Hmmm... That's interesting. I wouldn't have thought that lower body weight would dictate whether handheld works as well or almost as well as a monopod. In fact, I'd have thought that lower body weight would make it ~harder~ to handhold. I guess it depends what one wants the monopod for. It certainly won't replace a tripod.
I find mine very useful, although I only take it out maybe twice a year. That's because I rarely use long lenses <g> Certainly for macro, or architectural, or situations where the camera must be kept perfectly still, a monopod won't do. But for action shots, or telephoto shots at slower speeds in situations a tripod would be unpractical, monopods are better than handheld for me. That being said, I have a Manfrotto 479B with a generic head. The pod's are almost always on sale for around $50 or $60 Cdn around here. And the head only cost me $10 Cdn - I bought it just so I could tilt the cam for vertical shots, and because it puts the viewfinder exactly at eye level with the sections completely extended. Mine is a 3 section 'pod - there's a 4 section, but I don't need mine any smaller when collapsed, and I figured that 3 sections would be a bit stiffer. The model above mine has fatter tubing, which would make it stiffer (it's the model that I've seen several pros using at sporting events), but for the price, I figured the 479 would do fine, and it has. I most recently used my pod at the airshow here in Toronto, and I have the colour prints back from that - I should scan a few and post 'em. They didn't turn out too bad. Just a few thoughts... cheers, frank Ann Sanfedele wrote: > Marnie, I am also fairly slight and found the monopod gave me no better results than > > tight body posture. I had a tendancy to lean on it too much and had a hard time > keeping it > level. I found using a light small tripod as a chest pod (welll.. um.. not right > on the chest...) > worked better for me. I like bean bags for steadiness when one can find something > to place it on. > Sounds like you mean you want for the long walks or hikes. A benbo was my favorite > field > tripod - just find some burly guy to carry it for you :) > > annsan (who should be asleep by now) -- "What a senseless waste of human life" -The Customer in Monty Python's Cheese Shop sketch
