Monopod?

Travism82

Hey guys and gals,

I was hoping to get some advice. I was thinking about getting a monopod for when walking around and I need to hold the camera more steady. I would imagine it would not as good as a tripod, but seems like it might be more convienent if doing a lot of walking around etc,

any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.



Travis

munmi

My wife gave me Manfrotto 681B as a Christmas gift. She also gave me a Manfrotto 3232 Tilt mount. Truly a total surprise. I haven't had much need to use it yet but It sure seems to be a nice unit for the few times I have used it.
The 681B and 3232 were packaged/sold seperately.
Bottom line.....so far, I like.

cmason

I have the Manfrotto 680B, with the 234RC tilt head. Really nice set up. However, I don't use it much. It is perfect for walking around, but being a monopod, it isn't really useful when what you really need is a tripod. I haven't been successful with using it in low light situations that take the shutter speed below 1/60. Holding your breath and trying not to move will take you down a stop or two below that, but its hit or miss.

Where it comes in handy is when you are using your long lens and shooting an entire game of soccer, as it takes all the weight off, and makes it much easir to shoot the entire game. It also is very useful when needing to do panning shots, as it keeps the pitch to a minimum while you give it the maximum yaw. (for example getting "speed blurred' shots of race cars)

The only other thing I find it really useful for is when shooting at night in a big city (NY, Paris, Rome, etc). Carrying around a 4 ft peice of metal pipe will keep nearly any pickpocket/thug away and seeking other prey

IMHO, its worth the little $ it costs, and if I had to do it again I still would buy one (probably a smaller chinese carbon fiber model). Keep the cost low and you wont regret it.

gryphonslair99

Some good info on using a monopod. It's not just a stick to take weight.
http://www.outdooreyes.com/photo5.php3

You want something that holds at least twice the weight of your heaviest gear and preferably one that will go to at least eye level fully extended. With a body on top it would normally be too tall. Keep in mind that you do not have to extend the legs to their full length. Being a touch too tall helps when you are on uneven ground and can keep you from stooping over a lot to get shots, which can get quite uncomfortable after a while.

The other deciding factor might be the weight of the monopod, depending on how much or how far you plan on carrying it. Carbon fiber will usually be lighter than aluminum at a higher cost.

Photoskipper

Travism82 wrote:

Hey guys and gals,

I was hoping to get some advice. I was thinking about getting a monopod for when walking around and I need to hold the camera more steady. I would imagine it would not as good as a tripod, but seems like it might be more convienent if doing a lot of walking around etc,

any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.



Travis

I do a bit of travel photo and found neither the monopod and tripod help too much. During the travelling, the time for taking photo is limited. I hardly have chance to set up the tripod. So I like the IS which helps a lot on getting the night shots. ISO changes on camera is a great tools for low night.

Monopod could not help to stablize the camera for long night shot. Tripod can do much better. I cannot leave the camera on the monopod and free my hands for other things so I prefer tripod.

Depends on the weight of the camera and lens. I do not have problem with the 70-200 F2.8 IS even with the 2x TC on 5D. But carrying the 500 mm F4 is a challenge, I need the tripod to support it. Anyway, I will not carry the 500 mm for travelling photo.