Using a monopod?

treeman

treeman

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Ok, I've tried using a monopod in the past, and not got on with it, which was fine as I can quite happily hand hold my 300mm 2.8. But now I've just gone and bought a great big mofo lens, and reckon I'm going to struggle holding it, for any serious amounts of time. So I'm back to the monopod idea.

My question is how do you use it? mount the lens foot straight onto the monopod, or use a head of some sort?
 
i always struggled with a monopod, i found it far to restricting. however due to a shoulder issue im finding i use mine more and more with the 120-300, it takes lots of practice..

personally i have a ball head on mine just to fine tune it. if you pan a lot id consider one of those belt mounting monopods otherwise having a floor mounted pod may hinder.
 
I guess it depends what your shooting and how much control you need... Personally for sport its straight onto the monopod... body movement and the ability to loosen the collar fitting so you can change between lanscape portrait easy (or inbetween)
 
If your'e not a big fan of the ballhead (Fiddly at times) then try the Manfrotto 234 tilt head or the 234RC2 variant (the one I use on my monopod) with the QR plate, great if you swap bodies or slr/compact etc. These are great for going from landscape to portrait mode which is the biggest drawback of monopods IMO.

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/3-way-and-pan-tilt-heads-manfrotto/b3024-m156


Worth a look :thumbs:
 
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It's just going to be for Polo, which 99% of the time I shoot in landscape. Presumably by loosening the lens collar as well that should give enough movement.

The lens comes with a much shorter foot, which the manual says is for a monopod, but can't see any reason why the longer foot should be a problem?
I'd prefer to keep the longer foot on as it's a bit more to hold on to.
 
Gazamonk said:
If your'e not a big fan of the ballhead (Fiddly at times) then try the Manfrotto 234 tilt head or the 234RC2 variant (the one I use on my monopod) with the QR plate, great if you swap bodies or slr/compact etc. These are great for going from landscape to portrait mode which is the biggest drawback of monopods IMO.

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/3-way-and-pan-tilt-heads-manfrotto/b3024-m156
Click to expand...

I saw that, but it won't take the weight according to the specs. My combo weighs 6kgs.
 
Probably would work and I dont know how easy the collar loosening is on your lens only you can tell if thats practical. The tilt on the Manfrotto is very quick and easy though but as you shoot mostly landscape that could be a moot point.

OOPS just crossed over posts lol ok the weight could be an issue but I think they are just covering themselves, the tilt bracket is very very strong and quite heavy I dont think the 6kg would be an issue.
 
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anything above 300mm on a pro body and you will ... in the end need a support. Dont try and handhold this stuff for any length of time. you will start suffering in the shoulder and elbow joints. My left one is shot because of it.

Keep trying bits and bobs and you will come across something that works for you. Give yourself a shock and put it all on a scales. You wont need the gym :)
 
I use a Manfrotto 393 heavy lens support with my D3 / 600mm f/4 combination. It's fantastic...

I used a 234RC2 for a while, and while technically it wouldn't cope with the weight I had no problems since I always had hold of the camera and lens.

But the weight of the camera and lens is much easier to control for extended periods of time with the 393 - might be because the CoG of the camera / lens is below the pivot point instead of above it and so it's more stable...

HTH!
 
Forget about the Manfrotto 234RC - it can't even handle the weight of a 300 f2.8 let alone anything heavier. I find a ballhead on a monopod just too wobbly with a long lens - fine for those with three hands but not really made for humans.

Unfortunately, the ideal solution - RRS's Monopod Head - is a lot more expensive. But it would hold an elephant if you could balance one on there.
 
I use a monopod quite a bit and I put the lens foot straight on to the monopod.
 
Ditto regarding the 234. It's excellent up until a 300 but after that I wouldn't trust it. I certainly wouldn't risk using it to tilt vertically into portrait, but to offer some horizontal movement it's just about OK.

What you really want (if anything at all) is the Manfrotto 393 Gimbal head, which is basically a budget version of a Wimberley:

http://www.richardpeters.co.uk/blog/2009/04/19/manfrotto-393-review/

You can find them for about £130 if you hunt around a bit.
 
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DemiLion said:
What you really want (if anything at all) is the Manfrotto 393 Gimbal head, which is basically a budget version of a Wimberley:
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That looks pretty serious!

I'll try it mounted straight onto the pod tomorrow at Ham, and see how I get on. Though after my last experience with it, when within an hour, I'd scratched my pick up, whacked the polo manager in the arm, and then almost knocked myself unconscious!......and that was just with the relatively light 300mm!
 
treeman said:
That looks pretty serious!

I'll try it mounted straight onto the pod tomorrow at Ham, and see how I get on. Though after my last experience with it, when within an hour, I'd scratched my pick up, whacked the polo manager in the arm, and then almost knocked myself unconscious!......and that was just with the relatively light 300mm!
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How did that happen?
 
hollis_f said:
Forget about the Manfrotto 234RC - it can't even handle the weight of a 300 f2.8 let alone anything heavier. I find a ballhead on a monopod just too wobbly with a long lens - fine for those with three hands but not really made for humans.

Unfortunately, the ideal solution - RRS's Monopod Head - is a lot more expensive. But it would hold an elephant if you could balance one on there.
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Ozei said:
I haven't tried it but mounting the lens collar onto an RRS MH-01 monopod head might be the best way to go - http://reallyrightstuff.com/Product...ype=0&eq=&desc=MH-01-Hi-Capacity-Monopod-Head
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Cheers guys, that just cost me a small fortune! Ordered on Monday arrived this morning, fantastic service from RRS. Unfortunately an extra £53 in duty, bringing the whole setup to a shade under £300!!

It is nice though... very nice in fact :)
 
treeman said:
Cheers guys, that just cost me a small fortune! Ordered on Monday arrived this morning, fantastic service from RRS. Unfortunately an extra £53 in duty, bringing the whole setup to a shade under £300!!

It is nice though... very nice in fact :)
Click to expand...

This is probably a bad time to mention the much cheaper and very similar Hejnar version ;) http://www.dentonimages.com/page.php?id=HEJZAL_Monopod_Head_Review Or the one made by Custom Brackets.

And certainly not this nice Benro for £63 delivered :eek: http://cgi.ebay.com/Benro-DJ-90-Mon...526?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f0beacf56
 
The Benro wouldn't work because it's only got a 2.5kg load capacity, but the Hejzal is quite interesting.
 
i use mine when i am waiting for birds to arrive you dont have to move so much and scare them and can have the camera at eye hight ready to go

this is on a 300mm lens mounted to the lens collar i can twist the lens in the collar for vertical no ballheads.
 
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Icee said:
I use a monopod quite a bit and I put the lens foot straight on to the monopod.
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Am I right in saying that a monopod won't screw directly into the bottom of a camera (screw size too big)?
 
HoppyUK said:
This is probably a bad time to mention the much cheaper and very similar Hejnar version ;) http://www.dentonimages.com/page.php?id=HEJZAL_Monopod_Head_Review Or the one made by Custom Brackets.

And certainly not this nice Benro for £63 delivered :eek: http://cgi.ebay.com/Benro-DJ-90-Mon...526?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f0beacf56
Click to expand...

It looks very similar to the RRS, Makes me feel better that they only do it with a turn screw to release the camera. My RRS one has a lever which allows me to release it instantly (which was very important for me).

Why there isn't a distributer for RRS in the UK, I've no idea.
 
DemiLion said:
The Benro wouldn't work because it's only got a 2.5kg load capacity, but the Hejzal is quite interesting.
Click to expand...

I might worry about that if tripod and head load ratings had any significance or meaning, or even if we knew how they were measured.

Check out the pic here (half way down) of two girls sitting on Benro tripods :eek: http://iamjenxi.com/a-good-tripod-a-steady-support/

treeman said:
It looks very similar to the RRS, Makes me feel better that they only do it with a turn screw to release the camera. My RRS one has a lever which allows me to release it instantly (which was very important for me).

Why there isn't a distributer for RRS in the UK, I've no idea.
Click to expand...

I don't think they have a US distributor either - only sell direct.
 
HoppyUK said:
I might worry about that if tripod and head load ratings had any significance or meaning
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I would worry about it, because I doubt that many manufacturers underestimate when quoting those limits. Also, that 2.5kg limit is exactly the same as that quoted for the Manfrotto 234rc - and I know from experience that the 300 2.8 is way too heavy for that.
 
hollis_f said:
I would worry about it, because I doubt that many manufacturers underestimate when quoting those limits. Also, that 2.5kg limit is exactly the same as that quoted for the Manfrotto 234rc - and I know from experience that the 300 2.8 is way too heavy for that.
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Why would you worry? What's the difference between the Benro rated at 2.5kg and the RRS at 34kg? What, exactly, are they measuring? Nothing's going to break.

You can put a ton of weight on a monopod - the trick is to balance everything properly, which is what the adjustable lens plate is for and nothing to do with the monopod or the head.

In all seriousness, if you can link to anywhere that explains tripod/head load ratings, what they mean and how they're measured, I'd really like to know.
 
HoppyUK said:
Why would you worry? What's the difference between the Benro rated at 2.5kg and the RRS at 34kg? What, exactly, are they measuring? Nothing's going to break.
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I'm not that worried about things breaking. I'd be worried about the head not holding the camera/lens when at an angle.

HoppyUK said:
You can put a ton of weight on a monopod - the trick is to balance everything properly, which is what the adjustable lens plate is for and nothing to do with the monopod or the head.
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Balance doesn't make much difference when the gear is at an angle.

Here's the RRS holding a 7D, 300 f2.8 and 2x TC - and it's held there. A similar shot with the Manfrotto would be impossible - because the lens would be drooping (although it'd be moving faster than just drooping.

RRS%20Head.jpg
 
I take your point Frank, but you could slide the lens forward at least a couple of inches on the plate, which is what long lens plates are for, and the weight would be dramatically less. You could get perfect balance, zero torque on the head, and it would stop your tripod trying to fall over.

By the same token, the RRS monopod head is rated at 34kg - nearly four stone, the weight of a fairly large dog - and it wouldn't take that at the same angle. And neither would your Acratech ball head, which is rated at 11kg (I hope you don't actually use it like that!).

What I'm getting at is that load ratings vary wildly between manufacturers, and nobody knows what they actually mean. Ignore load ratings and just apply common sense.
 
HoppyUK said:
What I'm getting at is that load ratings vary wildly between manufacturers, and nobody knows what they actually mean. Ignore load ratings and just apply common sense.
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I'd agree that there's probably a lot more tolerance in it, but using my common sense says, I'm not going to risk £10k worth of camera gear on an a head that's rated at less than a third of my kit!
 
treeman said:
I'd agree that there's probably a lot more tolerance in it, but using my common sense says, I'm not going to risk £10k worth of camera gear on an a head that's rated at less than a third of my kit!
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:thumbs:
 
HoppyUK said:
I take your point Frank, but you could slide the lens forward at least a couple of inches on the plate, which is what long lens plates are for, and the weight would be dramatically less. You could get perfect balance, zero torque on the head, and it would stop your tripod trying to fall over.
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Nope, that setup is perfectly balanced. It looks like it isn't because the TC moves the centre of gravity back quite a lot. If I moved the lens forward it would be front-heavy. And it's impossible to get zero torque, because the centre of gravity of the setup is above the centre of rotation of the head. Even with a perfectly balanced setup, as soon as you tilt the head you lose that balance. Which is why the Manfrotto droops.
 
hollis_f said:
Nope, that setup is perfectly balanced. It looks like it isn't because the TC moves the centre of gravity back quite a lot. If I moved the lens forward it would be front-heavy. And it's impossible to get zero torque, because the centre of gravity of the setup is above the centre of rotation of the head. Even with a perfectly balanced setup, as soon as you tilt the head you lose that balance. Which is why the Manfrotto droops.
Click to expand...

Fair dos Frank ;) RRS is certainly the business.
 
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