Tripod or a monopod?

jshelto3

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I am trying to decide between a tripod and a monopod. I have never really used either for photography. Can the two really be compared? What would be some situations that a monopod would really shine over tripod?
 
9 times out of 10 a tripod is more beneficial than a monopod
its more stable, easier on the photographer, and ultimately more useful than a monopod

monopods are most beneficial when space is limited and you cant use a 3-legged setup
 
A monopod is ideal for stabilising a hand-held camera, and is pretty quick to deploy.

A tripod takes much longer to set up but then can be free-standing.

Different products with different applications. If you know you'll need a tripod then a monopod won't substitute, but if you're just going out and taking photos opportunistically then a compact monopod can be a useful addition to your gear bag.
 
I have both. I never use the monopod. Every time I think to use the monopod it seems the tripod would be better. I don't shoot much sports or zoo animals. I don't know why I bought it. It's brand new and I've used it once. I think maybe I'll sell it. Damn thing is heavy to.
 
Well when ur running around takin shots from all angles of sumtin like say, skateboarding, its nice to have a monopod.

But ya, they really cant be compared, the only real simiarity is that they hav pod in the name and attach to your camera
 
For sports and wildlife, like was already said, monopods are awesome.
 
get both. some museums I've been to don't allow tripods, but for some odd reasons allow monopods. most churches do the same. You'll need a tripod for several occasions. apples vs. oranges imo.
 
9 times out of 10 a tripod is more beneficial than a monopod

How can you say this? This is a generalisation from your personal photography. But depending on what you shoot, either the tripod or the monopod is totally useless.

For Architecture, Landscape and long exposure, it will certainly be a sturdy tripod.

For sports with fast motion a monopod is certainly the only option when shooting with a long and heavy tele lens, even more when you have to change your own position often.

in Wildlife photography it really depends. If you are sitting for hours in your camouflage tent and wait for the critters to arrive, then it will most likely be a tripod ... if on the move however, it will be a monopod.

So the two are not really comparable, as they are really made for totally different purposes.
 
It's not an either or, they serve completely different purposes. Personally, I can't imagine how anybody could do without a good tripod (keyword: good) as shooting with one is the theoretical ideal. I also don't think it's too likely that one would have shooting habits that would not be aided by a tripod unless one really only ever did one kind of photography and it was on the move. I think using a tripod is the easiest way to improve image quality.

Dave
 
thanks guys. this I believe this does answer my question. I guess you can't compare the two. Now I need to decide which will better serve me now.
 
It really depends on what kind of photography you'd be doing. There are times when a monopod is absolutely invaluable as in sports shooting and there are times when a tripod would be useful as in long exposures or hands free shooting.
 
jshelto, what type of shooting will you do the most?
 
Mostly outdoor shooting of flowers, walls, streets, people and recently water. This all came up when I wanted to used a long shutter speed to get that misty look with water. I do alot of walking around. I mostly use a 50mm f/1.8 on a d100.
 
a Bogen 680B is like $30 used, and they plenty good up to like 300m. there's also not much that can go wrong with them, so you can be pretty confident with a used purchase, and it will last a while given the low price.

basically I'm saying a monopod is like a nothing purchase in the larger scheme of expensive photography, so there's really no reason not to have one.
 
tripod for you then, if you want long exposures to purposefully get movement, then a tripod will hold it still. For just slightly low light were you need a stop or 2, but need to move around, a monopod.
 

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