Tripods and Monopods

[boBQuincy]

I think I understand what you're describing, but any of the tent poles I've used when I've gone camping have been as wobbly as a drunk's legs, whereas my Bogen monopod is rocksolid and could easily be used as a bludgeon, like if I was fighting someone for the last cinnamon roll at the Main St Bakery.

While the tent poles would make a poor pastry defense weapon (too light) they make a really good monopod. They 7075 alloy tubes can flex considerably but the movement we want to prevent is vertical and the poles are *very* stiff in that direction. It takes about 10 pounds of force to begin to flex the poles (and yes, I know force is not measured in pounds but I am trying to not be a techno-geek for once).

My monopod is made from 6 sections of about 10.5" each, to bring it up to my eye height. It works really well, I can see a remarkable difference between monopod and non-monopod photos with a long lens. No, it ain't a Bogen, but it is a whole lot lighter and smaller.

And if I see you going for the last cinnamon roll, I'm gonna' back off!

 

[jann1033]

thanks i was picturing it one big long pole cut in pieces and not with the cord....and i am now kicking myself for throwing the poles away when we got a giant hole in our tent last trip and tossed it at the campground ( during a torrential rain via a tropical storm I might add so guess i wasn't thinking all that clearly after getting rained on all night and ending up with a lake inside the tent...but that is yet another of our "why in the world do we ever go camping?" stories)

 

[Groucho]

And if I see you going for the last cinnamon roll, I'm gonna' back off!

To quote the Finding Nemo seagulls... MINE! MINE! MINE!

Nobody better get between me and them!

 

[MICKEY88]

hmmm sounds quite interesting//

perhaps it's because I've been lugging all my gear for years, I actually find a monopod makes carrying the camera all day an easier chore...I keep my camera mounted, and with the strap around my neck for extra safety...rest the camera on my shoulder while walking and holding the monopod in one hand, the weight is less of a factor when carried this way, when I want to shoot I can quickly open the monopod if I want, or if it's a quick shoot situation I just let the monopod dangle from the camera bottom. I have a ball head and keep this loosened so it doesn't hinder vertical shots...

 

[Lachesis00]

Why would one want to use a mono pod? How do you get the most use out of it? My girlfriend has one and she uses it to prop her camera up against a tree....?
She says it is not used to say steady the camera at the zoo to take a shot. So now I am lost. They must be good for something, I see a ton of people using them.

Gorrilla pod, next item on my list to buy. I need to go find posts from folks who bought one (or you can comment here on your thoughts). This seems about as cool as they come!

I have a tripod but it is cumbersome to pack around. If I have to, I have to.

 

[tiggerwannabe]

I have a mono and a tri...

My mono is ok, it helps but is nowhere near as steady as my tri.

and yes, the tri is rediculously cumbersome...but I read from Groucho that when he takes the tri to the parks he keeps it in a locker until the sun starts to set and then goes to get it and carries it only for the evening portion of his trip. His night shots are INCREDIBLE! so I guess it's worth the hassle to a certain extent to have a tri.

maybe someone else here uses a gorilla

 

[gruZ]

I don't have a mono or gorilla, so take my comments with a grain of salt.

My understanding is a mono is more appropriate for situations where you need a steadier (not completely still) camera, but still need the flexibility of moving the camera to different positions / locations quickly. Think sporting events where you are shooting with a longer, heavier zoom and need to reposition quickly.

Obviously the tri-pod gives much greater control and is perfectly still - very useful for posed situations, night photos, longer exposures etc.

I can't comment on the gorilla pod, although here are some thougths from people who have used them over at POTN.

 

[boBQuincy]

A monopod eliminates the main source of motion, vertical. Front to back motion is not much of a problem, side to side is worse, rotation is not too bad, but vertical is the big one until we get to shutter speeds longer than maybe 1/8 or 1/4 second (with a normal length lens).
Of course a long lens makes all of it worse.

A tripod eliminates all of the motion (as long as it is a decent tripod).
The Gorilla is a tripod with fancy legs. They seem to work well but be aware of what they are fastened to or resting upon. It won't work well when it is wrapped around a fence if the kid ten feet away is pounding on the fence (real life situation). Same with a pole on a windy day.

 

[Lachesis00]

I do not mind hauling my tripod around, it just baffled me propping my $1000+ camera to a tree didn't sound appealing or safe. I thought as suggested it is used to steady the camera but would not be the top choice of pods to use.
She said the Mono does not give her any support as opposed to no pod at all. She got it as a Christmas gift. I am not sure how much she uses it.

 

[jann1033]

i don't have a monopod & hate taking the 600 lb tripod( bought long ago in a galaxy far far away so none of that fancy smancy light weight metal for me, I think it's cast iron) so I am also considering a gorillapod or monopod..at least with canon the IS is supposed to equal about what a monopod does so i think if i had one of those extra light weight ones it would be useful for just when I've had a couple cups to many of coffee( or my tremors are really bad) or using a longish lens rather than night shots or anything i'd really expect rock solid stability..then the cast iron one works good..(well worked good till i tried to take off the panning head, who knew it wasn't removable) so now thinking a gorilla pod on top will be nice and sturdy. i kept my tripod in lockers as well till night time since they wouldn't let the pack mule through the gate at wdw
i think technically with a mono..you standing correctly are supposed to be the additional 2 legs of the tripod but if you aren't all that stable, like to dance while taking shots, etc don't know if that actually works out to be so.

 

[Groucho]

I have a mono and a tri...

My mono is ok, it helps but is nowhere near as steady as my tri.

and yes, the tri is rediculously cumbersome...but I read from Groucho that when he takes the tri to the parks he keeps it in a locker until the sun starts to set and then goes to get it and carries it only for the evening portion of his trip. His night shots are INCREDIBLE! so I guess it's worth the hassle to a certain extent to have a tri.

Thanks for the kind words but actually, the tripod/monopod went in the bottom of our stroller during the day. I think I had said that putting it in a locker was an option, and it is, but I'd hate to make the walk back to the lockers at night to retrieve it, but it might be OK. If we didn't have a stroller, I'd probably designate some days as "tripod days" - I can strap it to my back and it mostly stays out of the way, and if I take the head off, it's not too big and would fit under the seats of many rides. The rollercoasters might be a little trickier though.

I am very glad that I got a carbon fiber one - the light weight helps tremendously in carrying it around. The aluminum monopod is a bit of a pain due to the weight, plus it's longer than the tripod. I know that BobQuincy uses tent poles, which is an option.

One of these days I'm going to do a "lessons learned" post from my trip, but I found the monopod to often not be as useful as I hoped. It does definitely steady the camera more than hand-holding but it's still a long ways away from a tripod. I do know that they take a bit of practice to learn how to use properly so maybe I'll be better in future trips. One night photographing Illuminations, I kind of wedged it between the railing and was able to get it quite steady, but it needed pressure to keep it that way.

I would also investigate a Gorillapod especially if you don't have a larger camera (since you won't need a larger Gorillapod). At this point, I don't have one on my want list but that could change.

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

I guess I would be counted among the pod people. I have a monopod that I use at sporting events. It is easy to navigate along the sidelines and when coupled with my VR lens (Nikon Vibration Reduction) I am able to get much better action shots with minimal blur. During a game when action changes instantly, a monopod is much easier to move to just the right place to get the shot. I initially bought the monopod as a way of taking the strain off my shoulder just before surgery. It is now one of the most often used accessories in my bag.

Jeff

 

[boBQuincy]

GorillaPod testing tonight:

This is an uninteresting photograph but an interesting test. I used my old D30 and 70-200 f/4 (@ 200) and set the Gorilla on the ground. The exposure was 2 seconds, and the image is still pretty sharp.

This combination is heavy and is about all the SLR-Zoom Gorilla can handle, if the legs were at much of an angle they would start to slowly flatten, leaving the camera on the ground!

The Gorilla works, and with a smaller, lighter, shorter lens it would work even better.

Btw, a monopod still works well with IS, the IS can further dampen any vibrations that the monopod doesn't stop.

 

[PaulD]

I just got back from WDW and I brought a new toy that you all might want to look at. I bought "The Pod" (see www.thepod.ca). Basically it's a bean bag with a screw to mount to your camera. When I received mine it was overfilled and not very useful. After I removed about half the "beans" it worked pretty well. I left it attached to the bottom of my camera most of the time at night and was able to take multi-second exposures by lying it on top of solid objects. I found it to be a lot more convenient and much quicker than using a mini tripod.

I only wish the mount was off center because the weight of the lens tends to make the camera shift forward if you're not careful. But, it definitely worked well enough for my SLR and it worked great for my P&S. It's no tripod replacement but for $17 I can't complain too loudly...

 

[jann1033]

GorillaPod testing tonight:

This is an uninteresting photograph but an interesting test. I used my old D30 and 70-200 f/4 (@ 200) and set the Gorilla on the ground. The exposure was 2 seconds, and the image is still pretty sharp.

This combination is heavy and is about all the SLR-Zoom Gorilla can handle, if the legs were at much of an angle they would start to slowly flatten, leaving the camera on the ground!

The Gorilla works, and with a smaller, lighter, shorter lens it would work even better.

Btw, a monopod still works well with IS, the IS can further dampen any vibrations that the monopod doesn't stop.

would this be the new IS or both?
and do you think it would be the same, better or worse( the gorilla) if if were wrapped around something ie the stop sign instead of sitting on it's own?
thanks

 

[boBQuincy]

would this be the new IS or both?
and do you think it would be the same, better or worse( the gorilla) if if were wrapped around something ie the stop sign instead of sitting on it's own?
thanks

My only IS lens is a 24-105 but the manual mentions the IS working with a monopod. I guess as long as there is some motion the IS will be ok.

I have used sign posts as supports before and found they move a lot more than expected, especially in the wind. The Gorilla was just overloaded to where the flex joints wouldn't hold anymore. Wrapped around something it might do better but I'm probably not going to use it with a 70-200 unless I have no other option, am really careful to balance the weight, and have the camera strap in my hand.

 

[Miqee]

I would use my mono when I have a big lense on and need soemthing to take the weight. It is pretty handy to have when I want a decent telephoto shot but have no time to set up a tripod.

THe gorrillapod is a good idea but unfortunatly it can't always take the weight. Mine collapses with a d50 and a 70-300 lense attached. Its great with a small prime lense. I don't know if it will cope with the extra weight when i upgrade to a d200.

Colin

 

[garris3404]

THe gorrillapod is a good idea but unfortunatly it can't always take the weight. Mine collapses with a d50 and a 70-300 lense attached. Its great with a small prime lense. I don't know if it will cope with the extra weight when i upgrade to a d200.

Which version of the gorillapod do you have (original, SLR, or SLR pro)?

 

[Miqee]

I have the slr one. never heard of the pro one before, just looked it up. The pro looks more promising for my requirements, just need to find a Uk retailer for it now.

Colin

 

[PoohJen]

I FINALLY took my tripod along for a week long baseball/picture tournament...and it broke the first day, something plastic snapped beyond repair!

As I mostly take action shots, and have been disappointed lately with blur, I'm thinking a monopod may suit me best. What should I look for when buying one? I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on some titanium premium pod that serves espresso too, but likewise I don't want to buy something for $20 that breaks when I take it out of the box.

Here's a Canon model (cheap) that sounds like it gets the job done: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Monopod-100-Cameras-Lenses/dp/B0002YE6EU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-2540537-8305529?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1182882295&sr=1-1

TIA!