Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/01/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]James Laird >I've recently acquired a 400mm 6.8 Telyt R with shoulder stock and >after my first trip into the wilds I realize my plastic Velbon monopod >I got on sale years ago is just not up to the task. I need a good >sturdy but light monopod with quick release ball head that can support >the Telyt and my 40D or SL2 without wobbling. The head must be able to >go completely vertical in able to attach to the shoulder stock >hardware. Any suggestions? Just as with cameras there's no best monopod. My requirements are: 1) easy to adjust one-handed, because I frequently change from standing to sitting to kneeling and back again, and because terrain varies enough that one moment I might be facing uphill and the next moment downhill. I find the twist locks as on the Gitzo and Tiltall models to be less optimal than the locks on the manfrotto models. OTOH the twist locks don't get caught in brush as easily. 2) supports a lot of weight as requrired. SWMBO used my monopod as a walking stick in treacherous terrain in Alaska a few years ago. It did the job well, but I'll refrain from guessing how much weight it handled. 3) extends long enough (I'm 6'1" tall) 4) collapses short enough that I can use it comfortably while seated. A ball head on a monopod IMHO is less than ideal. I prefer a simple inexpensive tilt head such as the manfrotto #234, see http://reallyrightstuff.com/tripods/03.html The lens's tripod mount already has the rotation degree of freedom so duplicating this in the monopod's head is pointless. The monopod I'm using an older Bogen 3218B, which I believe has been replaced by the Manfrotto 681B. It was readily available inexpensively from a colleague, it's sturdy enough for the 560 & DMR (and as a walking stick, in a pinch), I can raise and lower it quickly and easily one-handed (the other hand is keeping the camera/lens from flopping over), it's tall enough for me, and it's taken several years of abuse. Sometimes the leg locks get caught in brush, sometimes it doesn't collapse short enough. If it were to be destroyed I'd get another one just like it. http://wildlightphoto.com/leica/monopod.jpg Doug Herr Birdman of Sacramento http://www.wildlightphoto.com