Monopod good for long exposures?

ecphotomanecphotoman Registered Users Posts: 109 Major grins
edited March 13, 2012 in Accessories
I know they tend to use them for stabilization in sports shooting.

I do night landscapes and hate having to lug around a big tripod. Would a monopod work for a 8-15 sec exposure?

Comments

  • puzzledpaulpuzzledpaul Registered Users Posts: 1,621 Major grins
    edited March 13, 2012
    ecphotoman wrote: »
    Would a monopod work for a 8-15 sec exposure?

    Highly (as in extremely) unlikely imo.


    If wanting to minimise gear / weight ... and getting around on a bike (pedal sort) is practical ... and you still didn't want to carry a tripod on the bike, use the bike (with stay/stand as a support and a superclamp or similar clamped to one of its frame tubes.

    Beanbag ... and whatever (structure / wall / fence etc) is handy?

    Whilst I don't do night shots I have found a superclamp (with small/med ballhead) very useful when doing certain sorts of things with relatively small / lightweight gear - ideal for clamping to metal railings /fence posts etc.

    Could also make adaptors to allow use of same with quick release canvas /webbing straps ... to go round bigger items (like lamp posts / tree trunks etc)

    All this type of stuff would be fairly lightweight and fit into a smallish rucksack.

    pp
  • ecphotomanecphotoman Registered Users Posts: 109 Major grins
    edited March 13, 2012
    Highly (as in extremely) unlikely imo.

    pp

    That settles that lol. My tripod is on its last leg lol. I guess ill upgrade.
  • Moving PicturesMoving Pictures Registered Users Posts: 384 Major grins
    edited March 13, 2012
    I agree with the above, save for one personal situation.

    This was back in the film days. I'd stumbled across a fire, 13th floor (snort) of a major apartment building. Past twilight, into dark. I can't recall all the film parameters, but my recollection is that I had 800 as the fastest film in the toolkit. (Maybe I was half a roll in?)

    I ended up taking a monopod, bracing it against something (I want to say a utility pole) and the ground, at an angle, to capture a reasonable 1/4 second shot I'd not have been ablet to capture handheld.
    Newspaper photogs specialize in drive-by shootings.
    Forum for Canadian shooters: www.canphoto.net
  • Art ScottArt Scott Registered Users Posts: 8,959 Major grins
    edited March 13, 2012
    as mentioned above...even my Giottos P-Pod will not do that and it has 3 aux. legs to help stabilize it... You really gonna need a tripod of good quality for the really long exposures...
    Sorry but that is just the nature of the BEAST..... :~}}
    "Genuine Fractals was, is and will always be the best solution for enlarging digital photos." ....Vincent Versace ... ... COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK ONLINE ... ... My Website

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