Monopod for bird photography

[piXelatedEmpire]

Hi all

I'm currently looking at getting myself a monopod I can take along with me on my birding outings, to assist in limiting the affects of camera shake (particularly in low light situations). I've recently purchased an Olympus E620 and 70-300mm lens.

What kind of monopod and head would you recommend?

[enduro]

Hi all

I'm currently looking at getting myself a monopod I can take along with me on my birding outings, to assist in limiting the affects of camera shake (particularly in low light situations). I've recently purchased an Olympus E620 and 70-300mm lens.

What kind of monopod and head would you recommend?

Wow! 63 views to date and no replies ... pretty disappointing.

Monopods do have their uses but from a lot of reading and not much experience, I'd be considering a tripod over a mono on any days outing. Most birders, probably all, use tripods over a mono. Tripods are very stable and reduce camera shake considerably. Monopods leave the camera to move about quite a lot really.

I might consider a mono if I was hiking for more than a day to reduce overall weight however.

If at all, I've be thinking about a mono that is the lightest that you can afford.

[kevinj]

I use a tripod 90% of the time for birding,but also have a monopod that I also use,see my sig for details.Whatever you choose,don`t scrimp on it,get the best you can afford,don`t put an expensive kit on a cheap stand.

[Avalon]

I have a Giottos MM9550 monopod which works well for me.
Cost about $60 through Discount Digital Photographics.

I consider it useful in some circumstances, and it is certainly lighter to carry than a tripod.
However, I would not consider it a replacement for a sturdy tripod, but a useful addition to my gear.

If you can only afford one, go for the tripod first as it will be useful in more circumstances.
However a monopod is better than hand held if that is your only option.
Hope that helps.

[Riverlander]

A tripod is better, but I do have a mono as well..
I find it useful to have a ball-head on my monopod to give an angle to the mounted camera. I can stand with my legs apart and the leg of the mono out in front of me and still have the camera level etc. Gives a bit more stability.

[piXelatedEmpire]

Thanks for the feedback all.

The Oly E620 has onboard IS, so that helps, but I was looking for something portable to assist further, hence a monopod.

[Xenedis]

I rarely use a monopod, but yesterday used mine for a sports shoot (300/2.8L IS mounted on it).

My monopod is a Manfrotto 680B. great monopod.

I didn't use a head in this instance, but the Manfrotto 688RC2 is a great ball-head. I have one, but it was recently rendered inoperable by the ocean.