Have been thinking about getting a sturdy monopod for times I just want to use it instead of my 3 leg tripod. Questions are:

1. How many stops am a looking at in terms of getting sharpness when using one?

2. There are so many of them on the market, what to choose?? To break it down a bit, I reckon I would go Manfrotto.

3. Do you need to also buy a plate for the monopod, or does the camera just screw on directly to it?