I picked up a Manfrotto 3249B monopod that came with other things I bought. I have never used a monopod so I am not sure what to look for when matching a head to it. I have a Monfrotto 3262QR head, will that be as good as any or should I look for something better.
Don't use a ball head. There are several monopod heads like the RRS MH-1/MH-2 and Wimberley MH-100. There are lighter weight copies of the MH-1, such as Leofoto VH-10S. There are recent threads in the General forum.
If shooting from ground level and subjects are human, like sports players, then many people don't use heads at all.
I have the MH1 mentioned above, but decided to install a clamp instead for quick mounting to the monopod. I simply found the tilt on the MH1 to be impractical and less than useful.
I have the MH-1 with an A-S plate on the bottom. It mounts on either my Manfrotto Neo-Tec monopod (one-handed action, but long & heavy) or my Feisol CT-3441S (light & strong). Both of these monopods have A-S clamps on top, so I can mix & match.
campy wrote:
I picked up a Manfrotto 3249B monopod that came with other things I bought. I have never used a monopod so I am not sure what to look for when matching a head to it. I have a Monfrotto 3262QR head, will that be as good as any or should I look for something better.
I think it really depends on what you will photograph while using a monopod. In my case, I primarily use one with telephoto lenses photographing sports; either field or arena/court sports. All of those happen along one plane - ground level - which means there is very little need for up/down tilt capability. For switching between horizontal and vertical framing, the lens's tripod foot/collar provides this functionality. Therefore, for decades I have not had the need to put a head on a monopod. Leaning a little forwards or backwards tends to be sufficient for my use cases.
That said, if it's for something like airshows or maybe BIF, I'd think a tilt head of some sort would be appropriate. Generally, on a monopod you want to only have up/down tilt and not side to side tilt (at least if the lens has a tripod foot/collar) for the simple reason that a totally loose ball with free up/down and side to side movement can be unstable. Ideally, you'd be able to dial in some friction on the head so that the camera doesn't feel 'floppy' and unstable.
stanj wrote:
I've owned what feels like every monopod head ever made, until I found the Wimberley MH-100. Now I have two of those and life is really good
stanj wrote:
I've owned what feels like every monopod head ever made, until I found the Wimberley MH-100. Now I have two of those and life is really good
I have both the Wimberly and Sirui version of the Leophoto listed above.I am going to the Pantanal and it was recommended that we have a monopod to prevent arm strain while sitting in a boat waiting for a Jaguar to move while holding a heavy big white. (First trip of this type where I can take a monopod as prior on Africa trips the luggage restrictions precluded it.)
I have been sitting on the porch using first one then the other. The sirui keeps the weight centered, the MH-100 offsets the weight. After extensive day use, I find the MH-100 allows you to hold the camera with the right hand, and flip the bottom of the monopod away from you and reposition with the left, to get different heights as opposed to the weight in the center. I find this better.
Also the over the shoulder carry i better with the MH-100.
My $0.02
It depends on the weight of the rig on top. I'm not strong or athletic enough now to balance it constantly with the big teles. Maybe 30-40 years ago I would have liked it more.
A lot of people like it I’m on the strongly dislike side of the MH-100. Throws the weight off axis to one side and makes the whole setup unbalanced and a hassle to use compared to keeping the weight of the setup on top of the monopod.
I much prefer to use just a RRS lever clamp by itself or if I need more vertical tilting I like using a Flexshooter Mini over any of the other “made for monopod” heads and have tried quite a few. The MH-100 was one of the quickest buy then sell items for me going back decades.
I prefer top mounted monoheads (easier to mount) and with big whites (500+1.4x or 200-300+2x for me), I find that ProMediaGear’s long lens plate paired with their HM1 Tilthead gives me the best balance with sharp keepers and the least amount of lens creep, swivel and flop. Unfortunately, they don’t have a quick release clamp yet but it might work with a RRS QR in the interim as needed. And having tilt allows me to lean the rig against my leg as an anchor point for less swaying.
I have used a Sirui tilting monopod head that is similar to the RRS MH-1. Recently I acquired the Wimberly MH-100 and have come to prefer it. I still find that attaching / detaching can be fiddly, but I really do like the handling with this head, even with shorter lenses.
