Monopod Head Combo?

[PharmD]

Hey- my first post here. I am definitely a noob and had some questions for y'all. I recently bought a d3100 camera and am looking at getting a monopod and head combination. I primarily want to take cycling pictures, wildlife, family, etc. I am looking at the manfrotto 679b monopod and 234rc head. Does this sound good for what I want to do? Do I need any other accessories? I also have a tripod without a camera head that I use for binocular star gazing at night and it is too big to lug around- hence getting the monopod. Will the head work on both the tripod and the monopod or will I need to buy a separate head for the tripod? Here is the tripod:

Orion Telescopes: Orion Paragon-Plus Binocular Mount and Tripod

Sorry for all of the questions- I appreciate the help!

 

[PharmD]

PS- I'm only using the kit lens for now and am on a fairly tight budget.

 

[480sparky45 44]

Is the 'pod/head/camera combination going to be tall enough for you? I prefer to shoot with a monopod standing straight up, not hunched over like 99% of the mono's out there make me do.

 

[PharmD]

I'm 5'10"....does that help?

 

[PharmD]

I am looking at the 234rc monopod head and I see it comes with 2 options- with quick release and without. Do I need the quick release plate system? What does this enable me to do? I haven't gotten a head for my tripod yet either- will this system mount onto a tripod for basic use?

 

[480sparky45 44]

I am looking at the 234rc monopod head and I see it comes with 2 options- with quick release and without. Do I need the quick release plate system? What does this enable me to do? I haven't gotten a head for my tripod yet either- will this system mount onto a tripod for basic use?

A quick mounting plate simply allows you to mount the camera to the 'pod, well, quickly. Set the 'pod up, and bam... the camera's securely mounted to it. Without one, you're constantly screwing and unscrewing the camera from the 'pod.

If you don't plan on using a 'pod much, a quick mounting plate might be more of a hinder than a help. But both my camera have a plate on them 99.9999% of the time as probably 75% of my shooting I use one or the other. They work on both the tripod and monopod.

 

[The_Traveler]

That is a simple and cheap head.
Quick release plate is essential for tripod or monopod use

but, why are you using $ on accessories that are of limited use at your stage?

Use the $ for better lenses - like 50 mm 1.8. Cheap, quite sharp and perfect for portraits on crop frame cameras.

I shoot a lot of people, travel and outside activities, including cycling, and I use a monopod quite rarely.

Serious wildlife photography involves huge lenses and tripod legs, head, gimbals combos that cost as much as a small car.

Buy what you actually will use.

 

[PharmD]

I really don't have money for lenses at this point- I was just looking for something that could improve my photos. I have the d3100 with kit lens...what other accessories should I be looking for at this point? I could use a tripod head if you think I don't need a monopod...

 

[The_Traveler]

I know there is a terrible temptation to buy things but absolutely the best thing you can do to improve your photography is learn to use your current lens and take lots and lots of pictures then look at them critically.

If you want to spend $150 on something, buy this lens or buy an old manual focus on ebay.
Or PS Elements

For general photography, I use my tripod (about $450) about 5% of the time and a monopod (~$150) perhaps .2%. That's not a good return on the money.

Shoot pictures, forget spending money.

 

[gsgary]

you don't need a monopod with the kit lens, the only time i use a monopod is with my Canon 300mmF2.8L

 

[KVRNut]

Since you're on a budget, the tri-pod you have looks like it would be a sturdy one to use if you can swap out the center post for one that will readily accept a tri-pod head and leave the binocular mounting intact. Then you'd have a dual purpose tri-pod that's quickly adaptable for both uses and maybe save yourself some money to get a good tri-pod head.

As far as a monopod is concerned, I have a Manfrotto monopod and it's used very rarely. If I need a monopod when I'm out shooting, I'll just keep the tri-pod legs bunched together. From what you say you're going to be doing with your camera, I'd say that you would be way further ahead with a tri-pod anyways.

Yes, a quick release is a must. It can be aggrivating missing a shot because you're busy screwing a camera on to a tri-pod head.

I have to agree to a certain extent with previous posts about the importance of getting good glass first but then good glass is even better when it's used with a steady camera. That's a lesson I learned the hard way. I now use a tri-pod pretty much all the time and if I go hand held for 1 out of 100 shots, I'll be surprised regardless of the lens or shutter speed.

 

[kundalini]

I have the 685b Manfrotto monopod plus swivel head seen HERE. Nice pod even though I don't use all that much. However, when I want/need a mono, I gots me one. Often I will double fist it for a day out like THIS.

 

[480sparky45 44]

The advantage of a quick-mount plate:

 

[table1349]

Personally I wouldn't bother with the 234rc head unless you are need extreme angles to shoot from. First off, to effectively use a monopod you need to understand that it is not just a stick put on the ground. Lots of people use them that way with varying degrees of success. A monopod needs to be supported with the human body. Here is a good little article on monopod usage. A quick release plate is good to have on top, however have you considered what you are going to do when you want to put the camera into portrait mode. That is one of the drawbacks of the Manfrotto system. The rc2 plates, and all of their plates are pretty restrictive. To solve that you need to invest in an arca-swiss quick release such as this. To effectively use this QR you need to install one of these on your camera body. This allows you to always have the weight centered over the monopod where it belongs. As you can tell this is now starting to get expensive, however once you have a good setup it will last forever.