Monopod? Tripod? Steadycam?

lolage

lolage

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Ben
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Hi

After buying a Canon 600D, Tokina 11-16 2.8 and a Sigma 17-50 2.8 I finally feel as if I have a good enough setup to start doing some video!

The only thing which I'm lacking is something to keep my footage stable! I have a cheapo £40 photography tripod (no fluid head etc) which I use more as a monopod which works all right just annoying not being able to pan.

The kind of stuff I will be shooting is extreme sport documentaries for example mountainbike/power kiting/bmx/snowboarding/landboarding videos.

Budget is £200. I have been looking at the Manfrotto 561BHDV-1 monopod, would this sort of thing be suitable for the stuff I shoot? Looks like an awesome bit of kit - just a lot of money for a monopod. :help: Despite that, I think it would be more useful than a tripod for this sort of stuff?

Any ideas or help would be awesome!

Cheers
 
Depends entirely what kind of look you want your video to have.

I'd suggest NOT steadicam.


Tripod or monopod is your call really, I've never used a monopod for video so can't really help I'm afraid. A fluid head on a monopod is certainly an.... interesting... proposal...

Youd' probably be better off getting a Manfrotto 502 head: http://www.cameragrip.co.uk/acatalog/mvh502ah_manfrotto_pro_video_head.html and sticking it on a generic £35 manfrotto monopod tbh... though that's me guessing. Also means you can stick the head on your normal photo tripod. Great bargain video head, I was blown away by it for the price point when I tested it at focus - and I'm used to working with video heads that cost between £400 and £1500 each...

Your other option is a Jag35 shoulder rig - or similar - that will help you stablise the camera and make it much easier to hold and focus.
 
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Monopod and processing to steady further is my 2p's worth :)

Adobe premiere pro cs6 has warp stabilizer which I cannot stop talking about...it's really good!

I was going to get a U-flycam but that's gone out the window since PP added this effect.

I shot this with a compact then steadied in post...

http://vimeo.com/44538990
 
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Actually you would be hard pressed to get shaky footage underwater as it acts as a damper, perhaps the answer shoot from a tank of water :lol:
 
Just get a decent tripod with as good a fluid head as you can afford. It's rule 101 for video really. Worry about all the other **** and gizmos once you've got that.

Warp stabilizier is pretty useful (unless it's advanced monumentally from it's incarnation in AE CS 5.5?) but it doesn't always work right at all. Depends on a lot of factors, and it should be a last resort really. In tests I've done you really can get a 'warp' effect in the background even if your subject is steadied, which is not nice at all.
 
itsdavedotnet said:
Depends entirely what kind of look you want your video to have.

I'd suggest NOT steadicam.


Tripod or monopod is your call really, I've never used a monopod for video so can't really help I'm afraid. A fluid head on a monopod is certainly an.... interesting... proposal...

Youd' probably be better off getting a Manfrotto 502 head: http://www.cameragrip.co.uk/acatalog/mvh502ah_manfrotto_pro_video_head.html and sticking it on a generic £35 manfrotto monopod tbh... though that's me guessing. Also means you can stick the head on your normal photo tripod. Great bargain video head, I was blown away by it for the price point when I tested it at focus - and I'm used to working with video heads that cost between £400 and £1500 each...

Your other option is a Jag35 shoulder rig - or similar - that will help you stablise the camera and make it much easier to hold and focus.
Click to expand...

Cheers, the steadycam is now out of the question. Just need to choose between a monopod and tripod. :help:

Phil Young said:
Monopod and processing to steady further is my 2p's worth :)

Adobe premiere pro cs6 has warp stabilizer which I cannot stop talking about...it's really good!

I was going to get a U-flycam but that's gone out the window since PP added this effect.

I shot this with a compact then steadied in post...

http://vimeo.com/44538990
Click to expand...
Yeah, I think I'm leaning towards a monopod. Kind of the best of both worlds, especially seeing as I only have around £200 at the moment and won't be able to spend any money until the end of the year now! (need to start saving. :p)

Dangleman said:
Just get a decent tripod with as good a fluid head as you can afford. It's rule 101 for video really. Worry about all the other **** and gizmos once you've got that.
Click to expand...

Any reason why you would get a tripod over a monopod? Apart from being able to leave it I don't see why I'd need a tripod? I guess the only advantage to having a tripod would be when I want to get a slider/crane I already have a decent tripod but for the moment I can kind of get the slider/crane type shots with a monopod?
 
I've just bought the 561B today for £130 from a local audio/video store ( it's the discontinued model, im not yet sure what the differences are ).
I've not had chance to play yet, but i'll report back once I have
 
lolage said:
Apart from being able to leave it I don't see why I'd need a tripod?
Click to expand...

Think you've answered your own question there. A tripod is more stable (obviously), and you can walk away from it. With a monopod you also only have one hand free - very useful to have the option of both.
If you really want a monopod, get a decent light tripod and fold all the legs in ;)
 
Hi Ben,

An update on the Manfrotto 561-hdv..
I've still not really used it yet, but I've been watching the Photo/Video Fusion workshop on CreativeLive and they are saying its a fantastic bit of kit. They use it all the time. It's main plus points are the amount of stabilisation points it has (depending on how you use it). They were saying that the manfrotto is something that every videographer owns

I got in touch with Manfrotto and asked what the differences were between the 561b and the 561hdv, and they said the 561b just uses a slightly older model of the head. Other than that they are exactly the same.
So if you decide to go for it, there's a shop called NAV that sell it for £130, which is a lot cheaper than elsewhere, so it'd be quite under your budget
 
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djs said:
Hi Ben,

An update on the Manfrotto 561-hdv..
I've still not really used it yet, but I've been watching the Photo/Video Fusion workshop on CreativeLive and they are saying its a fantastic bit of kit. They use it all the time. It's main plus points are the amount of stabilisation points it has (depending on how you use it). They were saying that the manfrotto is something that every videographer owns

I got in touch with Manfrotto and asked what the differences were between the 561b and the 561hdv, and they said the 561b just uses a slightly older model of the head. Other than that they are exactly the same.
So if you decide to go for it, there's a shop called NAV that sell it for £130, which is a lot cheaper than elsewhere, so it'd be quite under your budget
Click to expand...
Cheers but have had a search for that company and monopod and not found anything. Any chance of a link? :thumbs:
 
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Hiya. I just went to get the link and it's disappeared from their website.
It was Nav.co.uk
they're a Nottingham based company. When I picked mine up they said they've been getting a few calls about them due to the price.
Worth giving them a call on the number on their website just in case they have some left tho.
 
I've just bought a Manfrotto video monopod 561 BHDV 1 which is pretty good, compact and has improved my video over handheld by around 60% in terms of usable footage.
 
lolage said:
Hi

After buying a Canon 600D, Tokina 11-16 2.8 and a Sigma 17-50 2.8 I finally feel as if I have a good enough setup to start doing some video!

The only thing which I'm lacking is something to keep my footage stable! I have a cheapo £40 photography tripod (no fluid head etc) which I use more as a monopod which works all right just annoying not being able to pan.

The kind of stuff I will be shooting is extreme sport documentaries for example mountainbike/power kiting/bmx/snowboarding/landboarding videos.

Budget is £200. I have been looking at the Manfrotto 561BHDV-1 monopod, would this sort of thing be suitable for the stuff I shoot? Looks like an awesome bit of kit - just a lot of money for a monopod. :help: Despite that, I think it would be more useful than a tripod for this sort of stuff?

Any ideas or help would be awesome!

Cheers
Click to expand...

Like you, I'm keen to do more video and a fluid head is at the top of my list. Probably the Manfrotto 501HDV (£125).

A steady cam would be number two for me. (This Blackbird looks nice but I cant find it in the UK http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSG0vVXoq-M) Have you seen Devin Graham's youtube channel(s). He seems to use his steady cam a lot for his extreme sports work. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9QvsJUrf5M I love the way he gets really close to the action, but admits himself that he has lost a couple of cameras.

The monopod would be a distant third. Can't see the point. As mentioned above, just close your tripod and extend one leg. Is weight a big issue for you?
 
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I think at some point everyone starts considering a steadicam type of thing. There's nothing else that can do what they do and a well executed shot is very satisfying for the viewer.

I have a cheapo Lensse stabilizer that does an OK job. It did take a long time to balance and every time a lens is changed you need to do alot of fine tuning.

It turned out to have too much weight on the bottom. I didn't think it would get by with so little weight but lightening things up turned it from a pendulum swinging mess to something quite useful.

Due to the nature of what they all are - ie finding and nailing the centre of gravity - none of them are a cinch to balance.

This is the DIY steadicam I'm planning on building next http://www.hv20.com/showthread.php?38640-Glidecam-style-DIY-Steadicam-of-mine-Wiggle-Stick which should be a step up in functionality.

Couldn't bring myself to spend £500+ on something so simple. Tripod yes, a bunch of tubes, gimbals and weights no.

I have a monopod but can't quite figure out the point so far. We'll see.
 
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Monopods as cheap as they are can add a lot to the production value.

You can fake a crane shot with a well balanced system and steadicam with good technique. I'm filming a wedding in 3 Weeks and plan to use a Steadicam for about 80% of my shots.

It does have a lot to do with the type of video you are producing, sometimes a tripod will severely hold you back from getting important shots...
 
Well I've spent hours watching YouTube videos to get the "swing" correct and almost have it perfect. Just seems to take a lot of adjustment whilst filming - i.e. the camera will face a different way whilst walking. Very frustrating....
 
You can fake a track in by using the 561BHDV-1. I start the shot with pod lent fully back and then tilt it forward during shot. Best done on the wide end of the zoom and don't try and stabilise the base by putting your feet on the folding legs. It's not necessary and you could get carried away and break the legs off.

It's a versatile pice of kit in my opinion.
 
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