Monopod + Monogimbal combo for hiking with big lenses

I came across this option for working with super telephoto lenses that I wasn't aware existed. The use of a monopod with a monogimbal head. It appears to offer stability and versatility without the long setup time and weight of a tripod. You add a long arca swiss plate to the lens mounting foot, and attach that to the monogimbal. The monogimbal works like a standard gimbal in that your lens is balanced and dampened, but has some advantages, such as being able to point the camera farther up or down (since it is offset to the side) and not being so bulky. Your lens needs a rotatable tripod collar in order to use it.



When walking around, you can carry it like a rifle and most of the pressure goes onto your back rather than cutting into your shoulder. The camera is immediately available if wildlife is sighted.

Wimberley makes the MH-100 head and sells it for $180, there are also copies going around for about $60 that are said to work similarly well, as long as you don't use the 3/8"-1/4" adapter. Wimberley also makes the P-40 long arca swiss plate with two screw locations that you may need to attach the lens securely.

Reviews are quite positive and the user pictured is satisfied and happy with it still after 5 years of use.

I'll be trying out this technique with the Canon New FD 500mm f/4.5 lens soon. It's 6 pounds and I knew I would need to find a way to make hiking with it less exhausting.

I tried out the technique of walking with it against my back on a long hike with elevation change today. It worked well, much less back strain than normal. I recommend this to others who need to cover distance with heavy gear while keeping it ready to use.

Went down here again from the top of the cliff. Almost 10 pounds of gear was no problem this way.

Walked another few miles with the gear the next day - no problem. After my first outing, I found the Arca Swiss plate needed to be tightened on its double screw attachment to the lens foot, but once I got it extremely tight, it hasn't come loose again. If it does happen again I'll consider using a threadlocker.

Right now I'm using a clear optech bag but want to switch to something more opaque and robust. However it occurred to me that not seeing the controls might pose a problem. I use the button on the lens collar to rotate the camera, and also need to read the aperture setting on the lens. I'm using a Canon T90 in spot-metering manual mode by setting shutter speed with the camera's dial and aperture on the lens. If I switched to auto-exposure I guess these things wouldn't be a problem as everything would be visible in the viewfinder, but less control over the result.