monopod with Mamiya 645

[Neil Grant]

how does a monopod compare with tripod for steadiness? Is it almost as good??

 

[JWMster]

For long or slow exposures, I'd say no. But for regular exposures, it is very handy. Solves mostly the up-and-down wobble. Side-to-side and/or "twist" remain. For most ordinary shooting and even some indoor, this can be enough. If you're really lengthening exposure, I'd recommend a real tripod or at least a small desktop tripod or sandbag or something where you can take your hands off the camera. At the end of the day, get one and see if it works. I have a monopod which I love, a small mini-pod and full blow heavy duty tripod. Use the right tool for the job, but use a tool. WHat's that someone quoted to me as saying? A camera support is your most useful lens. Yes, it will make that much of a difference in sharpness. Worth the bucks. Spend accordingly.

 

[jvo]

2 pieces of equipment for 2 different uses.... see above

 

[MattKing]

It will be useful for shooting in landscape orientation.
Unless you have a fairly substantial tripod head or a rotating adapter on it, it will not work well for shooting in portrait orientation.
I have used my 645 Pro with the older style rotating adapter on my monopod, but prefer a tripod.

 

[Luckless]

Steadiness will depend on usage, what monopod you have, and where you are. They are a handy tool, but not really a full replacement to a tripod. Depending on the design of the monopod and the tripod you're comparing, there are some things that you can pull off with a monopod that won't work well with many styles of tripods.

I find my largest use of a monopod is simply to carry the weight of a heavy but otherwise handheld setup more so than directly adding stability. If I'm out birding with a 500mm lens, then I would often use the monopod to hold the camera up 'at the ready' so that my neck/shoulders/arms aren't getting tired from holding the weight while waiting for a subject to head where I want them, but then I would lift the whole thing off the ground when taking the actual shots. (The monopod then acts as a dampening mass hanging down from the camera while doing panning shots rather than trying to pivot myself around it - It just felt like I got smoother pans out of it.)

You can get very good stability from a monopod by using it as a pole that you wedge or pin down somewhere. I've used a monopod to hold a 4x5 for shots by doing things like pressing it up against a fence with my knee, wedging it in place and hooking my leg around it while sitting on a bench, lying down with the monopod pinned under me at the top of a knoll or on a large rock, or even sticking it in a tree and hanging my gear bag from it. I've resorted to such things in part because my carbon fibre monopod is smaller and easier to pack than a tripod, and doubles as a light walking stick far better than a tripod, but also mostly because the only tripod I own is in storage on the far side of the country and I haven't gotten around to getting one out here on the west coast yet.

A tripod and a monopod will always be limited in stability based on their construction and where you place them.
-The beefiest and most stable of tripods won't give you great multi-minute exposures if you plant it down on a bridge deck next to a running pile driver, and a monopod propped against a fence isn't going to give great stable results if there are a dozen kids using the rest of the fence as a set of monkey bars.

 

[Heijermans]

I have a different way to use my monopod. I don’t place the foot of the pod directly under the camera, but let it rest behind my left foot. The leg of the monopod is firm in my groin. In doing so I make a tripod of body and monopod. Not only the up and down movements, but also the forward and backward and sideway movements are limited.