billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Part 2 first, if you are going to shoot from the car with the window partially down make sure the ENGINE is NOT running as the vibrations reaching the window will cause the camera to shake slightly. So, turn the car off, make sure you are off the road and your four way flashers are on.
Part 1, I do not like monopods, I like even worse ball heads on monopods, this combo has never worked well for me unless the bird is on a nest and will not move or your subject is not moving. But, for action, other than soccer and football the monopod is useless. It is very difficult to PAN using a monopod when subjects are going from right to left or left to right. Please, first try hand holding, many of the folks I shoot with at Wakodacatchee in Florida use that lens and 90% of them hand hold. The secret is to use a fast shutter speed. I would recommend at least 1/1500 sec. or faster. Make sure the VR is on and if your lens has a sport setting use that. Good luck and keep on shooting until the end. And you need a lot of practice panning with your camera and lens. I know many folks who will practice on cars going past them, practice until the car is in the center of all your shots, then you are ready for the big time.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

A tilt head will work better on a monopod than a ball head and costs much less.

A bean bag is good for the car window. I use foam pipe insulation which has a vertical split seam when opened fits over the glass. It can be cut to match the length of the window and costs far less.

Bill_de Loc: US

It was mentioned above to shut your car off. Shut the radio off too, particularly if the system has a sub-woofer.

My Jeep, according to the manual, has something like 19 speakers which includes 3 subs. Even turned down low you can feel the vibration. When not shooting it sounds great.

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davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Happy New Year and welcome to the Hogg! Ball-heads are not good ideas when using a monopod. Most shooters use tilt-heads. Obviously, the tilt does the up and down part while the pole will let you apply any other movement needed. You're planning on two new entries in your photographic kit, neither are difficult to learn. Learning will be made easier when done indoors. Monopods are fairly inexpensive and well "worth" their cost, but only when needed. Good luck with your "new" toys and hope you enjoy and learn.

hj Loc: Florida

Tried ball head on my monopod and sold it. Very hard to control ball-head movement and the monopod at the same time. Moved from ball head to a TILT HEAD.

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

Please use the "quote reply" button so we know to whom you're responding.

jackc5512

Just got back from Krueger/Sabi Sands. I brought a RRS monopod with tilt head as well as the clamp. We were in a three row/6 person Safari jeep. After day one, we gave up on the mono pod set up and reverted to the bean bag that mounted to the rail of the jeep. (supplied by Sabi Sands). I found that long lenses (200-400 lens and 300MM lens) were too difficult to operate on the mono pod. I would go with your bean bag idea which will definitely help keep vibration down, especially if you have other passengers in the vehicle. People are constantly moving to get a better angle and it will impact your shots.

peterg Loc: Santa Rosa, CA

That's what I use. Took me awhile to learn NOT to lower the window all the way down or it pops off.

Benttree Loc: GA.

Just on my opinion.
Mono-pod without that bottom tripod it would more usable. It is lighter and can be used as hiking stick. As well when you need to take fast shot there is no time to play and adjusting that bottom spread.
Manfrotto pod with tilting plate and Manfrotto 323 RC2 quick release plate on it.
Manfrotto mono-pod with clips, those turnbuckle's, would run your not. The clips you know the one is open or close at ones.

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

Don't buy a monopod with a head. I would opt for a monopod with an AcraSwiss attachment and an L-bracket. The L-bracket/AcraSwiss combination will allow you to quickly switch from a horizontal to vertical format. Using a movable head on a monopod can be awkward.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Monopod... yes. Ballhead... no.

Get a monopod head, instead. It will only have one axis..... tilt up and down. You don't need the rotational axis of the ballhead (just rotate the entire monopod instead) and a ballhead that's sturdy enough for use with that lens will be relatively heavy. A monopod head is simpler and lighter, with a higher load rating. I've got a monopod fitted with a ballhead, but only because I already had the ballhead so it cost me nothing. The combo would have served a gladiator well as a weapon, or could be used to club a grizzly bear. Another monopod I've only got fitted with a quick release platform (Wimberley or Kirk, I forget which... Arca-style).

Monopod will be good for those times when you need to hold the lens and shoot for more than a few minutes... as well as the added stability. I'd leave the lens' image stabilization on too. You might experiment with the lens to see what f-stops it's the sharpest at several of the longer focal lengths. Test it won both FF and crop cameras.

Monopod also would be handy in more crowded situations, when a tripod would be impossible. It's a lot easier to travel with a monopod, too, than with a tripod. One can double as a walking stick (or a weapon ), too.

Bean bag can be handy, as well... on the window sill or hood or roof of a car.... to set camera an lens upon. But a full one is a pain in the arse when traveling.... No sense carrying the weight while en route. Instead, when you arrive at your destination go to a store and buy an uncooked bag of beans to use in it. Leave them sealed in their bag, then when you're ready to leave you can take out the beans and donate them to someone local who can use them, packing away the now-empty, small, lightweight bean bag.

In-lightened Loc: Kansas City

A pool noodle also works on the car window.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

In my view, a ball head is a total waste of time and money, as well as useless on a monopod. A proper monopod head, such as those sold by Really Right Stuff, is the answer IMHO. Best of luck.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Sorry for the duplicate.

edfgrf1951 Loc: Chatsworth Ga.

I think you would be happy just handholding. I used the G2 lens with a Nikon D7200 at Yellowstone this year.