the pod to where it's level or at an interesting tilt. I can get a few takes and put everything back in my pack before anyone even knows I'm shooting. Also great for any uneven or unlevel surface ... the ground, a park bench, a stone wall, the edge of a cliff in the mountains ... If I do have a traveling companion on my shoot and we're in a particularly target-rich environment, it's even quicker to have my partner carry the pod by the handy straps, while I hold my camera. Then I'm literally seconds away from getting a shot. Tips: - I took about 25-30% of the plastic beads out of the pod to make it lighter and more shapeable. - DO NOT bring this in your carry-on camera bag. Put it in your checked bags. The plastic beads look like a mass of plastic explosives in the baggage scanner, and the security agents will make you take apart your whole camera bag to make sure you're safe. Granted, they'll also go through your checked bag, but at least you won't be standing there wasting your time in the security line, watching someone rip through your carefully packed camera gear, which you then try to repack while everyone behind you is waiting in frustration. - I have rarely used the mounting screw that connects the pod to your camera. I move too quickly, and I like the option of squishing the bag to achieve the level of tilt I want. And that's much easier to do when you're not committed to having the camera in the center of the pod. But there have been those times when I'm getting a shot from the edge of a bridge, or a cliff in the mountains of China where it's nice to secure the camera to the pod so I don't drop it. Great tool, and this newer version is probably even better than the 10-year old one I have. This would be on my short list if I had to start over with a new kit. A must-have for my kind of work.
Pod Bean Bag
Mount it under a lens gives support.
A real help, although not perfect
Works as hoped - steadies a larger point-and-shoot (Nikon P7100) and my smaller shirt-pocket P&S, a Panasonic Lumix ZS50. Not sure how it would do for larger heavier cameras with heavy lenses off the front - do your reading for that issue. But for me, really helpful - I destroyed an earlier small pocket P&S that was set on a miniature tripod with its lens extended, toppled over, and never focused again. I think this bag won't let that happen. Also appreciate that it can be attached, and set up, in a moment. Faster then fiddling with a tripod. Only shortcoming: The bag is a little firmer than I would wish, so I have only a pretty limited range of motion. Removing some of the plastic beads (access is easy) might make bag softer, more easily and freely adjusted; might also be able to carry some standard prop of an inch or more thickness for higher angles. I like the built-in threaded bolt onto which one screws the camera; seems more secure than a simple bean bag with no fastener. Quality looks good. Would have preferred gray or black, red was available.
Very handy, very portable.
Perfect for stabilizing the camera when you're on the go, especially when using a long lens.