Tripod or Monopod? Also WB question

B

bgpixelman

Active member
Hi. I am heading down to South America for a run and gun kind of shoot doing documentary kind of work at a school and a child development center. I am taking a carbon fiber tripod and a Manfrotto 701 head but was reconsidering whether I should take a monopod too. I shot my GH2 for the first time over the weekend and was surprised how good it looked (indoors) with only a monopod and the 20mm 1.7. I have purchased and set up a Halorig. Suggestions?

Also, at the same shoot, I just used AWB at stage lighting situation and it turned out great, along with my 20mm 1.7 lens. As as still shooter, I always used a custom WB. Do most of you all use custom WB or let it go with AWB? Thanks.
 
If you are shooting under conditions where the value isn't going to jump around, I recommend locking into one of the presets (3200 / 5600K) or manually white balancing if neither is satisfactory. Having to deal with multiple and variable WB settings in post can be a hassle.
 
Monopod is very nice. Its smiley face! And don't forgot, no need to give tripod head on monpod. No need. Not bad! Omg!
 
bgpixelman said:
Hi. I am heading down to South America for a run and gun kind of shoot doing documentary kind of work at a school and a child development center. I am taking a carbon fiber tripod and a Manfrotto 701 head but was reconsidering whether I should take a monopod too. I shot my GH2 for the first time over the weekend and was surprised how good it looked (indoors) with only a monopod and the 20mm 1.7. I have purchased and set up a Halorig. Suggestions?

Also, at the same shoot, I just used AWB at stage lighting situation and it turned out great, along with my 20mm 1.7 lens. As as still shooter, I always used a custom WB. Do most of you all use custom WB or let it go with AWB? Thanks.
Click to expand...
For video, consider the Manfrotto 560B-1 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/434422-REG/Manfrotto_560B_1_560B_1_Fluid_Video_Monopod.html) or the 561BHDV-1(http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/737980-REG/Manfrotto_561BHDV_1_Fluid_Video_Monopod_W_Head.html).

I have both. Both have a "fluid" head at the bottom which does a decent job for pans. The 560B has a standard monopod head (for still cameras) at the top, while the 561BHDV has a fluid head similar to the 701 but it only works in the vertical direction (horizontal for pans is taken care of by the fluid foot). The little feet on the bottom do a nice job of stabilizing the camera for videos and stills. IMO, they are much better than the standard monopod foot.

I bought the 561BHDV first, primarily for a trip to Belize in March. I like it and it works very well, but it's heavy and long, which is an issue for international travel. While in Glazers in Seattle, I was playing with the 560B and loved it! It doesn't have the vertical reach of the 561BHDV and doesn't have the fluid head, but it's smaller and much lighter (1.5lbs vs 4.2lbs). An extra 2.7lbs doesn't sound like much unless you're worried about luggage weight restrictions or if you'll be climbing up hills in the Belize jungle in 95 degree heat. For my Belize trip, I decided to forgo the flexibility of the 561BHDV's video head for light weight and size of the 560B.

For your trip, the 560B might work very well. If you want to go very light, you can pop your GH2 on the 560B's standard head and do pretty well. If you want the video head, you can pop off the 560B's standard head and replace it with your 701 head. Then you could install the monopod's standard head on your tripod and use it for lighting or a second, static camera.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Dan.
 
Last edited:
Monopods are great if it is your intention to make your video look like it was shot from a monopod, to put it simply. A lightweight tripod with spreaders is EVERY bit as mobile as a monopod, and your video will look like it was shot from a tripod.

Some film-makers think shooting movies with shoulder mounts looks cool. Some like tripods. Some like steadicams. But monopods, IMHO, NEVER have a place when shooting movies...whether it is a kid's birthday party or the next Hollywood epic. No matter how many fluid heads, retractable legs, handlebars, etc your strap onto it, it still looks like a video shot from a monopod. But that's just my personal opinion. :D

Monopods are for still photographers with heavy cameras/lenses. That's where they come in pretty handy.
 
I agree. Learned this the hard way. For stills, I love my Gitzo monopod. But while monopods reduce vertical motion, they do nothing for (and can even exacerbate) horizontal. And they introduce a whole new category of unwanted camera motion, the micro-rotation. Looks horrendous on video on no stabilizing plug-in can fix it.

Heed swyzlstyx's advice. Avoid monopods for video. I'd go so far as to say you're better off holding the camera with both hands to stabilize it than you are using a monopod when it comes to video.

swyzlstyx said:
Monopods are great if it is your intention to make your video look like it was shot from a monopod, to put it simply. A lightweight tripod with spreaders is EVERY bit as mobile as a monopod, and your video will look like it was shot from a tripod.

Some film-makers think shooting movies with shoulder mounts looks cool. Some like tripods. Some like steadicams. But monopods, IMHO, NEVER have a place when shooting movies...whether it is a kid's birthday party or the next Hollywood epic. No matter how many fluid heads, retractable legs, handlebars, etc your strap onto it, it still looks like a video shot from a monopod. But that's just my personal opinion. :D

Monopods are for still photographers with heavy cameras/lenses. That's where they come in pretty handy.
Click to expand...
 
Monopods are great for video if used correctly, they are not a substitute for a tripod, but an aid for hand held. Be sure to get a small tilt head for your monopod so you can adjust and lock off your tilt angle.
 
Last edited:
What's a good low profile tripod then? I got a cheap monpod to try for schooting my sons school events, and it was terrible! The shake was awful.
 
Whenever I look back at the shots made using monopod, I wish I had used the tripod.

With 20mm, monopod may be less shaky, but there is no escaping it and the hassle of carrying a tripod is more than rewarded with shots you can get. IMHO.
 
The only scenario where a monopod is capable of holding a camera steady enough for shake-free video is when your camera/lens has built-in image stabilization, which means you wouldn't really need a monopod anyway. Even with a wide angle lens, even with a steady grip, the camera will pivot and move horizontally with a monopod, it's inescapable.

If anyone has good, steady monopod assisted footage that wasn't otherwise aided by internal cam/lens stabilization or post-production motion smoothing, I'd like to see it and know how you pulled it off. You can LOL all you want but I'd like to see how well your definition of usable footage jibes with mine.
 
Nobody saying mono pod more steady than tripod! Lol! But anyone know it more steady than hand held. Not even 20 year newsman can shoulder mount as steady as monopod. Lol! Mono perfect for the little tiny gh cams.
 
I use the Manfrotto 560B-1 but not in the typical fashion. I use it with my shoulder rig! I mount the QR plate to the bottom of my rig and pop on the monopod when I have a long segment to shoot, but don't have time or room to put it on sticks. I shoulder it, but with floor support via the monopod so I still have two hands on the rig for very steady shots even when using non IS primes. Leaves a hand free for FF also.
 
shaveblog said:
The only scenario where a monopod is capable of holding a camera steady enough for shake-free video is when your camera/lens has built-in image stabilization, which means you wouldn't really need a monopod anyway. Even with a wide angle lens, even with a steady grip, the camera will pivot and move horizontally with a monopod, it's inescapable.

If anyone has good, steady monopod assisted footage that wasn't otherwise aided by internal cam/lens stabilization or post-production motion smoothing, I'd like to see it and know how you pulled it off. You can LOL all you want but I'd like to see how well your definition of usable footage jibes with mine.
Click to expand...

I use a monopod all the time without IS and it works great! Here is a video where most of my shots are handheld some with IS but lot's without at 50mm (100mm), mind you it does have post smoothing... If this looks acceptable then a monopod only makes it better!

http://vimeo.com/15787637
 
shaveblog said:
The only scenario where a monopod is capable of holding a camera steady enough for shake-free video is when your camera/lens has built-in image stabilization, which means you wouldn't really need a monopod anyway. Even with a wide angle lens, even with a steady grip, the camera will pivot and move horizontally with a monopod, it's inescapable.

If anyone has good, steady monopod assisted footage that wasn't otherwise aided by internal cam/lens stabilization or post-production motion smoothing, I'd like to see it and know how you pulled it off. You can LOL all you want but I'd like to see how well your definition of usable footage jibes with mine.
Click to expand...
The monopod is pivoting because you're trying to use a still monopod for video. The two monopods I recommended have stabilizing feet and a "fluid" feature in the foot which acts like the horizontal portion of a video fluid head. It's the fluid foot that helps prevent pivoting. For horizontal movements, it feels like you're using a tripod with a fluid head.

Here's a video shot with the Manfrotto 561BHDV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gof74TSBbK8.

Regards,

Dan.
 
Exactly my point -- it has post-processing stabilization, so why even use the monopod in the first place? If you're going to sit there and let FCP and Smoothcam analyze and stabilize your footage, why not just go handheld? In many ways handheld is better than a monopod, it doesn't encourage the kind of motion that even Smoothcam can't really correct for later.

The OP's original question was whether he should bring a monopod along to a shoot along with his carbon fiber tripod. Some of us cautioned him that a monopod is not nearly as good as a tripod at stabilizing the camera and preventing unwanted movement that will look terrible. Some of us disagree, feeling a monopod is capable of good video. And some of us seem to consider a monopod with added legs a monopod when it ceases to be a monopod once the leg count grows larger than one. Those Manfrottos you referenced are actually tripods, Dan, regardless of what Manfrotto calls them. If they have three legs, they're tripods, and FWIW, I've tried those things and they're no better than a straight "still" monopod. They do not hold the camera firmly locked in a single point in space any better than a simple monopod, and that is what we're trying to do here, lock the camera at a single point in space so it doesn't move around while shooting video. The less movement, the better the tripod. The more movement, the worse. There isn't a monopod out there that can hold a camera as motionless as a good tripod, so since the OP is already bringing that with him, I would think the matter's settled. But alas.

mojo43 said:
I use a monopod all the time without IS and it works great! Here is a video where most of my shots are handheld some with IS but lot's without at 50mm (100mm), mind you it does have post smoothing... If this looks acceptable then a monopod only makes it better!

http://vimeo.com/15787637
Click to expand...
 
If baseline is tripod monopod won't satisfied you. If baseline handheld, monopod even without head make you smiley. Much better than hand helding and fast to arrange it. For me, monopod with feet and head is nice but starting to get hassle already. Please also check cheesy cam, he make video of monopod cut in half and its work! Omg!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top