Monopod Questions

Freester

Freester

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Mark
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Right, I'm wanting to buy a monopod for my sports (mainly Rugby) photography. Currently I am using my 400D and cheap / relatively light 70-300 Tamron.

So my understanding is a monopod usually just comes with a screw fixing with the standard thread that usually fixes to the bottom of the camera or lens collar. Therefore if you want to shoot portrait you rotate the camera in the collar.

So have I understood this correctly? My 70-300 doesn't have a collar. Not sure I can even fix one on. So can I get one for my lens? Or will I just be shooting in Landscape if I get a monopod?

Thanks in advance

Mark
 
i would guess you can mount a tripod head on top and use that to swivel it:shrug:
 
What you really need is a ball head which fits onto the screw thread at the top. The screw thread is 3/8 I believe which fits into the base of the camera, but the ball head, (mine is Manfrotto 482) has a female screw socket of 1/2", and also includes an adaptor which takes it down to 3/8". Because of this dual thread size availability it can also be used on a Pro tripod as well.

The ball head will allow you to swing your camera round into portrait mode. I hope this helps.
 
Various manufacturers have L-brackets to rotate the camera body 90 degrees on the monopod...much cheaper and lighter than a ball head.

Bob
 
I prefer to use the lens collar to change from landscape to portrait. With this methed you can have the collar loose enough to be able to change mode instantly, but your kit is still safely supported. But as you said, this is not an option for you.
I have tried using a ball-head but I never felt comfortable with them - I was always worried that I had not tightened the lever suffficiently during the unlock/tilt/lock procedure, and that the camera would flop about at the crucial moment.

Canon Bob - these L-brackets, does the camera slide on them, or do you have to unbolt the camera and then refit it when changing orientation? (I remember them being mentioned on various internet sites, but I have never seen/used one.)
 
tappilappi said:
Canon Bob - these L-brackets, does the camera slide on them, or do you have to unbolt the camera and then refit it when changing orientation? (I remember them being mentioned on various internet sites, but I have never seen/used one.)
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I can't find any reference to one I saw in use last year but these are similar but a little more "designed". Should give you the basic idea though.
http://www.kirkphoto.com/lbracketsc.html

Bob
 
Thank you for the link, Canon Bob. I'm not sure if I read it correctly, but it seems that you have to remove and then remount the camera complete with L-bracket (via a quick release plate) when you change camera orientation?

(Sorry for going slightly off topic - but then these brackets may be the answer to the OP's problem, even if he has to remove/remount every time he changes orientation.)
 
Hi Sheep, that sounds similar to what I use - a manfrotto 234rc - but I keep it locked up tight and rotate the lens in the collar. I have been looking at the Kirk L-brackets, and the price of them, combined with the required quick release plate/ball head is certainly not cheap!! Probably cheaper for the OP to get a new lens with a collar than the Kirk/Arca setup!
 
Thanks for all the replies!

It did occur to me that my solution may be a bigger / heavier telephoto lens with a collar.

... Or may be not. Will investigate the L-brackets...
 
I use one of these, apart from the obvious little legs advantage the head can be tilted or flipped, works well!

GIOTTOS P-POD
 
Food for thought above. Had a quick look on the Manfrotto website and found a Monopod Tilt Head. I think this (or similar) might be the gizmo to go for with the Monopod,,,
 
Freester said:
Food for thought above. Had a quick look on the Manfrotto website and found a Monopod Tilt Head. I think this (or similar) might be the gizmo to go for with the Monopod,,,
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This is only a tilt head, not ideal if you need to tilt & switch from portrait to landscape.
 
Arrggh I am confused now. I thought that is what it does?

Simple tilt head to allow a camera on a Monopod to be turned 90° to provide either vertical or horizontal format.
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Are you saying it only tilts forward and back? What am I missing? :shrug:
 
Freester said:
Arrggh I am confused now. I thought that is what it does?



Are you saying it only tilts forward and back? What am I missing? :shrug:
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Right, it only tilts on one axis, so you can use it to tilt backwards and forwards or portrait to landscape, not both unless you move the camera on the monopods screw thread but i dont recommend that tbh.
 
In my experience with a small light zoom like that, a monopod usually gets in the way and you're better off handholding. The centre of gravity is normally in the wrong place.

Its when the lens is heavier than the body that a monopod starts becoming useful.
 
Thanks again for the quick replies.

So it does look like the tilt head would do what I want. An easy way to rotate from Portrait / Landscape without a lens collar. Forward and back tilting can be done using the monopod.

In my experience with a small light zoom like that, a monopod usually gets in the way and you're better off handholding. The centre of gravity is normally in the wrong place.
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Great comment! I was thinking of asking about this. Should I just stick to handholding? It's just in the winter sometimes I am struggling for light, and can't set the shutter as fast as I would like at longer zooms, and hoped the monopod would help prevent camera shake?
 
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