Tripod/Monopod combos. Useful or not?

[shuttervelocity]

This sounds like a great idea to me...the newer tripods which also transform into a Monopod. Is it practical or just a gimmick? Are there any out there who use them both? Or does it leave you wishing you had a tripod with you?

Recently, I took a tripod to my kid's spring program at school and set myself at the very back so I can get some good shots over the heads. but the parents just kept moving from one place to another it was pointless to plant myself at one spot. So, i ended up leaving the tripod in a corner and shooting hand-held. If I had a monopod at that time, I'm guessing that would have helped a bit and easier to move around.

i'm also thinking if they're designing a monopod, it'd be at least stiff enough to lean on partly. Or is that a feature of only the expensive ones? Can they be used as a hiking stick?

I'm trying to limit myself to under $200 and my current equipment is a Sony A55 and tamron 18-270. I'm thinking they weigh about 1kg (2.2 lbs). These are my shortlisted ones:

Giottos VGR9254-S2C Aluminum Tripod/Monopod W/QR Ballhead

BENRO A1681TB0 Travel Angel Tripod Kit

Cullmann Magnesit 525M Aluminum Tripod

Thanks for your time

Sam

 

[Buckster]

I guess I'm old school. I just suck up two legs of my tripod, use the leg clamps to secure them in tight together and, voila, instant monopod. Yeah, I don't lose any weight from the tripod, but that's not my concern, especially when I do it with a carbon fiber tripod that's already very lightweight.

Taking a tripod apart to turn it into a monopod on location when needed seems like a bit of a pain to me as well, and I wouldn't want to leave the spare parts over in the corner of wherever I'm shooting while I go wandering off with my monopod conversion to get the shots either, so I'd still end up carrying the weight somehow - dangling off of me somewhere, probably.

Wish I could be more help to you, but it's not something I would consider a solution for my style of shooting.

 

[Compaq]

I agree with Buckster. It just seems like more [insert English word for bothersome, but practical in theory, thing that's not worth the effort) than it's worth.

 

[table1349]

Buckster has already mentioned some of the obvious problems with a Swiss Army knife type tool. Not only would the aformentioned inconvenience be a problem, but only one that you posted has a load capacity to support my gear. For me I want a load capacity of at least twice the weight of my gear which means a 25 lbs at minimum.

 

[usayit]

I have one and it does come in useful if you decide to leave the "tripod" parts behind (at a hotel or something) and carry just a monopod. The full tripod setup is still available at other times you may need it... but for most, it isn't all that important of a feature. Ever since I purchased a dedicate and very lightweight monopod, I don't really use that feature much these days.

 

[shuttervelocity]

hmm, thanks for the response buckster and others. The thing is, the Sony has a great stabilization system. The only reason I might want a tripod/monopod are for videos and slow shutter speeds. I'll give it more thought.