Monopods 101

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Having learned that a monopod is quite a good idea, I've been reading up about them. Many of the threads thrash out specific issues but I'm really looking for a more basic explaination. What I haven't really understood though is what issues are involved. What should I be looking at, what type of head should I be looking for, how do the needs of a head differ from those you'd choose for a tripod?

How might I end up using one and how might my choice of monopod and head be affected by use. Also, do people really use them as walking sticks? I have a Giottos Ball head for my tripod, would that be best suited being left on the tripod? Would there be a logic in getting a matching monopod head QR system?

I guess I'm really looking for thinking about how to determine what monpod and head to choose, a bit of an idiots guide to choosing kit.

I have no preconceived ideas about how I'd expect to use one and don't have the budget for RSS heads etc. It would be expected to support quite a heavy lens.

Any help and advice is welcomed.
 
With a monopod you want it to support the weight of the camera and lens but still allow you to point the camera where you want quickly. A basic tilt head or a ball head is deal and as you already have a ball head then I would use that.
 
thanks for your reply.

i may need to get another head anyway due to my current head's incompatibility with Black Rapid tripod fastener (i.e. not having an RC2 QR system).

As with everything there are always at least two sides to an arguement and I've heard that tilt heads are better than ball heads for monopods. Is this a commonly held opinion, are they just naturally better suited to the use of monopods?

thanks
 
You can tilt and turn the monopod itself so the extra movement of the ball head doesn't really matter. However I like the friction control of a good ball head which enables you to use a much lighter touch on the camera which helps to steady it even more.
 
I've just been reading that the manfrotto tilt heads only support 2.5kg. That.s a bit of a showstopper (most ball heads support between 4 and 10kg).

So, ask a dumb question, you would set the friction of the head to be less that the friction of the monopod to ensure that the head turned without you turning the mono itself?
 
I normally have the friction set so that it generally holds the camera in position but I can move it with little force. That means I can have a light hold of the camera which reduces shake.
I certainly found the ball head useful at the British wildlife centre on Saturday. Taking pictures of the otters at times I had to tilt the monopod so I could get a picture pas other people and then used the ball head to straighten the horizon and tilt the camera. A normal tilt head would not have worked in that situation.
 
is the top of a ball head fitted with anything generic?

is it possible to, for example, remove the QR of my Giottos and put a QR from a Manfrotto (not just the plate but the plate housing too)?

It occured to me that if you can screw things straight into the camera (i.e. monopods) then perhaps there is some common fitting (screw/thread beneath the QR) that all makes share.
 
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