Monopods- Useful?

[akptc]

The problem would be like tripods with skinny legs.... still rather unstable.

Perhaps some sort of a cross-tie could be built into it, to stabilize the legs...?

 

[eric]

This may be a dumb question but are there any *stable* monopod-tripods? .

I didn't really know how to use one until I looked in my Hasselblad Manual book. You need to have the foot part away from you, and create a "tripod" with the monopod and your two legs. The camera is at an angle to your face and you are sort of counter balancing it by pushing against it. The pressure goes towards the leg and an angle against you. Kinda like leaning into it. After I learned that, I apprecited my monopod a lot more. In other words, if it is straight up and down, you are not using it properly.

 

[akptc]

You need to have the foot part away from you, and create a "tripod" with the monopod and your two legs.

This sounds so simple, I can't believe I didn't think of it myself.. Thanks!

 

[Kin Lau]

Perhaps some sort of a cross-tie could be built into it, to stabilize the legs...?

The problem is the thin skinny legs... without getting into expensive materials like carbon-fibre or such. it's still not very stiff. Then, the problem will actually get worse than not having a tripod at all, because the legs would vibrate.

 

[eli griggs]

IMO you would also have to accept that this design does not allow for sufficient locks to allow the legs to retract into themselves and, on the face of it, the legs themselves would need guiding in and out to rigid positions, being tapered.

You may just be 'locked-in' to whatever height you started out with. Your locks would also need to be flexible enough to deal with the various leg dimensions.
By the time you have your legs at a real world working dimension (out of affordable materials) with locks and center post to legs/hinges mechanism you might as well bought an existing tripod, like a Gitzo, or learned the ins and outs of monopod photography.

This is not to say it can't be done, but unless you have the ability to, or the deep pockets for someone else to make your vision with state-of-the-art carbon fiber, alloys or what have you, you may as well rejoin the herd and 'settle' for the norm.

Anyway, that’s the view from where I’m standing.

Cheers

 

[richard_l]

Very usefull for concerts... I'd say generally very usefull down to about 1/2 sec or 1 sec exposures, but after that becomes very difficult. Oh and you cant use them for vertical shots, wich is one of the biggest irritations with the whole thing to me.

The solution is the Bogen/Manfrotto 3229 monopod head. It is a quick release, and it has only one degree of freedom: rotation from horizontal to vertical (180 degrees). I think ball heads are a little scary on a monopod, and they are overkill anyhow.