Monopod or Not?

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la551ve3

la551ve3

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In the summer months much of my photography activities include biking and/or hiking. Carrying my tripod along on these trips would be too much of a burden for an old guy like me. That said, shooting a hand-held d850/d500 mounted with a Tamron 150-600 is quite a challenge at times as well. Particularly, shooting still subjects. Wth the zoom set 400mm or greater, I have an awful time keeping the subject centered. The lens is bouncing up and down or swinging left to right and I have a hard time keeping it steady.

Today I tried a monopod (part of a cheap K&F Tripod) and found it helped me next to nothing. The only thing good I could say about it was it weighted very little.

For those of you who use a monopod I have a few questions I wish to ask:

1. Size of lens(es) you use on the Monopod
2. Gimbal or not?
3. Make and Model?

Alternatively, I find a way to pack my heavy tripod and also heavy gimbal on my treks.

Hope to hear some other and better options.
 
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I used a heavy Benro (MAD49a) and a monogimble with a rig similar to yours with decent results. I personally found that a 150-600 lens to heavy and unwieldly to hand hold. I also have a lighter monopod (Sirui P-326) that works well when I am seated and it is not fully extended so don't toss your current stick. I consider the Wimberly monogimble required for monopod shooting. Try the monogimble first before investing is a new monopod.
-Tom
 
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la551ve3 said:
For those of you who use a monopod I have a few questions I wish to ask:

1. Size of lens(es) you use on the Monopod
2. Gimbal or not?
3. Make and Model?
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I sometimes use a monopod with my 600mm f/4 or 200-400mm f/4 and rarely use it with other lenses like the 300mm or 500mm PF lenses or the 70-200mm f/2.8 as I'll either hand hold those lenses or if I need really slow shutter speeds I'll mount them on a tripod.

I use the Wimberley MH-100 mono gimbal and like it quite a bit and it's mounted on a Gitzo 5 series monopod.

la551ve3 said:
Alternatively, I find a way to pack my heavy tripod and also heavy gimbal on my treks.
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For hikes where I have a high probability of needing a tripod, for instance if planning to shoot water blur shots, astro photos or low light landscapes then I'll carry a smaller carbon fiber tripod or a tiny Leofoto table top tripod which is a bit awkward to use but rock solid and small. My hiking tripod is an older Velbon Neo Carmagne with the center column extension removed. I've used this for tracked astro shots, star trails and other long exposure shots miles away from the nearest road and it's plenty stable and not nearly as heavy as my full sized tripods. I use a Kirk BH-3 ballhead on it which is plenty solid for the wider angle lenses I'll use for this kind of shooting.
 
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The Wimberley head is my favorite solution by far on a monopod - it's a godsend for sure. As far as monopods go, pick one as long as you can afford / carry - one cannot over estimate the value of being able to incline the monopod on uneven terrain and still have the camera at eye level.
Make sure you get one with padding on top to ease the pain on your shoulder when you just swing the monopod over the shoulder for hiking.

Just on the topic of the Tamron though, are you using the stabilizer in mode 1? Mode 2 is only for panning and mode 3 only stabilizes the shot, not the viewfinder - the only way to get stabilization reliably in the viewfinder is mode 1. It's far from perfect but at 400mm I typically don't have problems - at 600mm it can get iffy especially when windy.
 
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FB101 said:
The Wimberley head is my favorite solution by far on a monopod - it's a godsend for sure. As far as monopods go, pick one as long as you can afford / carry - one cannot over estimate the value of being able to incline the monopod on uneven terrain and still have the camera at eye level.
Make sure you get one with padding on top to ease the pain on your shoulder when you just swing the monopod over the shoulder for hiking.

Just on the topic of the Tamron though, are you using the stabilizer in mode 1? Mode 2 is only for panning and mode 3 only stabilizes the shot, not the viewfinder - the only way to get stabilization reliably in the viewfinder is mode 1. It's far from perfect but at 400mm I typically don't have problems - at 600mm it can get iffy especially when windy.
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I switch between stabilizer on and off but would always use mode 1 for still subjects. The problem (I believe) I have is related to "continuous focus" and my inability to keep the lens steady. On still subjects I use either (Nikon) spot or group focus and as I twitch I often miss my subject and the lens is focused on something else right at the moment I press the shutter. I rarely see my error until I get my images on a big screen. :mad:
 
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la551ve3 said:
I switch between stabilizer on and off but would always use mode 1 for still subjects. The problem (I believe) I have is related to "continuous focus" and my inability to keep the lens steady. On still subjects I use either (Nikon) spot or group focus and as I twitch I often miss my subject and the lens is focused on something else right at the moment I press the shutter. I rarely see my error until I get my images on a big screen. :mad:
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A monopod with the wimberley head won’t eliminate the problem completely but it will help with stability - most importantly to me it seriously reduces fatigue over long shoots so I remain more consistent over a few hours.
 
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I always use a Monopod (or tripod) when using my 200-500 with a Wimberley MH-100 mono gimbal,

Sometimes I put a small ball head on it and use it as a walking stick and attach the camera when necessary with the 300PF.
 
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I used the D7200 + 200-500mm on a monopod for years, and it gave much better results than hand-holding.

I used a tilt head on the monopod, rather than a ball head or gimbal.

Opteka M900 monopod with a Manfrotto 234RC tilting head.
 
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A used Manfroto tilt-head sits atop both of my monopods, if I need to follow something I just use the camera to rotate the monopod. I use the monopod with lenses up to the 1365mm (FF equivalent) on my Canon SX70. Both tilt-heads are equipped with quick release clamps.
 
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There's a narrow window where I use a monopod. If the lens is light, I usually don't bother. If I expect to be staying in one place or waiting a lot, I usually carry a tripod and full gimbal. In between, hiking, wandering, looking for shots, I use the monopod (heavy duty Benro) and a Wimberley monogimbal (thanks, Steve!). But I find the 600 f4D to be just too heavy and awkward on the monopod. The lens that usually lives on the monopod is the 200-400 f/4.
 
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I use a monopod with my 200-500 if I know I'll be in one spot for an extended amount of time. I use it with a Movo GH600 which is kind of like the Wimberley sidekick and it's awesome. I used it to photograph Common Yellowthroats in a field over the summer. Previously I had been using a Manfrotto tilt head. 90% of the time I just carry my D7500 and 200-500 with the tripod foot turned up so it acts as a handle. I have no issues hand holding the lens for an extended amount of time, plus it allows for more freedom of motion especially with small fast moving songbirds and BIF.
 
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This combination works well for me. Nikon D500 or D850, Nikon 200-500 with 1.4 TC, Manfrotto MPMXPROA4US Aluminum XPRO Monopod+, with Sirui L-20S (Hold the weight well) using a BlackRapid Sport X Camera Sling.
 
I carry a walking stick anyway for trails and such, so simply adding a quick release head to it doesn't add any weight. I keep the plate mounted on the foot of the lens, snaps in in a second. It's surprising how often you can find things like fences, rocks, or branches to lean it against to stabilize even further. And you will find this oddball, but I keep about 20 feet of butcher's twine in my kit. Lassoed around my left shoe, over the top of the monopod, under my right foot and up over my shoulder. Find just the right angles and tension and the setup is like a cheap-assed tripod. Been meaning to look for a tripod foot for the monopod, but that adds weight....
 
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I almost exclusively use a Gitzo CF monopod with RRS tilt head with my D5 + Nikkor 500f4 AF G. Works awesome. Really makes moving my shooting position up and down quickly without having to adjust 3 three legs. I also sit a lot and wait for critters and it's so much easier to maneuver than trying it sit between tripod legs.
 
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I use a Velbon geopod64 with an Acratech GV2 gimbal ball head with lenses from the 80-400 through to the 150-600 and all benefit from the increased stability. I always leave VR selected on with monopod.
As others have said above, like all equipment, there us a technique to be learned. Think of you and the monopod as three legs of a tripod. If you try yo use a monopod vertical it will tend to wobble around a bit as it’s influenced by your body movements. Incline the monopod with the foot forward of you and lean into it slightly and it should be much more stable. Place your hand or arm over the lens, don’t just grip the camera body.
As a further observation, get a monopod taller than you think you need, you’ll see why when the ground us sloping away.
 
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I have a gitzo carbon monopod with Wimberley sidekick.
I added a long spike, very helpful.
After a head injury I have a shake in my hands & struggle to hold 200-500mm lens now.
I have found with the gitzo it stops a lot of my shake going through to camera.
My old monopod didn't hide shake at all.
Have found it very easy to carry camera & 200-500 easily on monopod when out walking.
 
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I switched to a monopod monogimble from a tripod as soon as Steve posted his video on it because the Sigma 150-600C/D7200 was simply to heavy to hand-hold. Having now acquired a hand-holdable rig I am out shooting geese in order to develop my hand holding skills.

My point is that the two skills, monopod-monogimble versus hand-held seem completely different to me.
 
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I think the choice of the head is something where there is no silver bullet that suits everyone. I'm not a wildlife photographer and for years I've had a very small and light Velbon Up-4000 monopod with a Manfrotto 234 RC head that has served me very well over many years with the biggest combo used on it a D850 + Sigma 150-600 Sport.

I recently watched a DPReview video on a new monopod and was sufficiently impressed to buy one! Although this is a video monopod, my stills cameras don't know this and it as great features. I've put another Manfrotto 234 RC head on it and am very pleased with it. My one extends to about 6 feet but most are smaller. I guess that most video is shot by using a flippy LCD and lower camera position nowdays. I really like how it can be turned into a tabletop tripod in 10 seconds. Not that I carry a table around with me, but substitute ground or a rock for table ;)

 
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