What Monopod?
by J. Ramon Palacios

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Nikonian in Mexico

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Why a Monopod?

As much as we would like to take our tripods everywhere, it is not always possible. Stands at stadiums, games fields or courts, rinks, race tracks and theaters, are off limits for tripods -or should be, to avoid accidents of people tripping, fights about it, legal disputes, liability claims and/or making a lifetime enemy. It is just not worth it.

For image sharpness, the best next thing after vises is sandbags, then tripods, then monopods, and at the very low end of the scale, handholding. Sandbags, now substituted by beanbags, need a good flat area to rest, like the hood of a car. So unless in a safari that is seldom convenient for most purposes. Since we've done tripods, let's do monopods.

Monopods with Markins Q3 ball head and with swivel head and Quick Release shoe

What monopod?

Like tripods, monopods come in several flavors. In general you want the sturdiest possible monopod with the smallest number of sections and the shortest length when collapsed. Trade-offs have to be made, but if a monopod flexes when you lean on it, it wont help much for sharp images; and if it bends when you fall on top of it on a trail, your first impulse will be to throw it down the closest cliff.

Materials. Although I have one that feels like plumbing steel pipe, aluminum and carbon fiber are the typical materials in the market; however, after I tried the heftiest of the Gitzo carbon fiber monopods I really don't want to use anything else.

Although weight savings are high in CF tripods, they are low or negative when it comes to CF monopods in the high load capacity class and yet, they are very light weight for the loads they can take.

Yes, aluminum gives you lower prices (so far); however, carbon fiber gives you the safety of better vibration dampening. In aluminum, what you save in price you usually spend in frustration for insufficient sturdiness if you don't choose one with a high load capacity; what you gain in vibration dampening with the carbon fibers you pay in cost, but the usual premium benefit is added strength and sturdiness. And a monopod you can lean on.

Number of leg sections. The ideal would the least possible number, however a compromise has to be made to allow for a reasonable collapsed size without loosing rigidity. If too long it becomes cumbersome and it will stay home.

The most frequently found monopods amongst advanced amateur and professional Nikonians can be compared in the table below.

World Code	Load Capacity		Weight		Collapsed size		Maximum height		Number of Sections	Load to weight Ratio	Current price*
	Kg	lbs	Kg	lbs	cm	inches	cm	inches
GITZO										L/W	USD
	Carbon Fiber (CF)
GM5540	25	55	0.9	2.0	55	21.7	162	63.8	4	27.8	$305
GM3550	18	39.6	0.6	1.4	54	21.3	192	75.6	5	30.0	$275
Manfrotto	Aluminum
681B	12	26.4	0.80	1.7	61	24.1	161	63.4	3	15.6	$51
680B	10	22.0	0.83	1.8	51	20.5	154	60.6	4	12	$53
* As of January 2007 at major online retailers in the USA

Gitzo GM5540	Gitzo GM3550	Manfrotto 681B	Manfrotto 680B

You may ask: why the prices are so different between carbon fiber (CF) and aluminum? And more important: is a CF monopod worth it? The short answer is: yes, otherwise they wouldn't be selling as much as they do. Is there a status reason behind such purchases? Yes and no. Yes in the sense that owners take pride in owning one, but when asked about the main motivator, quality and durability were the factors most often mentioned. Owners of CF monopods, also own CF tripods, so they are obviously familiar with the materials characteristics. Plus, if you are very tall, there are no other choices for this quality level.

Let's compare the above load capacities to those of tripods:

25Kg/55lbs is the load capacity of the new GM5540 monopod and also of the GT5540LS tripod, recommended for the maximum load of a pro body with lenses such as the 400mm f/2.8 AF-S or the 600mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor and teleconverter. And the monopod does it on a single leg. The Gitzo GM5540 CF monopod is now used daily by pro sports photographers with the heaviest setups. The GM5540 is on my short wish list.

18Kg/39.6lbs is the load capacity of the new GM3550 carbon fiber monopod and the now very popular GT3530 and GT3540L Mountaineer CF tripods; recommended for up to a pro body and lenses such as the 200-40mm f/4G ED IF AF-S VR and the 500mm f/4 with teleconverter. Again, same load capacity than the corresponding tripods, on a single leg.

Are there lighter and smaller monopods? Sure. But, why get anything below those load capacities when they give the best sense of sturdiness and reliability, are so light and collapse to a comfortable size? Unless of course you have commited yourself to very light bodies (including your own ) with small lenses.

What to look for

What monopod head is next.