Budget monopod for birds - photos and some vids
Discussion
Morning all,
Being stuck at home means I have more time to take photos and short videos of the birds in the garden so I'm looking to get a cheap monopod to make things a bit more stable, especially for the videos as trying to stabilise what I took yesterday in Blender resulted in a video that made me a bit seasick!
I'm after a monopod rather than a tripod as when all this is over I hope to use it for motorsport too, plus I feel a bit 'in the way' using a tripod if there are people about!
I've got a Fuji XT-20 and a cheap long lens (the XC 50-230 OIS), there is stabilisation on the lens but not enough at 230 when I'm hand holding the camera pointing out the window!
So what exactly do I need? I measured my eye level and it's at 175cm so filtering the monopods at Wex to >175cm and ordering from lowest price there are these three for less than £60
Benro Adventure MAD49A Aluminium Monopod
3 Legged Thing Trent Monopod
Manfrotto XPRO Photo Aluminium 4 Section Monopod
Anything bad about any of those? I'm leaning towards Manfrotto as I've heard of them and it's the lightest.
Then do I need a head to go on it? I'm guessing a cheap ball head is fine as I won't be letting go of the camera like I would a tripod so it doesn't have to stay where I leave it!
Anything wrong with the cheapest one Manfrotto do? It's the "Manfrotto MH490-BH Center Ball Head"
Also, if I can get a much more user friendly and 'better' setup for not a lot more money I'm all ears.
Being stuck at home means I have more time to take photos and short videos of the birds in the garden so I'm looking to get a cheap monopod to make things a bit more stable, especially for the videos as trying to stabilise what I took yesterday in Blender resulted in a video that made me a bit seasick!
I'm after a monopod rather than a tripod as when all this is over I hope to use it for motorsport too, plus I feel a bit 'in the way' using a tripod if there are people about!
I've got a Fuji XT-20 and a cheap long lens (the XC 50-230 OIS), there is stabilisation on the lens but not enough at 230 when I'm hand holding the camera pointing out the window!
So what exactly do I need? I measured my eye level and it's at 175cm so filtering the monopods at Wex to >175cm and ordering from lowest price there are these three for less than £60
Benro Adventure MAD49A Aluminium Monopod
3 Legged Thing Trent Monopod
Manfrotto XPRO Photo Aluminium 4 Section Monopod
Anything bad about any of those? I'm leaning towards Manfrotto as I've heard of them and it's the lightest.
Then do I need a head to go on it? I'm guessing a cheap ball head is fine as I won't be letting go of the camera like I would a tripod so it doesn't have to stay where I leave it!
Anything wrong with the cheapest one Manfrotto do? It's the "Manfrotto MH490-BH Center Ball Head"
Also, if I can get a much more user friendly and 'better' setup for not a lot more money I'm all ears.
2 inches shorter than your preferred height but this combo looks cheap and decent:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-WT1003-67-In...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SIOTI-Head-Metal-Ballhead...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-WT1003-67-In...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SIOTI-Head-Metal-Ballhead...
I'm not a fan of ball heads on a monpod... there's too much movement in the wrong axis for my likening. For my larger lenses, sometimes I go without a head at all - as they're mounted to the bottom of the lens.
I'd recommend a tilt head - you wont need anything substantial with the weight you're supporting.
I'd recommend a tilt head - you wont need anything substantial with the weight you're supporting.
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