Shoulder Brace Optical Stabilizer for Video, Spotting Scopes, and Cameras

The unit arrived ahead of the scheduled ship date and I'm pleased with the product. It performs as advertised and is a good value. It is, however, not particularly sturdy, which is why I did not give it five stars. It will do the job for the price.

We are using it for our Celestron Hummingbird spotting scope. So far so good. No need for tripod. Haven’t tried it yet with our big scope. That may be too heavy.

I just purchased this item, and find it quite uncomfortable to use, and also quite flimsy. Although this is advertised for use with spotting scopes which are fairly heavy, and long, it in my opinion will not last long in that use. The unit has a few design drawbacks that if I had designed it I would have tried to solve. It is TOO flexible in the area just behind where it bends to drop to the "stock" I Use a Canon XS with the stock AF lenses and the wobble is enormous. Also the stock portion is in my opinion not proper for photo use, it is positioned incorrectly for shoulder shooting, and the positioning of the Camera eyepiece while on the stock is awkward. Also the three piece arrangement for the hand grip is ridiculous, the screw keeps falling out when the camera is not attached,there is nothing to hold it in, and no clip or lanyard to keep the handle with the stock portion, and there is no way to secure the handle when the camera is not mounted.As a stabilizer for a heavier camera this has a lot to be desired.A real drawback is the lack of a pistol grip contoured grip for the fore handle, and inability to use the grip, trigger the camera and change focus at the same time. If this handle can be redesigned to incorporate a trigger release (preferably a two stage electronic one for Canon) it would be a better deal.The serious photographer using telephotos or doing Macro work should give this one a pass by, save your money.Its concept is a promising one - but it is cheaply made, burdensome and untrustworthy in strength - the promise of a steady platform falls far short of reality.

It does work and defiantly helps steady my Camera. I use it with a Nikon DSLR and 300 and 400 mm lenses. The support handle is in an uncomfortable place and I have to use the end for my support hand. After a few minutes of shooting it begins to hurt my support hand. You can use the handle alone and this works. The butt stock also works to steady the camera very well. I am a big man and the butt stock is just too short and this makes it awkward. It does work and the price is good, but it is awkward for me.

The item arrived in good time and in good condition. I was not happy with the size of the unit and tried it with my DSLR camera. It was not suitable for use with this unit, however, I am in the process of modifying it for my use. It might be suitable for some of the smaller, preset cameras.

For 18 years I have used an old adjustable-length shoulder pod to help me brace and steady my camaera when shooting on multiple safaris in Africa. It worked, but sometimes the clamps would slip and the brace would telescope closed and I'd lose my shot. This pod is rock solid like a gunstock and has the added advatage of multiple ways to grip, sling, balance, and brace the camera with a heavy long lens attached. I am shooting a NIKON D-300 (wonderful camera) witha reletively slow 80-400 Nikon 5.6 VR lens and I still get clear shots hand-holding even with evening light. I would encourage anyone to try it and see if it suits their style.

Bought a birding scope and this shoulder brace for my son who loves to go bird watching. His ornithology prof had a similar shoulder stock and recommended it. It was easy to put together and attach the scope. It's very light weight and easy to put into a backpack. The shoulder brace provides enough motion control that he can rapidly aim and focus without having to set up a tripod while on a hike. This item was also a very reasonable price.

Giving it a 4/5 because I've used it with my smaller telephoto lenses and not my heavier one. For sports and fast movers it works quite well.