Tripod and/or Monopod or Neither

[Digital]

I would like to take a poll of CIC persons who use a tripod and/or monopod or neither.
As I get older I find that I can not hand hold a camera/lens as steady as I used to.
Thank you for your time in this informal survey.
Any comments will be appreciated, and held strictly confidential.

Bruce

[nimitzbenedicto]

Hi Bruce,

Yep, like you I can not hand hold a camera as steady as I used to.

So, whenever possible, I either use a tripod and/or monopad or if I forgot to bring any of them along, just shoot handheld.

HTH

[kdoc856]

Hey, Bruce

I almost always use a tripod for landscapes. I'll hand hold my 70-200 if I have adequate light, but almost always put my 70-400 on a mono.

[Digital]

Thank you Victor, and Kevin for commenting. Let me pose another question: for those who use a monopod how many of you put a head on it (e.g. ball head)?

Bruce

[zen]

At age 76 and losing muscle tone, it is almost impossible for me to hold my 5D3 steady, and it is quite noticeable. Consequently, I use either my tripod or monopod or crank up shutter speed to something more than 200. I know that's "cheating", but sometimes it's the only way I can get the shot I want.

I don't like this business of getting old, but haven't figured out a way to stop it yet.

Good luck all.

Zen

[Manfred M]

Depends - I have two tripods (three if you count my video one) and a monopod. I regularly shoot tripods when I want to use slow shutter speeds or do something where I want tight alignment on a series of shots. I have not used the monopod in years. I mostly handhold. I also have a window bracket with a ball head so that I can use the car window as a stabilization device and it fits the monopod as well, but I haven't tried it there.

[Adrian]

Tripod for night shots with long exposure, video and some posed portraits.
Monopod as a video stabiliser sometimes, but rarely otherwise.
Mostly shoot Av with ISO adjusted to deliver enough shutter speed to enable hand held.

[DanK]

I use both. Both carbon fiber, because I can't comfortably haul as much as I used to and save weight when I can. I have a tilt head, not a ballhead, on the monopod. It rotates on only one plane, which is typically fine for monopod, since you can tilt it. You can be decent ones for under $40 (I had a Benro), but if you want arca swiss, the few that are available are very expensive. I now use a Kirk, which is very nicely machined, but it is heavy and expensive.

[Digital]

Thank all of you for responding. Please continue to respond to this informal surey.

Bruce

[rpcrowe]

I use both a tripod and a monopod. In fact I have two tripods; a sturdy Giottos for my regular shooting when I do not have to lug the darn thing far and a lightweight SLIK Pro 330DX which weighs right at one kilo and which I use for travel and for boonie tromping...
I have a Calumet graphite monopod with a Kirk MPA-2 tilt-head. I was using a lighter weight Calumet monopod and Kirk MPA-1 tilt head until I was walking in one direction and the bus in Croatia, on which I left the unit was going in another direction.
I really missed the monopod for the rest of my Greek and Istanbul trip. Not only do I use it to stabilize my camera (at 73, I need all the help I can get) but, often use it to stabilize this old body which, after a couple of knee replacements and back surgery, needs all the stabilization I can offer it.
I like the tilt head with an Arca Compatible quick release system because, I can easily switch camera and lenses and can tilt the camera up or down while maintaining the pod perpendicular to the ground (which is the way I prefer to use it).
Both a tripod and a monopod help stabilize a camera/lens but, they are not interchangeable. The monopod cannot be used for as slow shutter speeds as I can use when tripod mounted. However, the monopod is lighter, simple to set up and doesn't take up much space.
I can hand hold my 70-200mm f/4L IS lens (which I did for the rest of my vacation) but, I prefer to use either a monopod or a tripod when shooting with my 300mm or 400mm lenses.
I like to carry my camera and longer lenses, on the monopod with the camera/lens resting on my shoulder. While the KIRK MPA-1 swivel head was suitable for supporting the camera/lens when shooting; I am more confident of the durability of the heavier-duty MPA-2 swivel head when carrying the camera/lens over my shoulder.

[Digital]

Thank you Richard for responding.


Bruce

[tbob]

Tripod for anything that isn't moving (old farmhouses, barns, landscapes, plant macro and low light) or I don't need the flexibility to contort myself into weird places to shoot. I don't own a monopod. I estimate 80% of my shoots are tripod held.

[rtbaum]

I find that for my style of photography that both are important. I use the tripod with a sturdy ball head for macro and the monopod with the tilt head for telephoto of fidgeting birds and bugs. I tried using a ball head on the monopod without much success, too much screwing around with knobs.

[rpcrowe]

I have a hickory walking stick onto which I attached a spare Arca Compatible clamp. It will not collapse and shooting up or down is a bit of a bother but, when I am navigating some really rough terrain, it can support my weight quite well.

Additionally, a bean bag is a lightweight and cheap way to stabilize a camera if you have something to rest it on or rest it against.

This one is quite big and fairly expensive...
http://www.vertexphoto.com/BeanBag.aspx

The POD is small, inexpensive and incorporates a tripod screw.
http://www.amazon.com/The-POD-Camera...camera+beanbag

An alternate beanbag approach is to cut a portion of the leg off a pair of trousers and sew it into a beanbag. It would be especially handy to have one end closed with Velcro or a zipper. That way you could empty it for flying and fill it with beans, rice or Styrofoam popcorn when you arrive at your destination.

Shooting from the observation decking of the Galata Tower in Istanbul Turkey;


I rested my camera on the wall surrounding the observation deck. There were round stones at intervals around the deck that made great camera rests. I was just hoping that these several hundred year old portions of the tower would not collapse as I was bracing my camera against them. It would have been a long way down! However, I got some very sharp shots hand holding my 7-200mm f/4L IS lens...

[pnodrog]

Have a monopod but hardly ever use it unless I am travelling light but I prefer it with the head on.. Use my tripod frequently.

[HenkB]

Both tripod and monopod. Hand-held, kinda/sorta, too. I have a ball head on the monopod and keep it attached to the L-plate on the camera not at bottom, but at the side. I carry the camera with the monopod arranged as a tail. This allows me to hand hold the camera with the monopod steadied on my left shoulder (landscape mode, left or right eye) or right shoulder (portrait, right eye). This pretty much eliminates pitch and most of yaw, leaving only roll. I also use it more "normally", typically in dimmer light or longer focal lengths. Having the ball head makes it possible to go through all sorts of gyrations to get the best support available but still orient the camera optimally for the subject at hand. I will, if it is most convenient, shoot strictly hand-held, too. All studio-type work gets done on the tripod - no exceptions.

[Dr Bob]

I have 2 tripods and 2 monopods. One tripod is aluminum (Manfrotto 55XPROB) and used for general use where I don't have to carry it too far.The other is graphite ( Manfrotto 190CXPRO4) for hiking, etc. Both monopods are aluminum with one being a sturdy Manfrotto 680B and the other is a no name lighter monopod that is better for hiking. The monopods have a tilt and ball head. The tripods have ball heads. I use the tripods for closeups, macro and some landscape in low light. Monopods are used for an array of shots and travel when I need more stability. In good light I just hand hold, but I am learning to rely more and more on the stabilization of mono and tripods.

Dr Bob

[Brownbear]

Neither, most of the time. Except for moon shots, and I have noted that a tripod is needed for landscapes.

[Dave Humphries]

Hand held or Mono-pod, rarely tripod, unless for a specific reason like macro or night shooting.

I need to get a Manfrotto QR plate to attach to the tripod to match what's on bottom of camera and on top of Mono-pod - it might encourage more use

I also have a bean bag which is handy at times.

[Digital]

Hand held or Mono-pod, rarely tripod, unless for a specific reason like macro or night shooting.

I need to get a Manfrotto QR plate to attach to the tripod to match what's on bottom of camera and on top of Mono-pod - it might encourage more use


I also have a bean bag which is handy at times.

Dave, I have a QR plate for both my tripod, and monopod. I love how it locks the camera securely to either one of them.

Bruce