Use of monopod: I recently bought a monopod so that I could carry it around more easily than a tripod. However while I was using it I found that my images were not any better than when...

grahamfourth

I recently bought a monopod so that I could carry it around more easily than a tripod. However while I was using it I found that my images were not any better than when I hand-held the camera. Are there best-practice methods for optimizing image stabilization using a monopod?

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

grahamfourth I typically get maybe a couple of stops with my massive carbon fiber Sirui P424 monopod with a Sirui L-10 head

However that is not the reason I use it... I'm shooting League Soccer with an AF-S 200-400mm f/4 IF ED VR that weighs over 7 lbs... add a Nikon D3 or D810 to that piece of kit and your dealing with over 10 pounds.

The Take Away here is being able to shoot three matches in one day... virtually impossible without a massive monopod. btw, Tripods can pose a serious danger to players; officials etc. thus are strictly verboten.

If you check the web for YouTube videos on technique you find a myriad of methodologies..
The trick is finding one that works for you, your kit and your genre.

Please tell the folks here what you're shooting.... And what pieces of kit you are deploying...
Without knowing this you query is pretty much meaningless.

I will share with you that monopods are not germane for BIF...
They are epic for panning on a horizontal plane...
Need to go vertical? Nope, wrong tool..

Plan on investing some serious time practicing technique...
Like playing a musical instrument... You'll only master it with dedication and practice...

Hope this helps... All the best on your photographic journey grahamfourth ...

KindaSpikey Loc: English living in San Diego

Hi Graham, I find with a loop of cord around my neck and the head of the monopod, I can exert a little pressure and it will stabilize it much more than the monopod alone,(you need to experiment with the length of the cord). Works well for me, hope it might be of help to you.

Alphabravo2020

What shutterspeed are you typically shooting at? If you are above 1/60s then a monopod may not help much. A monopod should allow you to shoot at 1/30s or maybe even 1/15s.

If you think of a handheld camera as having 6 degrees of freedom, xyz translation and xyz rotation, then a monopod damps half of them, one translation (z), and two rotations (xy). Damping just one translation also cuts out most higher frequency vibrations.

Jrhoffman75 Loc: Conway, New Hampshire

https://youtu.be/Fgj8bMviZOw

From Steve Perry.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

I use a Wimberley MH-100 on my mono and it works quite well for wildlife with D850/200-500, etc. It is also easy to carry and deploy when hiking. Check Steve Perry: “The Ultimate Monopod Head? Wimberley Monogimbal Head Review.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgj8bMviZOw

EDIT: LOL, didn’t mean to duplicate JR! I was working on my reply and was too slow!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Your lens IS / VC should remain active (on) when using your monopod, or the IBIS in your mirrorless.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

grahamfourth wrote:

I recently bought a monopod so that I could carry it around more easily than a tripod. However while I was using it I found that my images were not any better than when I hand-held the camera. Are there best-practice methods for optimizing image stabilization using a monopod?

Grahm
I started having trouble a few years ago holding my camera steady and fuzzy images, shooting any thing but flash or very high speeds.My trouble is my age, and I am not real steady standing for long periods of time.
I found my monopods didn't help at all anymore, I did use my tripod as a bi-pod for a while, but that no longer works.
So now it is a tripod for everything but flash.
It was hard to accept needing a tripod, I handheld everything but very long exposures for over 45 yrs.
Yes, tripods can be cumbersome and mine get heavier every year, but they allow me to keep shooting, so a tripod it is.
Good luck and keep shooting.
P/S the monopods make a good walking stick and can be used of an attitude modifier in an emergency

cedymock Loc: Irmo, South Carolina

grahamfourth wrote:

I recently bought a monopod so that I could carry it around more easily than a tripod. However while I was using it I found that my images were not any better than when I hand-held the camera. Are there best-practice methods for optimizing image stabilization using a monopod?

Check this from Back Country Gallery, good video

https://backcountrygallery.com/tripod-monopod-or-handheld-which-is-best/

d3200prime

Thomas902 wrote:

grahamfourth I typically get maybe a couple of sto... (show quote)

Great, thoughtful answer.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

grahamfourth wrote:

I recently bought a monopod so that I could carry it around more easily than a tripod. However while I was using it I found that my images were not any better than when I hand-held the camera. Are there best-practice methods for optimizing image stabilization using a monopod?

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-473677-1.html
.

pecohen Loc: Central Maine

KindaSpikey wrote:

Hi Graham, I find with a loop of cord around my neck and the head of the monopod, I can exert a little pressure and it will stabilize it much more than the monopod alone,(you need to experiment with the length of the cord). Works well for me, hope it might be of help to you.

A nice idea. I'll have to try it.

It does seem that the hand is probably the least stable part of the body and probably there are much better choices from the standpoint of stability.

dbrugger25 Loc: Raleigh, NC

I sawa very useful idea in the video about the Wimberly mount. When I use a monopod I almost always have the pole standing straight up. In the video he had the monopod at, perhaps 20 or 30 degrees, tilted away from his body. I can imagine that, if the monopod is strong, it becomes part of a bipod. Your body is the other leg of that bipod. I am going to try it out to see if it gives me extra stability.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

grahamfourth wrote:

I recently bought a monopod so that I could carry it around more easily than a tripod. However while I was using it I found that my images were not any better than when I hand-held the camera. Are there best-practice methods for optimizing image stabilization using a monopod?

I bought a monopod for the same reason some years ago, and also found little to no improvement over handheld.
I found that it was near impossible to hold the monopod perfectly still.
The foot of course, sits on the ground or floor. It's the upper part that is slightly swaying in every direction.
Now look for something I use as a stabilizer off the ground: a fence, a car, etc.
Indoors, I'll use a chair, a table, a doorpost,...

It has a made a huge difference in the quality of my photos.

a6k Loc: Detroit & Sanibel

dbrugger25 wrote:

I sawa very useful idea in the video about the Wimberly mount. When I use a monopod I almost always have the pole standing straight up. In the video he had the monopod at, perhaps 20 or 30 degrees, tilted away from his body. I can imagine that, if the monopod is strong, it becomes part of a bipod. Your body is the other leg of that bipod. I am going to try it out to see if it gives me extra stability.

Good thought. But if you have two legs then 2+1=3. Perhaps you can lean toward it slightly to put appropriate pressure on it. Otherwise, the angle of the monopod will reduce the weight it is supporting.