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Microstock Photography Forum - General => Photography Equipment => Topic started by: gillian vann on June 01, 2013, 00:44
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I'm heading off overseas in a few months and as much as I would like to I won't take my Manfrotto tripod so as to reduce luggage in the hire car. I've been wanting a monopod for ages so this trip will finally force me to purchase one.
But, which one? my local camera store has the Manfrotto 294A3 for $89. It only weighs 53g and is compact at 59cm. however for the same money i can order online elsewhere and purchase the 680B (3 or 4 sections).
We do get slightly diff versions in Australia versus elsewhere and one tip the clever geek informed was that the 294 has a 'standard' chair foot rubber size, meaning when the bottom rubber inevitably gets lost, i can go to my local hardware store and buy a replacement for a few bucks, whereas the other sizes are european and so unlikely to be as easy to find.
Of course i'd love the cool one with the squeezy grip, and I know choosing a tripod on its weight is wrong, but in this case i've got travel weight limits to consider. I'm not buying a head for it either, as I want it to slip inside my suitcase with ease.
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How much space is a monopod going to save you in your hire car? Cant be a whole lot imo. Is the purchase justified is what I am going at. Is it worth the cost?
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You don't need a monopod, you need an assistant ;)
(So, something in the middle: a bipode)
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Gillian
I bought a monopod about 2 years ago, and I don't think I have used it once (perhaps I should sell it!!)
I always try to take my tripod with me - I find that I want to use a tripod when the light is getting low (or for some night time cityscape shots or HDR images) and the monopod is useless for that. I have a little carbon fiber one with 4 sections which I take when space and weight are really important and a more sturdy 3 section tripod that I take when I am hiring a car and can just put the tripod in the back.
Steve
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We bought a monopod a few years ago, in Sydney as it happens. We used it once, found it offered no advantage over a stabilised lens, and have never used it since.
Have you actually tried one?
If you're travelling to Chch, I'll meet you at the airport and you can have it for $50:-)
We have a Gitzo 1197 basalt tripod for travelling, expensive but worth it.
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get a gorillapod - light, versatile, and small
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get a gorillapod - light, versatile, and small
... but utterly useless for a heavy pro-DSLR with L glass.
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I bought a very expensive monopod, thinking that it would be more convenient than an equally expensive tripod. It wasn't, at least for me. So then I got the expensive tripod. And then I got an equally expensive Gitzo Traveler. That's the one I use the most; it folds small enough to travel with, it's light enough to take on my occasional hike with my camera, and it's stable enough for the gear I use most. I've added a Really Right Stuff ballhead and their L-bracket, and they're a great combination. Laughably expensive, but they should outlast me.
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when I am traveling or spending a day somewhere I usually carry a Velbon Ultra Rexi L (http://www.ephotozine.com/article/velbon-ultra-rexi-l-tripod-review-16157 (http://www.ephotozine.com/article/velbon-ultra-rexi-l-tripod-review-16157)), it works very well and very small (36cm), goes into every bag (even most women bags), it holds easily my d90 + 80-200 or 24-70, have a simple manfrotto head (494RC2)
inside I have the manfrotto 055x with the joystick head
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get a gorillapod - light, versatile, and small
... but utterly useless for a heavy pro-DSLR with L glass.
no - I have a fullframe Canon 5d m2 and have used it with the 16-35 and 24 - 105 lens without issue. I have not tried it with a larger zoom lens i.e. 100 -400
the pod I used it was was their biggest one - it is an X model I beleive
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.
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FYI
http://www.custombrackets.com/products/steadypod-series.html (http://www.custombrackets.com/products/steadypod-series.html)
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53 grams. ?? The weight of a mars bar.
I have a monfroto monopod but I don't use it for travelling I only use it with my 100-400mm for sports and wildlife which it works quite well. It probably most useful for not having to hold the weight inbetween shots.
Landscapes and alike it wouldn't be much use.
Ask Yuri he was recommending a monopod for studio work with lights.
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I have a Benro monopod, with a Benro ball head. Suits my eventual needs. I don't carry the "real" tripod in my trips because of size and weight. The monopod I may even carry in a trail.
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oh thanks for all the replies.
i don't want to take my manfrotto tripod as we're a family of 7 (taking grandparents too), we are flying, and we are all travelling super light with very small bags (think: fitting that many bags in a car) and my manfrotto bag is large. the monopod will easily slide into my suitcase. we're travelling to Sydney and Melbourne this winter but in our own car, so I can take my serious tripod no worries.
yes, i watched Yuri's vid on a monopod for shooting and I couldn't agree more: using a big lens requires the extra stabilisation IMHO. i bought my 80-200 2.8 years ago and couldn't quite afford the 70-200 with image stabilising. such is life. an $89 monopod is a good solution.
Also remember there are plenty of places now that no longer let you set up a tripod.
I am getting one, so no need to talk me out of it. :D
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Be interested to know what you settle for?
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I have had a monopod for years... some kind of manfroto thing. I rarely use it. Whereas I use the tripod all the time.
A monopod is almost useless, without a ball head, and the head from my tripod cannot fit onto the monopod.
So I suggest you look into both ballheads and pods.
Then there is also other options: such as the string trick or the stick trick.
Many things can be achieved with a 1/4 inch screw and some intermistic local hardware. Someone with his hands attached properly to his brain could always make some kind of camera support with just a screw and a piece of metal.
The 1/4 inch screw is the most important thing, and in metric countries its not so easy to find.
Then monopods dont really stabilize the camera as a tripod does. It helps, but it wont work in low light conditions as would the tripod.
If you have a VR lens and a relatively modern camera, that alone should compensate enough and you wouldnt need a monopod. The advantage of VR far supercedes a monopod.
And if everything else fails, then just take shaken "authentic" photos, they are in demand many places. ;-)
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I have had a monopod for years... some kind of manfroto thing. I rarely use it. Whereas I use the tripod all the time.
A monopod is almost useless, without a ball head, and the head from my tripod cannot fit onto the monopod.
So I suggest you look into both ballheads and pods.
The 1/4 inch screw is the most important thing, and in metric countries its not so easy to find.
Then monopods dont really stabilize the camera as a tripod does. It helps, but it wont work in low light conditions as would the tripod.
If you have a VR lens and a relatively modern camera, that alone should compensate enough and you wouldnt need a monopod. The advantage of VR far supercedes a monopod.
And if everything else fails, then just take shaken "authentic" photos, they are in demand many places. ;-)
actually the monopod i'm looking at will take the head i have my current tripod. or the camera (or lens) will just screw in. that's pretty convenient.
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There you go.
But when you are out and about, with stock in mind.
There are difficult shots, such as those that collide with your family, and then there are easy stock photos.
Roadsigns, waste, aircraft engines and conveyor belts.
Dont forget the easy ones.
A mosquito in the bathroom may be many times more valuable than the splendid view over the habor in Hong Kong.
And some blurred shallow dof shots down the aisle of the plane might earn back the tickets.
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There you go.
But when you are out and about, with stock in mind.
There are difficult shots, such as those that collide with your family, and then there are easy stock photos.
Roadsigns, waste, aircraft engines and conveyor belts.
Dont forget the easy ones.
A mosquito in the bathroom may be many times more valuable than the splendid view over the habor in Hong Kong.
And some blurred shallow dof shots down the aisle of the plane might earn back the tickets.
not sure why anyone gave you a - for that.
great advice. and I couldn't agree more, I'm still hoping to take that "easy" shot that sells and sells (I shot my feet at the beach last summer that is selling every day at SS, but hardly paying for the fuel to get there yet). I won't bother with landscapes, NZ has been done to death. plus, they really aren't my thing.
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Have gotten much more use out of my gorilla pod than than my monopod ... but, the monopod is more useful for action, moving targets, longer lenses.
If it's something you would use a tripod for ... I vote for the gorilla.
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Don't worry I just trumped the - with a heart ;)
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Have gotten much more use out of my gorilla pod than than my monopod ... but, the monopod is more useful for action, moving targets, longer lenses.
If it's something you would use a tripod for ... I vote for the gorilla.
i have a gorilla pod, never used it...
i think i really want the monopod for using my 80-200, it's just so heavy.
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Monopod - Sirui - Another use: I keep it all the time connected to the camera and use it to support the camera on my belt when I am not using it ...
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I wish one buy I could buy this device)
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Sorry. Old followup.... I had to say. get a Roll of 30LB fishing Line. attach a Large metal washer to One end and a 1/4 20 Bolt to the other. Make it as Long as the distance from the washer to Your Eye after attaching it to the camera and standing On the washer end. Perfect tripod and weighs Nothing.
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I have intermittent hand tremors, and recently got rid of my DSLR & telephoto, switching to a lumix FZ-1000 which has a 25 - 400 zoom.
I've ditched the tripod for a lt-weight monopod, and added a SLIK ball head quick release ($25-30 on amazon). I only extend the monopod so it's about 18" and keep it in my camera bag and hold the camera out so my neck helps steady it even more for 3 pt support
this setup weighs < 3 lb; i get images that are sharp enough at 100% to be accepted at microstock agencies - i can even bracket for HDR handheld
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I still have my manfrotto monopod, it's been useful on an off. When you buy something of quality it lasts for a long time (buy nice or buy twice), unless I lose it I image it will do me until I quit photography.
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Here is another perspective, compact tripods that have a detachable leg converted to monopod.
In my case, a bulky benro with video head monopod was exchanged with a manfrotto elements, light enough to always be attached to the backpack and never looked back. Sometimes i miss the tilt option of video heads though.
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..... Sometimes i miss the tilt option of video heads though.
i have a ball head quick release from SLIK - cost about $20
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..... Sometimes i miss the tilt option of video heads though.
i have a ball head quick release from SLIK - cost about $20
Not a matter of cost. Switching from half a kilo video heads to arca swiss ballhead was a weight relief. But video heads do excellent hand or gravity tilting shots. With a ballhead the only smooth precise vertical movement is by tilting the whole tripod.
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..... Sometimes i miss the tilt option of video heads though.
i have a ball head quick release from SLIK - cost about $20
Not a matter of cost. Switching from half a kilo video heads to arca swiss ballhead was a weight relief. But video heads do excellent hand or gravity tilting shots. With a ballhead the only smooth precise vertical movement is by tilting the whole tripod.
Funny you should mention that, my monopods have nothing but the threaded end and I can pan my tilting and moving the whole "stick".
Also along the lines of durability, only reason I bought a second was, the new one is longer. My old one I bought, probably, in 1969. Twist clamps, not the new flip kind, which are less sticky and under weight, tend to slip. My fault, it's a cheap one from Blacks. Even the Manfrotto Pro carbon fiber lists as 11 pounds. I need more than that for some of my long lenses? I don't do video... which means the $49 - Oben ACM-2400 4-Section Aluminum Monopod should be the next one I buy.
26.4 lb Load Capacity
63.2" Maximum Height
Collapses to 21.3"
Lightweight - Weighs 1.65 lb
Then I'll have too many, but the last one I'll ever need? 8)
I'm glad the subject came up, I think I need to place an order from B&H pretty soon for a bunch of little things.
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Not sure if this applies for everyone Uncle Pete but I have this "whatever fits in (or around) the backpack " rule. Whatever is not used is sold or recycled.
It is heavier carrying but saves money and also ensures that never will use excuses as "oh! if I just had {gear} with me I would have nailed the shot".
:P
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Not sure if this applies for everyone Uncle Pete but I have this "whatever fits in (or around) the backpack " rule. Whatever is not used is sold or recycled.
It is heavier carrying but saves money and also ensures that never will use excuses as "oh! if I just had {gear} with me I would have nailed the shot".
:P
Sounds good, even though I have no backpack and don't carry a tripod when out walking. Monopod has a clip that I added so it attaches to my belt. Black Rapid Dual and photo vest. No bags or backpack.
But back to monopods, I have one in the car at all times backup, one that's with me for shooting, and I picked up a used one at the resale shop, just because it was there. Somewhere in the house stacked with a half dozen tripods.