Finally a monopod.

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Patrick M said:
Personally I would agree that it’s awkward weight-wise but it depends where and when. I got my wimberley monogimbel for use on an expedition ship in Antarctica back in 2020. Using the big Nikon f mount 200-500 required some support. Out on deck this combo, the monopod etc was absolutely superb! Truly. Other photographers came to check it out, as I was shooting albatross, other fast birds, and swinging down for seals, penguins and orca…amazing. The others seemed to be fighting their gear….me, loving it! Now sitting in my garden waving for birds, it’s not ideal with the inherent imbalance. But as I said, it does depend on use case.
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And I just didn't experience the 'imbalance' at all functionally. Sure if I was to let go of everything I'd predict it'll fall to the side the camera and lens are on, but holding just the camera grip most of the time I had no sense of I was holding it against a pull to the weighted side -- I'm thinking (a dangerous thing for me to do, I know) there's some load bearing engineering physics going to some degree.
 
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Update on the monopod and the wimberly mono gimbal -- I hiked for just over 10 km carrying the camera/lens on the monopod slung over my shoulder, yesterday. Only continuous hike with it was the 'walk out' of about 3km total; lots of stopping to shoot and moving on movement for the rest of the morning. I found it almost invisible over my shoulder, I had an empty pack on which added to gear being perched on my upper back weight distribution benefit -- at no point did I even consider the monopod itself digging into my shoulder, or even 'feel' the weight there. Also did some through brush and up and down big rocks and steep marsh and lake banks with the camera over my shoulder -- one hand for balance worked for me if needed, otherwise the second hand was holding the lens hood to keep the gear firmly on my shoulders. Ultimately if I was travelling very far I'd resort to re (back)packing the gear or throw it into my Cotton Carrier, but on the distances travelled yesterday it was a very 'easy' mode of transport -- didn't dream of having a small pocket camera once :)

As I mentioned in a replay, above, when shooting with this combo I simply did not notice (consciously thought about it more than once, as it was mentioned in this conversation by a few) any undue pull due to the weight mounted on one side; happily held the rig by the camera grip (with the other hand on top of the lens for the stability thing).

Only minor con is mounting and dismounting the gear from the monopod is not a tripod simple manouver, but if you're fine with putting the camera on the ground, it's a simple enough task, just one I made sure I concentrated on -- did not attempt to do so while 'holding' camera and monopod. I did remove and remount on the monopod a couple of times as I was convinced, as I got used to the feel of shooting with the monopod, that I could handhold more easily. Not the case and certainly holding and waiting for something to happen I was reminded was a frustrating and exhausting short term thing :)

QUESTION: what 'foot' do people use on their monopods. Mine currently is what I'd call the indoor floor foot that allows leaning around the 360 degrees of the foot. Not sure I liked that movement. Not sure it matters. Likely switch it out for a rock/ice claw thingy foot. Mine was buried in marsh and lake mud for long periods yesterday so something more fitting than what it ships with is in order; can't remember what's on my tripod -- just now I swamped out the 'came with' feet as I lost two of them in the bush in the first couple of months :)

Cheers!
 
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I have never seen a foot for a monopod that looked stable enough for me to even consider it. Maybe one is out there - somewhere...... but with a 7+ lb lens and 3 lb camera on a monopod.....I wouldn't use a foot.
 
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ButlerKid said:
I have never seen a foot for a monopod that looked stable enough for me to even consider it. Maybe one is out there - somewhere...... but with a 7+ lb lens and 3 lb camera on a monopod.....I wouldn't use a foot.
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By 'foot' I just meant the thing on the bottom of the monopod. Mine currently has what's in the first pic. Should likely switch out to one oft he other options (second pic is what's on my TRIpod at the moment, but have also used what's in the third photo in the winter; there's also a sharp version for rocky terrain.
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ssheipel said:
By 'foot' I just meant the thing on the bottom of the monopod. Mine currently has what's in the first pic. Should likely switch out to one oft he other options (second pic is what's on my TRIpod at the moment, but have also used what's in the third photo in the winter; there's also a sharp version for rocky terrain. View attachment 96520View attachment 96527View attachment 96528
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I have the top foot and love the design. Makes the monopod very maneuverable if needing to lean or pivot. I have tried spikes and do not like them whatsoever.
 
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sh1209 said:
I have the top foot and love the design. Makes the monopod very maneuverable if needing to lean or pivot. I have tried spikes and do not like them whatsoever.
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Thanks for that input. I was trying to 'lean' the tripod and suspected the manoeuvrability of that foot was making that best possible; but at the same time I was wondering if it was making it less stable or firmly plantable into the ground.
 
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ssheipel said:
Thanks for that input. I was trying to 'lean' the tripod and suspected the manoeuvrability of that foot was making that best possible; but at the same time I was wondering if it was making it less stable or firmly plantable into the ground.
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I’ve used mine on rocks, snow, mud and just about any imaginable incline and really like that foot on all of them.
 
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Lee R said:
I have the budget version of that setup in a Benro Supadupa carbon monopod and a Weyllan PH3. They’re pretty nice to hike around with compared with a tripod! Total weight is about 810 grams/1.8 lbs.
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I’m interested in hearing any firsthand experiences with the Weyllan PH3 monopod head. I’ve previously used the RRS Mono paired with the RRS Mono Head (the higher-end model), but I struggled to get comfortable with it. It seemed like I always needed to maintain a grip on both the camera and the monopod to keep things steady, which wasn’t ideal .

From what I’ve seen—especially in Steve’s recent YouTube review—side mono head design looks promising. It appears that you can release the camera without it tipping forward or backward, unlike the RRS Mono Head.

If you’ve used the Weyllan PH3, I’d appreciate your insights. I don’t want to spend $179 to the wimberly, right now the Weylland is $69
Does it offer improved stability or ease of use? Your feedback would be valuable as I consider this switch.

Thank you in advance.
 
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One (the most used) of my gimbals is a customized birch sapling that's sturdier and much less expensive that any commercial monopod, the other was made by Komperdell years ago. Both sport Manfroto-style tilt heads which only provide vertical adjustments, not rotational. I always keep a neck strap on when a camera's on one of the monopods just in case the attachment is loose or I lose my grip on the monopod. By putting some tension on the neck strap with my arms I can act as a second leg to further steady the camera.
 
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Nico said:
I’m interested in hearing any firsthand experiences with the Weyllan PH3 monopod head. I’ve previously used the RRS Mono paired with the RRS Mono Head (the higher-end model), but I struggled to get comfortable with it. It seemed like I always needed to maintain a grip on both the camera and the monopod to keep things steady, which wasn’t ideal .

From what I’ve seen—especially in Steve’s recent YouTube review—side mono head design looks promising. It appears that you can release the camera without it tipping forward or backward, unlike the RRS Mono Head.

If you’ve used the Weyllan PH3, I’d appreciate your insights. I don’t want to spend $179 to the wimberly, right now the Weylland is $69
Does it offer improved stability or ease of use? Your feedback would be valuable as I consider this switch.

Thank you in advance.
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The Weyllan PH3 has been great for me. It's a metal build and the dampening is nice and smooth for pitching the camera angle up and down, left and right roll will depend on the collar of your lens. I've been using a Sigma 150-600C which extends when you zoom so the CG will shift depending on what zoom level your at. But it's easy to adjust the area plate back and forth a little to center CG and the camera will stay level when you take your hands off of it.

It feels high quality and I don't feel I need anything more. The Benro monopod has been great as well.
 
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Patrick M said:
I have a meFoto tripod where one leg screws off to become a monopod when screwed to the removed centre column. With the wimberley monogimbel it works really well with the Z8 and z180-600 attached. I’m tempted by that Gitzo monopod.
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I have the same tripod, and love the combo. My model mefoto had an issue with a twist lock grippy piece no longer adhering to the piece it was wrapped around. I think my next tripod will be one with flip locks if I ever get one.

I contacted mefoto hoping they had a part, but as the tripod is no longer made I unexpectedly received a better deal. The person I dealt with send me THREE brand new carbon fiber legs!!! I imagine they were looking to get rid of old inventory.

Now I have 2 monopods haha, and spare legs!
 
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ssheipel said:
This trio -- RRS quick release arca swiss thingy, Gitzo series four carbon monopod and the Wimberly monopod gimbal -- has been in my B&H cart for a very, very long time. The loctite (blue) is applied to both monpod mounting platform and arc swiss quick release. I had both the Gitzo and the RRS monopod in the basket (clearly hadn't made a decision :) ) and nicely the Gitzo was on sale by about $140 cad, making my decision easy.

I share as I find most product advice comes down to 'this is what I use' (which is very useful) posts, so, this is what I'm going to be using. Gawd, it's going to take some practice so I don't drop the gear! :)

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One word: Redundancy. None of us want to drop our camera.When my camera is on a gimbal I have straps attaching it either to the gimbal or to my body. If nothing else, attaching the straps reminds you to double check your main attachment.
 
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I hope it works out well for you. I have a monopod but honestly I never use it. It seems like more trouble than it's worth and I would rather handhold (or use a tripod when I need one).
 
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