The Cinesaddle is a clever little invention. Those of us who come from a photographic background are very familiar with the concept of a bean bag. Bean bags are 
used to steady a long telephoto lens in order to eliminate camera shake. Cinekinetic, the manufactures of the Cinesaddle went one step forward and added to a standard bean bag some features that make it worth noticing.
It comes supplied with some hooks, rope and instruction book to turn it into a car mount or any other kind of mount. And it has pockets for that extra battery, tape and pits and pieces.
For $325.00 you can have all of the above. But how well does is work and is it worth it's money?
As a bean bag, well I personally was impressed. We all had the situation where we could not take a tripod with us and the only alternative was to go hand held. But the Cinesaddle is so lightweight that you would carry it with you and it offers one the opportunity to get among the hand held shots some rock steady images. Find you a surface, place the Cinesaddle with the camera on it and you have your steady shot. Easy and quick.
The downside of it is that you are limited to where you can place the Cinesaddle. If you want a high angle shot and you are in the desert, well that will not be possible. Also because the Cinesaddle "embraces" the camera to keep it rock steady, some camera buttons are difficult to access. It is easier to record using the lens record button. That all depends of course on the camera in use.
But the Cinesaddle can also work side by side with the tripod. For low, ground level shots it is perfect. With some experience you can even achieve some small pans and tilts.
And there is no stopping your imagination. It can be placed on a skateboard to get a low angle dolly movements, or it can be placed on a bicycle for some tracking shots. But do not be fooled, it will never match a dolly or a good tripod head. It is just a low cost alternative.
And this is what it is when it's turned into a car mount. With some creative rope techniques the Cinesaddle can sit on the car bonnet or the window for some good driving shots. I was reluctant to try my $60,000 camera but I did place it on without a camera and it looked steady and easy to assemble.
The pockets, well not much use for them really. If you place the camera on the Cinesaddle you have to empty the pockets before because it interferes with the positioning of the camera.
But the Cinesaddle offers one extra bonus. It is so strong that you can actually sit on it. And believe it or not is very comfortable. So comfortable that I am tempted to buy one just for my living room.
As an overall accessory the Cinesaddle should find it's place in any serious camera kit. It is not a dolly, it is not a car mount, it is not a tripod and it is not a carrying bag, but it is a way to achieve all of the above with some compromises.
Visit the Cinekinetic website for more information and to order online.
