Manfrotto Monopod and monopod head

NorthernNikon

NorthernNikon

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Barney
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It's around this time of year that my thoughts turn to Edinburgh and this summer's festival. Last year I found my monopod cumbersome, difficult to unscrew from my lenses quickly, too much effort to shorten quickly and a trip hazard in venues when laid down. This year I'm thinking of getting a new monopod with a quick release head and a couple of plates for lenses to make the whole thing that much easier.

Has anyone any experience of the below:
Manfrotto 685B NEOTEC MONOPOD W/SAFETY LOCK

and ...

Manfrotto 234RC MONOPOD HEAD QUICK RELEASE

They seem to be the dieal solutions to my problems but I was wondering if anyone's used these in action so to speak?

TIA
 
I've got that combination.

The monopod is fairly light and the grip is good. The wrist strap is rather flimsy and as such I rarely use it. The release mechanism for collapsing the section takes a little getting used to and at times it feels that you need huge hands or both hands to work it.

The head is bog standard. It will take the weight (I've had my 1D + 70-200 on it no probs) but it will only give you movement in one direction so you need to either use a tripod lens mount (as standard with the 70-200) or decide in advance which format you will be shooting in. It gets really annoying trying to move the camera quickly and you usually have to lift the whole lot or miss the shot.

One thing to watch out for is the foot. It has a ball socket joint and it can come off. I (or rather my mum) managed to lose it after a week when out walking. It got sucked off by the mud!
 
As it happens I have just that combination, Barney. Needless to say you're welcome to pop over and try it if you want... just give me a shout.
 
I went for an even smaller option with the monopod head, I use the 323 QR adapter as i didn't feel the need for a movable head on a monopod.
 
Flashman said:
As it happens I have just that combination, Barney. Needless to say you're welcome to pop over and try it if you want... just give me a shout.
Click to expand...

Keith, you're a squire and a gentleman! :D

Thanks, I'm pretty certain that it will suit my requirement, but given the opportunity to try my D300 and 200mm f/2 combination out on it before parting with the readies.
 
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