Monopod

[John 2]

Sorry to be a downsider but I also have one acquired as a gift and I have never really got on with it. I agree with all the comments about flexibility and weight but it lacks lateral stability for me unless I can jam it against a wall or a fence. Basically, if there is enough light for a shutter speed to overcome that readily, I will shoot hand held for preference and take my chances.

[Panama Hat & Camera]

Does anyone use a monopod and if so what are the advantages over a tripod other than size? I received one as a gift and am trying to figure out a use for it.

Paul,
Please see my threads about monopods.
Using monopods
Using monopods (2)
Try to guess which photos were taken handheld, with monopod or tripod, with or withou

Cheers,
Antonio.

[LePetomane]

Antonio, thanks for the link.

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Best advice I've seen on using a monopod is to carry a piece of string that is long enough to go to camera height twice so you can improvise a tripod by standing on the ends of the string while it's looped over the head of the monopod.
Make sense of that?

[rpcrowe]

Best advice I've seen on using a monopod is to carry a piece of string that is long enough to go to camera height twice so you can improvise a tripod by standing on the ends of the string while it's looped over the head of the monopod.
Make sense of that?

My two legs combined with the monopod's single leg are an improvised tripod for me...

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I've always had better luck steadying a camera if I eliminate my body from the support system equation, Richard. Keeping tension on the string while pushing against the monopod does that for me. YMMV.

[William W]

Best advice I've seen on using a monopod is to carry a piece of string that is long enough to go to camera height twice so you can improvise a tripod by standing on the ends of the string while it's looped over the head of the monopod.
Make sense of that?

A Flat Strap is better than string: because there is very little give (elasticity) and a flat strap has more purchase (grip) than string on the soles of the shoes and the ground:



WW

[John 2]

I can see how a string/strap brace will work but adjusting camera angles wouldn't be quick and would it be as effective stood in a muddy field waiting for a train or wildlife? I have come to rely o bean bags for preference but they do require some supporting structure to be available. Might give a strap a try. If nothing else, it will add to the choices available.

[tclune]

I've posted this before, but by far the best overview of how to use a monopod that I have seen is this one. FWIW

[inkista]

Just to mention an off-label usage for a monopod, I tend to use mine more for off-camera lighting purposes (what the Strobist called strobe-on-a-rope) than for when I'm birding [I tend to go handheld for BiF with the Canon 400/5.6L]. If you screw a stud onto the monopod, you can then attach an umbrella swivel or softbox bracket to the end of it, mount your light, radio receiver/TTL cable and modifier on it, and then hand it to a VALS or juggle it with your non-shooting hand. I adore my four-section carbon fiber monopod for this, because it's light enough be a makeshift boom--assuming you have a strong enough VALS or left arm. Easier for most VALS to handle than a lightstand, too.