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Monopod

jonwang

New Member
Im going outdoors this weekend for some landscape photography with my 500elx. To that purpose I bought a Manfrotto 680 monopod. Does anyone have any experience using monopods for hbl's? with a waistlevel finder I guess the "help" isn't as great as with an slr. Does anyone have any hints?
Jon Wang
 
Jon
I dont find the Hassy that stable on a mono pod. It really is a matter of getting the best out of medium format. Using velvia with small apertures= slow shutter speeds and a tripod is really going to be the best bet.
Richard Marks
 
Hi Jon: I've used a monopod quite often, and it is not anywhere near as stable as a tripod, of course, but better than free-holding in most cases (and much lighter and easier for transportation).

But I've seen people using "skimpy" tripods that wavered in a light breeze, and they should have had a monopod !!.

The trick with any monopod use is making it the "third leg" - your two legs are splayed, plus the monopod is out front, and pulled towards you to make the "tri". With a WL finder, though, you have to be careful not to let your breathing and rib cage cause movement (movement which is less pronounced at head level). The WL finder is the issue, here.

My advice (if you had asked) would be to fill a large sports sock with two pounds (kg) of dry white beans and support your HB on the bean bag on any stable surface - car, chair, fencepost, etc, and use a long cable release. (And if you get lost in the wilderness, you can eat the beans and put the sock on your head. <grin>

Colin
 
Jon,

As stated/inferred above, at some shutter speeds and under certain conditions, the monopod is better than no oustside support but not as good as a tripod. If you are comfortable with the weight and bulk of a monopod but not that of a tripod and your anticipated shuuter speed are in a range, say below 1/125, then I would suggest that the monopd can only help. Like most things, it may be a good idea to shoot a fair number of shots, while on your outing, both with and without the monopod to determine if it is beneficial to YOU with your SLR Hasselblad.

I use the monopod in a sligtly different manner than Colin. I prefer to keep the monopod as close to absolutely vertical as possible and to allow gravity to be the primary force acting on the camera. For help to that end, I use a Arca type receiver on the monopod and Arca type plates on cameras and lenses, and where appropriate, longer plates so as to allow for fore and aft movement in the receiver to keep the center of gravity of the body/lens combination directly over the centerline of the monopod.

Best regards,



Best regards,
 
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