Can’t find any objective tests on the web. Just lots of unevidenced claims and advertorial. I have a monopod and am a bit sceptical that it’s helped much in the past as it feels awkward to hold the camera compared with just handholding. I know about the idea of using your own legs as the other two tripod legs but still, it’s not been great, imv. Maybe me. I’m trying to avoid carrying my tripod for use with a 100-400mm micro-four thirds lens, 2x crop factor and OIS + IBIS, on an upcoming trip. I guess the monopod alleviates the weight of the lens (about a kilo) but though I might try to capture some pics of wildlife, I’m not going to be stalking them for hours, or even too many minutes.
I’m not sure how transferable other people’s tests would be to your case. So much depends on the camera’s image stabilization, and your physiology, and the focal lengths and shutter speeds you use.
As you already have a monopod and tripod, I suggest tests. Simulate what you like to photograph, and how you photograph, but with a constant target, such as a sheet of newpaper.
Thanks. You’re right. That makes total sense. I’m being lazy, and it’s raining and the trip is imminent. Just thought maybe there was some generic insight. Like, yes they’re rubbish, or something. But yes, probably not generalisable.
Yeah, I don’t have any measured testing to support this, all I know is that 1/30sec was my hand holding Rubicon since the’70s, went down to 1/10sec with the Z 6 IBIS. Even with the 70-300mm…
I did a few hand-holding tests a few years ago. It’s not easy, because there are multiple confounding vagaries:
how to judge single-shot sharpness? I found I needed multiple levels of remaining sharpness, and it was hard to judge it precisely.
how to quantify multi-shot stability? Statistically, you’d always expect a random distribution of sharp and blurry shots. But how exactly do you measure the hidden mean without taking hundreds of shots?
how to avoid bias? Invariably, you’ll get tired when taking many shots, and your hand tremble probably increases over time. To say nothing of e.g. wind.
how to organize pictures? The camera won’t tag your hand-holding technique for you, so you need to keep meticulous notes, and somehow transfer them onto the resulting files as well.
Anyway, at the end of the day I got a nice, reasonably useful statistic that told me… not all that much, really. My “five-stop” OIS lens was indeed about two stops stabler than my “three-stop” lens, which was stabler than my bare hands. Obviously. But what does that mean exactly? Can I reasonably expect one sharp shot if I take ten? What does sharp mean? What is reasonable?
The much bigger impact ultimately came from practicing stable shooting stances, and getting to know my personal limits for various pieces of gear (stability changes depending on the camera grip, the camera size, the focal length, IBIS, OIS, hunger, coffein, exhaustion…). But that’s strictly subjective, as it is all about my personal skills, and only very distantly about technology.
And then I started shooting mostly little people, who -annoyingly- move about so much that these considerations for slow shutter speeds went right out the window anyways. But hey, such is life. Never stop learning!
I know a guy that shoots kart races, and he uses a monopod all the time to steady his camera as he pans the action. But I think that’s a pretty different use case than yours, Tony.
Yeah, I can see how it works for panning. I’m planning to shoot in thick cedar-forested areas so quite low light with a good chance of overcast and rainy weather. I think only a tripod would add enough stability to make a difference. So either that or lean against a tree.
I would agree with that, but some stability in preventing the camera moving up or down is provided. My monopod is enjoying a long rest in a cupboard and rarely gets used, but I imagine if I was a sports photographer with a long and heavy lens it would be my best friend.
My Canon R7 has a microphone and mini-tripod attached for travelling. The mini tripod doubles as a hand grip and has a remote control that can be removed. It is a very handy travelling kit, but obviously doesn’t compare to the stability (or weight) of a full fledged tripod.
If you have another one for sale as well, I’ll take them both. I’ve just had a brilliant idea: I could tape all three together and hey presto; problem solved!
Oh… hang on a minute… I think I’ve just realised something…
Yes, good point. I’ve done this in the past with my regular monopod. The ballhead is a bit awk, though. Leofoto, the make I have, have a couple of things you can stick on the end, though then of course you’re adding complexity again. Maybe a split tennis ball mushed on the ballhead would be as good or better. (Wow, am I overthinking this yet?)
without tripod, I use monopods when the subject is moving, otherwise I prefer the two things below:
or beanbag with 1/4" bold
using my camera strap pulling my camera tight against its strap and elbows to chest to keep it still. 2s delay and blocked breathing. I get several stops less
