What to look for in a monopod ???

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Cliff
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I have searched and cannot find any monopod buying advice.
I need a monopod for my 200mm non vr lens and will also need one for future lens purchases. I already have a tripod but need something more portable, i see cheap ones and expensive ones, i just need a simple one that will take the weight basically. What do i need to look for? Is the footrest thing a bit of a gimmick as i dont seem to see them on more expensive models, also do they come with some sort of head ?
I don't want to spend much :shrug:
Many thanks in advance,
Cliff
 
Generally no head, and yes, the foot things are rubbish. I use a manfrotto 680B, with a Wimberley C65 QR clamp on top so I can slide ARCA-style plates on. I don't use a head, though if you do a net search you will find an equal split between people who do and people who don't. My lens has a collar, so I loosen that to be able to rotate between landscape and portrait, and then move the monopod to change direction either up and down (though there is a limit here), and pivot round and round.
The Manfrotto 680B has 4 sections, folds to 51cm, rises to 154cm, is cheap, sturdy, holds 10kg, and is high quality. You cannot ask much more. As it happens, I am about to sell it as I am moving to a Gitzo model which supports more weight and folds down smaller. It also costs a shed-load more. Look out for it in the classifieds soon. They're £45 new. I was going to sell mine for around £30. I'm just waiting for my new one to arrive.
Rgds
Jonathan
 
How tall are you? I'm 6'3" and have a Giottos MML 3290B because it extends further (to a total of 190cm), which means I don't have to stoop to use the viewfinder and it's still as solid as it needs to be.

It's also got a reversible screw mount at the top, which allows it to screw directly into a tripod socket or a head. I paid £45 from Ffordes.
 
for me it must not have 3 legs LOL sorry boom boom

I have just purchased a Giottos monopod and its awesome, was a bargain at calumet for £18 heavilly reduced
 
I also have a Giottos one, the 3260 as I am short. Very good quality, use it with a 100-400. Have a search online for the range and on here as there was a brilliant deal at Calumet on the 3270 recently but not sure if it has ended now.
 
cameradaft said:
for me it must not have 3 legs LOL sorry boom boom

I have just purchased a Giottos monopod and its awesome, was a bargain at calumet for £18 heavilly reduced
Click to expand...

Apologies, didn't notice Calumet deal had been mentioned in this post.
 
I am 5ft 9 and have seen some in jessops for around £25, I can't look on here, I have about 40 more days to wait :(
Thanks for the help so far,
Cliff
 
Hi Cliff,

When i said have a look on here I meant by searching for information not the classifieds. Sorry if I misled you.

Cheers,

Tracey
 
hi
A mono pod needs to be stable and good quality
I have a Giottos MML 3290B with a Giotoss MH7002 Ball head on it.
I use it with a gripped 50D and a canon 100-400 attached to it with no probs at all.
It extends further than I will ever need it too but the beauty of this is if you are stood on say a hill side you can extend it more them you need and you will not have to bend down to look through tthe veiw finder.

Hope this helps

spike
 
Thanks for all the advice, i avoided the cheap konig ones one the bay of fleas and went for the Velbon UP-400 from jessops today.
Best wishes
Cliff
 
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