Monopod Question

Hello
I'm going to buy a monopod and I'm wondering about the advantage/disadvantage of the amount of sections.
I have two particular monopods of different brands in mind that I'm considering.

One has 6 sections and the other has 3.

One advantage that the six section monopod has over the 3 section one is that it is shorter in length when all sections are retracted.
6 section: 15.6 inches
3 section: 26.0 inches
Other than that, are 6 sections an advantage over 3 sections?

Both monopods have the same load capacity, twist locks, and 8x carbon fiber legs/tubes.
The 6 section one is just slightly lighter (7oz) than the 3 section one.
The 3 section one is 5 inches longer when fully extended than the 6 section one.
The 3 section one has a slightly larger top leg/tube diameter.
36mm vs 32mm

canongear wrote in post #18572605
Hello
I'm going to buy a monopod and I'm wondering about the advantage/disadvantage of the amount of sections.
I have two particular monopods of different brands in mind that I'm considering.

One has 6 sections and the other has 3.

One advantage that the six section monopod has over the 3 section one is that it is shorter in length when all sections are retracted.
6 section: 15.6 inches
3 section: 26.0 inches
Other than that, are 6 sections an advantage over 3 sections?

Both monopods have the same load capacity, twist locks, and 8x carbon fiber legs/tubes.
The 6 section one is just slightly lighter (7oz) than the 3 section one.
The 3 section one is 5 inches longer when fully extended than the 6 section one.
The 3 section one has a slightly larger top leg/tube diameter.
36mm vs 32mm

Figure out how you really prefer to work. I use a 3-seciton monopod very frequently for video. The reason I use a monopod in those cases is because I have to stick move, stick and move. That means I don't have a lot of time to extend lots of sections. Generally, I extend the bottom section completely and do my adjustment with the middle section. Moreover, I selected a monopod with flip locks instead of twist locks precisely because they're faster and less fiddly when I've already got several pounds of camera on top. When I'm done, the monopod gets strapped to my video case and I roll away.

So it depends on how you intend to work. Is it more important for the monopod to be compact when you're not working or fast when you are.

I recently purchased Gitzo GM4542 Series-4 Carbon eXact 4-Section Monopod, which won over its 6-Section counterpart which was more suitable for travel purposes.

It all depends on your use, as RDKirk said. If you intend to travel frequently with a monopod, or you need lower angle shots, then 6-Section it is. Like me, if you don't plan on traveling with it and hardly do low angle, then get the one that's sturdier in the last leg section, along with other considerations of yours. I read lots of reviews before making my decision, and the 4-Section was the one that fit my needs the best. I just received the monopod the other day, and I'm very happy with my decision. Light and solid.

Thanks for the replies.

The intended use for the monopod will be for bird photography.
I just started getting into bird photography last summer and the monopod idea is of interest to me.

As far as travelling with the monopod, that won't be an issue as any travelling will be done using my own vehicle.
No air travel plans in the foreseeable future and I rarely do air travel anyway.

There were 2 locations that I frequented last summer that I knew I would probably see some birds but for the most part, I would just go out and if I saw some birds, great, if not, I would find other things to photograph.
One of the locations had great access to an osprey's nest so, I was taking a lot of bird in flight pictures.
The other location featured some shallow water so, I saw ducks, geese, and wading birds etc.
So based on that, not really sure at this point how I would use or work with the monopod.
I will figure that out the more I use it I guess.

These are the two monopods I'm considering:
Sirui P-326 Carbon Fiber Monopod
Jobu Design Carbon Fibre 3-Section Monopod.

My current camera/lens set up is Canon 40D and latest version Canon 100-400.

If you are looking at the Sirui range then I can (very) highly recommend the Sirui P424 - big, robust, nice big leg locks for cold fingers, high quality Carbon Tubing and no signs of wear after 5 years. Having said that for anything less than a 600 F4 it is simply not necessary, I use the 800 F5.6 L IS which is why I bought it and Gitzo didn't make an equivalent though they do now. This mono pod will support most of me let alone a lens!

For slightly less silly gear the Sirui P324 should be ideal and is certainly plenty for a 500 F4 - but a touch lighter than the P424.

All my other support is Gitzo but they can get a wee bit pricey! However the Sirui P324 and P424 are very nearly as good as Gitzo and a lot more sensibly priced. For what it's worth, with tripods or mono pods, the fewer leg sections the better so long as travel restrictions are not too onerous.

P.S. I am not familiar with the Jobu mono pods but I do like their tripods.

Every additional leg section means more time to extend and to collapse a monopod or tripod to the height where you want to use it.

Flip level vs. twist lock...IT DEPENDS upon individual design.

40 years ago I hated Gitzo twist, I would not buy one; today the ALR and G-Lock features made Gitzo a joy to own and use.

I can fully endorse johnf3f comments regarding the Siriu P424. It's a seriously good; light and reasonably priced monopod that I use most weekends for photographing sports. My usual lens/camera combination is the 300L f2.8is and 1D MK4 which although might be considered a light load for this monopod it does give me the reassuring feeling of security. I find the twist locks to be easy and quick to use and I've even stripped it down to component parts to fit in a small case; this is easy to do and requires no additional tools. The other advantage is that should you aspire to bigger, heavier lenses in the future you'll be well covered.

I've read a lot of good reviews about the Sirui P-424 but it seems that model is no longer in production.
Looks like it has been replaced by the more expensive P-424SR.

Think I'm going to go with the Jobu-Design Pelee monopod and a Sirui L-10 tilt head.

If the Sirui P-326 monopod had been 4 sections instead of 6, I probably would've gone with that.

About a year and a half ago I was at a major car show and saw another photographer carrying a big carbon fiber monopod that collapsed to just over 17".
It looked like the monopod of my dreams so I walked over to him and asked what model it was and how he liked it. He handed it to me and warned it was expensive - over $400!
It was a Gitzo GM5561T six section carbon fiber monopod and it was everything I wanted in a monopod, big enough to fill your hand at the grip, relatively light for the size, and sturdy enough to support my Canon 1Dx with my biggest lens.
I was smitten and wrote down the model number so I could add it to my wish list. At full extension it's about 63" tall without a head on it and it's stable as a rock. I told my friend that I was with that I had just seen something that was going to cost me a bunch of money....

A couple of months later I was browsing Adorama and they had that Gitzo monopod for sale in their used equipment in as new condition for a little over $300! I couldn't dial the phone fast enough and even though it was a lot of money I don't think I've bought a piece of equipment that I've enjoyed more. I put a RRS quick release clamp on top of it and use it a lot more frequently than I'd ever imagine. Its a great monopod that gives me great pleasure every time I use it - way better than the Manfrotto unit I was previously using.