Simple, inexpensive, effective, portable binocular stabilization

[The60mmKid]

I call it the London Method.

It's an £80 mini tripod/ball head (tightened into the shown position) with one leg removed. It provides a significant degree of stabilization for small- and medium-sized binoculars. With this method, the view through my 18x70 binoculars is steadier than it is through my 8x30 binoculars handheld. It works standing and sitting, and it's easy to compensate for the altitude by just slightly adjusting where the tripod legs contact your shoulders. With a little practice, you can pan around with the binoculars almost as fluidly as you can when simply holding them in your hands. It works for observing near/at zenith. It weighs less than 1 lb. and easily fits in carry-on luggage.

In my opinion, this is the best way to bridge the gap between handheld observing and using a parallelogram mount. It's a game changer for me, and I hope that others benefit from it, too.

[The60mmKid]

Also: Because the legs rest on your shoulders, not your chest, you don't get any movement from your heartbeat. There's may be a little movement from breathing, but this is minimized with a little practice.

[jjohnson3803]

Wow!  Great idea!  I've been struggling with my 15x70s.  They work well on a tripod and fluid head, but I have trouble tilting my head back, so anything above 50-60° becomes a literal pain in the neck.  And tilting the pod and fluid head over me when reclining is awkward at best.

I've been considering selling them, but a minipod might persuade me to keep them.

[dweller25]

Brilliant 👍

[RobertI]

Fantastic idea, thanks! 👍

[Ags]

Awesome stuff, worth a try with my 12x60s.

[The60mmKid]

Here's the specific tripod: https://fotopro.eu/en/product/p-2-mini-p2h-2/ There are many similar tripods sold under different brand names. I think the main thing is to get any mini tripod that:

- has rigid, extendable legs since this provides stability and adjustability to suit different binoculars and bodies...

- includes a ball head if possible since these are small and light..

- doesn't include a center column since (I assume) this would get in the way.

The chair is a generic zero gravity lawn chair. I'd suggest using any zero gravity lawn chair that you find comfortable. I've owned a couple that were basically the same, but some are sold with different cushioning and various bells and whistles.

[Nakedgun]

~

Clever boy!

I have a Slik Pro 500DXShort tripod/ball head collecting dust even now, apparently waiting for you to post this!

Many thanks.

 

 

 

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[Captain Scarlet]

I too have a perfectly suitable tripod. One question though. What aneasthetic does one use to remove the leg?

[Alan White]

Now that’s a novel solution, thank you for sharing.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Brilliant idea, might well give that a go!

[PatrickO]

Awesome! I love simple, inexpensive solutions that work and solve a real problem. 

[lunator]

Very simple but effective solution. 😀

Will have to give it a try.

 

[jjohnson3803]

I bought a short tripod with a geared center column for something else, but it wasn't suitable.  Just for an experiment, I tried it with a ballhead and legs retracted.  Probably not as comfortable as the fotopro.eu tripod above, but it definitely reduces the shakes when handholding my 10x50s and 15x70s.  The concept is definitely sound.

I need to test it out more, but this might save my 15x70s from being sold.  👍  .