Is a monopod a good idea or a bad idea?

J

Jurno

Member
I'm just at the beginnings of setting up an HD DSLR system, and I've been wondering about solutions for steadying the camera. I'm going to be using it for stills and for video. Don't have a huge budget. So I need something that will be versatile and useful in different situations.

I've been looking at steady-cam rigs, and shoulder mounts, but they're pricey and not very useful for stills. So I wondered whether a good monopod -- one of the Manfrotto ones that can be extended and positioned with one hand -- might be a good compromise. I want to be able to set up quickly and grab a good steady shot. For what I intend, mostly documentary style, I won't have a lot of setup time and no crew. I do have a tripod with a video head, but that's cumbersome to use in some situations.

So please tell me, you more experienced users: one-hand-extendible monopod for video ... good idea, or bad idea?

Thanks.
 
I've got a manfrotto monopod with a quick release plate, and it's the best 120$ I've ever spent.

I also have a fig-rig and a steady-tracker extreme. I like both of them. The Fig rig is awesome, but very hard to hold after a while, its versatility is the strong point. The steadytracker is great. It takes 1/10th the time to setup versus any glidecam or steadicam, and the footage is 70 to 80% as good. It's be best "value" when it comes to time/stabilization.

Honestly though, just extending the monopod with a little weight at the bottom does wonders for a faux steadicam shot.

However, between a tripod, and all of the items I just mentioned, if I went to a shoot with ANY camera under 6 pounds and could only bring one piece.... monopod ALL the way!

But get a good one. I had a crappy one and you have no idea how many times I though that thing was just going to crack or break. Get a bogen, or anything else good. I can't vouch for the varizoom or other rigs. Make sure to get a good one. Research it, and go with something as flawless as possible, from there, look at features.

My monopod has a squeeze lever that can adjust half the height without taking your hand off. Others you need to pick up and use both hands to "screw" it unlocked, pull, and lock. Mine does that to, but having the option of either or saves a ton of time, and also means tipping the rig less, which means less chance of damage to the camera.

Hope this helps; but don't take it as the end all be all. People have very different experiences with equipment, and I'd I wouldn't want my ego to get in the way of the right decision for you: there are people here far more experienced than me, and if they steer you otherwise, hear them out.
 
arrestthisman said:
I've got a manfrotto monopod with a quick release plate, and it's the best 120$ I've ever spent.

I also have a fig-rig and a steady-tracker extreme. I like both of them. The Fig rig is awesome, but very hard to hold after a while, its versatility is the strong point. The steadytracker is great. It takes 1/10th the time to setup versus any glidecam or steadicam, and the footage is 70 to 80% as good. It's be best "value" when it comes to time/stabilization.

Honestly though, just extending the monopod with a little weight at the bottom does wonders for a faux steadicam shot.

However, between a tripod, and all of the items I just mentioned, if I went to a shoot with ANY camera under 6 pounds and could only bring one piece.... monopod ALL the way!

But get a good one. I had a crappy one and you have no idea how many times I though that thing was just going to crack or break. Get a bogen, or anything else good. I can't vouch for the varizoom or other rigs. Make sure to get a good one. Research it, and go with something as flawless as possible, from there, look at features.

My monopod has a squeeze lever that can adjust half the height without taking your hand off. Others you need to pick up and use both hands to "screw" it unlocked, pull, and lock. Mine does that to, but having the option of either or saves a ton of time, and also means tipping the rig less, which means less chance of damage to the camera.

Hope this helps; but don't take it as the end all be all. People have very different experiences with equipment, and I'd I wouldn't want my ego to get in the way of the right decision for you: there are people here far more experienced than me, and if they steer you otherwise, hear them out.
Click to expand...

Hey, thanks for this, it's great to know. Is your Manfrotto the 685B model? That's the one that first got me thinking in this direction. Squeeze lever, foot brace. Doesn't pack up too compactly but seems to do everything else well. It's about $230 in Canada, but I wondered whether it might give me a faux steady-cam effect. I'm glad to know that's a possibiility.

Cheers.
 
I own a monopod, and it's a very useful device, but if I had to have just one piece of equipment to steady my shots, it would be a tripod. Sometimes you need to be able to set up your framing and then walk away from the camera, and you can't do this reliably with a monopod...I realize some monopods have feet(my manfrotto 561b has some), but this is not something I would trust walking away from.

So buy a monopod if you'd like, but buy a tripod first.
 
Thanks Nick. No question, a tripod is vital. I got one with video in mind. Monopod would be something I'd use where I had to move or be ready to move with the camera.
 
A tripod is great, but setup times are longer, and with a quick release plate, along with the fact he's using an HD DSLR, he can strap the camera around his neck. The monopod weighs next to nothing.

I would NEVER set a camera down at an event of any kind even locked on a tripod.

I did a wedding like a million years ago, left my camera on the tripod to get myself some water. Literally 1 minute later, I come back to find some 9 year old kids screwing around with my camera! And that wasn't nearly as small as a DSLR.

On the other hand, there isn't anything as sturdy as a good tripod. So... yeah.
 
Hi Jurno,

Before I have the question like you, should I need a monopod or tripod is good enough for shooting video.
Let me tell you about my experience about monopod. This year I went to east coast to shoot 2 video graduations of my nephews. I did bring my carbon tripod. It is light weight and portable. So event came , I started set up my tripod picked a good location to shoot. Later , there came a security supervisor said " Sorry sir , tripod is not allowed in auditorium but you can use monopod ". Then I had to take down my tripod and used hand held my DVX100B for shooting the event. The result was a very shakey video. Both graduations not allow tripod , result of video not very good and I am not very happy. I wished I had a monopod at that time.
After that I started searching for monopod and read a lot of review about monopod then I came across and bought this one from B&H below is their website
http://www.monostat.us/catalog.html
Last 2 weeks I got a chance to shoot another dancing party . This time I tried to use my MONOSTAT RS16SK ART. I could not believe it so easy to set up . I can walk and held my DVX100B on monostat as steady stick. I can move around and cover all angle shots . panning is excellent feature of this Monostat. I mean very smooth. You just hold stick and pan slowly to left or right. This Monostat can stand on any surface that I tested on chair , table.It weight 1.4lb and support camera up to 30lb. Now I love this Monostat and use more often than my tripod.
Well long enough Hope to help you got an idea to decide what to buy.
I plan to use my monostat on the next school concert event.
 
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