Favorite Monopods?

illusions wrote in post #5839942
Ok, I don't want to start another thread...
Is 680 with ballhead overkill for me? 70-200 with 1.4 tc is the biggest lens I have plus I am only 5'5" tall...
I am torn ... 676, 679, 680...

A ball head can be handy - but I find it can get quite unweidly - it moves on too many axes - there is a cheap manfrotto "tilt head" that is just about ideal - I have an arca-swiss-type clamp on it to be compatible with my tripod. I have mine set so I can shoot down and up - versus tilting to the side to switch from landscape to portrait. I use an "L" bracket to go vertical.

RRS just came out with a similar type of monopod top - much netter weight carying capacity, and of course, the immaculate materials and workmanship that is a hallmark of RRS products. About 10x the price of the manfrotto piece, however...

fxk wrote in post #5840618
A ball head can be handy - but I find it can get quite unweidly - it moves on too many axes - there is a cheap manfrotto "tilt head" that is just about ideal - I have an arca-swiss-type clamp on it to be compatible with my tripod. I have mine set so I can shoot down and up - versus tilting to the side to switch from landscape to portrait. I use an "L" bracket to go vertical.

RRS just came out with a similar type of monopod top - much netter weight carying capacity, and of course, the immaculate materials and workmanship that is a hallmark of RRS products. About 10x the price of the manfrotto piece, however...

I shoot mainly sports and have found that the A-S (RRS lever) clamp directly attached to the monopod best suits my needs. Front/back (up/down) tilting of only a slight angle is necessary. As you, I also have an "L" plate so do not need for L/P mode.

I did, for a short time, use the cheap monopod tilt head. Most of the time it worked fine. However, every once in a while, the whole unit would twist over as the mechanism is not THAT strong. If I needed to go back, I would look at the new RRS "tilt-er"...even though it is pricey.