Speaking of monopods, I was at the camera shop this morning and saw the Bogen / Manfrotto 3245 Automatic Monopod for the first time.
This looks fantastic! The lower section is sealed at the bottom and a quarter-twist action to unlock/lock at the top for extension/ compression so it is very unlikely to let dirt in. The upper section's extension is controlled by a squeeze on its grip for unlock/ lock, which makes it very adjustable. The grip gives you something non-round and handy to hold onto as well. It has a full size 3/8" head stud on the top allowing fitment of either a simple swivel head like the Manfrotto 3229 or your choice in ball head for even more position flexibility. Only downside I see is that it's not particularly compact, about 26" long with the simple swivel head fitted, but I'm very tempted to order one. I need it to use with the DA50-200 ... I consider anything longer than about 135mm to be a little too long for my comfort without a support of some kind. B&H Photo carries it for about $90. Godfrey -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
