The Lightzone Sw worked well. The colours are a lot better, plus the white balance is more acurate
I have thought about doing the same thing, but using an old frying pan. You can use the handle to move the frying pan and camera around. You can drill a hole in the bottom of the pan and mount a ball head.
One last thought about this is make sure you take a towel with you to wipe of the sand on you before you handle the camera again. Will post results once I pickup a frisbee.