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BushHawk Shoulder Mount

Turn your camera into a weapon. Think of the BushHawk Shoulder Mount as a buttstock for your camera that really steadies your shot. While this is more of a figurative sense, a photograph can be very powerful, so why not get it right. According to the user who recommended the BushHawk to me, it is great for use with large lenses and for focusing on the action. It is also lightweight and can be put into action more quickly than a tripod. The downside? It looks like a rifle so be careful.

www.bushhawk.com

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 26th, 2011 at 21:01 and is filed under Gadgets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

8 Responses to “BushHawk Shoulder Mount”

  1. Connor says:
    July 26, 2011 at 23:10

    Yeah, this is what happens when you point a large shoulder mounted camera at something you shouldn’t be pointing it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9FP7VKGlc8

  2. tigerblue says:
    July 27, 2011 at 04:16

    my thoughts exactly.”jihadi with an RPG!..light him up!”..”oops..it was press..oh well..no great loss”. with their safari vests and insta cams they already look like armed oponents..add k-pots and satchel bags…this is just asking for trouble in any kind of armed environment. but for noncombat..well..the famed ‘KGB’ fotosniper was actually for outdoor and sports photography.not a bad idea…just be carefull with it.

  3. Ben says:
    July 27, 2011 at 08:09

    I’ve gotta be honest, these ideas are not new, and the actual benefit they have for the photographer is outweighed by the fact they are cumbersome and weighty.

    Pro spec glass is image stabilised now, making this kind of appendage redundant. Even the KGB Photosniper mentioned above was laughed off as a gimmick.

    Cameras are not rifles, they don’t have recoil. Beanbags, monopods and optical stabilisation are more than adequate to get a shot sharp in low light, and that’s without mentioning the incredible high ISO sensitivity available in DSLRs today.

  4. Snazz says:
    July 27, 2011 at 08:43

    Ben, monopods are cumbersome and are generally heavier than such steadicam devices. Work with both and see the difference for yourself. And the concept definitely isn’t new, but to be able to mod it up to your preference and keep it cool? Come on, that’s nice.

    Carrying any tri or monopod gets in the way, especially if you want to get the action on the battlefield, or a creature you get a glimpse of while hiking. If you have the device strapped to you, then you can go hands free to access something else. And rifle stocks help with aiming anyway, even if there’s no felt recoil, they serve more purposes then just that.

    It is true that journalists have gotten themselves killed by going ahead of the force and taking shots of the troops from afar, but just that, it’s from a distance, so whether you have the camera on a mount or not, anything pointed can look like a weapon.

    And ISO, really? If you don’t mind grain and artifacts all over your picture, then fine, but then why the nice camera?

  5. Tim says:
    July 27, 2011 at 11:29

    I think this is more usefull when filming than when photographing.

    Since most camaras are able to shoot HD videos a lot of filming is done with photo cameras.

    And what Ben is talking about: If you have a Nikon D3S you can make a good picture with very low light with an exposure time of 1 second,(ISO102400) imagine how long of an exposure time that thing will need when you shoot pictures daylight conditions with maybe ISO800? You wont get any movement blur anyway.

    Id pick up this thing when I would film but for photography the camera’s are already ergonimic enought.

  6. ahaha blog says:
    July 27, 2011 at 14:50

    BushHawk – Photo Recon…

    昨年だったでしょうか、もう随分前に手に入れて以来使う機会を見失ったままになっていたBushHawkを持ち出してみました。こちらがその時の写真。野鳥の撮影や、戦闘機の撮影をしに行きたいなーということから、コツコツと貯めたお小遣いで購入したSIGMA 50-500/4.5-6.3 APO DG…

  7. Ken says:
    July 30, 2011 at 04:56

    Great responses! Disclaimer – I work for BushHawk Products.

    Ben, actually we have tested using large fast lenses when photographing moving objects and have found that turning IS off and using a hand held stabilization platform, such as a BushHawk, yielded more consistent, higher quality pictures. Taking the concept of a rifle where you have three points of contact, is as much a benefit when shooting a gun as it is taking a photograph. Also having the integrated two step switch to allow you to autofocus and control the shutter release by pulling into your body (similar to a trigger on a gun) also helps to prevent shutter jerk caused when pushing down on a the cameras shutter control button.

    Tim, you are correct in your assessment that a BushHawk is a great stabilization platform for Video DSLR’s, but I would also add because of the unique ergonomic features of the BushHawk it is as useful if not more useful when when taking photographs. Specifically the integrated two phase trigger is extremely useful for controlling auto focus and shutter.

    We welcome your feedback and would love to hear more thoughts!

    Ken Nelson

  8. Ken says:
    July 30, 2011 at 04:59

    One other comment. If you want to see some very interesting modifications to the BushHawk, check out Morovision’s Roc Stoc at http://morovision.com/eoplatforms/roc-stoc.htm