I recently had the pleasure of helping out a good friend of mine, Jack Graham, by doing a gear review for publication in his quarterly magazine.  Since I regularly go out and shoot wildlife with my long lens, I was a good candidate to give this produce a proper review.
The product under review is called the Puffin Pad and it is a camera support product designed to provide support for long lenses.  Either shooting from a car seat, or perched atop a surface, the pad provides the stability one needs to achieve the maximum sharpness possible.
Here is an excerpt from the review…..
…Compared to similar products on the market, like bean bag rests or window mounts, the Puffin Pad holds its own.  It is not a tall as a bean bag when resting on a door sill, but it is lighter and easier to position and can be height adjusted using the window.  When hooking to a window, the Puffin Pad can’t be leveled like a window mount if your windows slope down, but it takes just seconds to install in order to capture the quick shot before the animal moves on.  And, like a bean bag, it can be used just about anywhere there is a solid surface to rest it on. 

Now, on to the price/value relationship…  At an MSRP of $40 the Puffin Pad Pro is not what I’d call inexpensive.  But compared to bean bags and window mounts, it is at the lower end of the price spectrum for products in its category.  I’ll leave it up to you to judge for yourself if the price is worth it or not.  For me, I know using the Pad helped me capture more keepers and was easier to use than balancing on a bare window edge…how much is that worth? 

Shooting 1

If you would like to read the full review,  you can read it in Jacks magazine HERE