Monopod arrived.
I reassembled the poor Canon, sort of, for this pic. I moved the ball head over to the Manfrotto. The Manfrotto is three or four times as heavy. After using it for a few photos this afternoon, I’m of the opinion thicker/heavier is MUCH better, especially for video. Less hand/breathing jitter introduced into footage. One can do smoother pans. The Canon definitely upped my sharpness on this shoot ... I would say the Manfrotto, just from its construction, could add another 15% to that. The 5D Mark II has a surprising amount of mirror-slap vibration that needs to be overcome (remembering my Nikon F4s spring-damped mirror fondly].
In operation, the Manfrotto leg-locks simply work. A little stiff from being new, but they seriously lock. The Canon is only as secure as the tightness of the small Allen-head bolts on the locks. They supply you with a tool, but the tension will eventually bottom out. I’d store it with the leg locks unclipped, to preserve the springs’ lives. No concerns about that now. I’ll take it out for a real test shoot later this week.
Anyone want a self-destructing trick monopod? To be extra clear, the Canon was perfectly suited for the purpose I bought it for (light/cheap support for an event). In retrospect, however, I wish I’d shown a bit more foresight and bought something more durable. I simply didn’t realize how handy a monopod was, and how much my ‘sharp shot’ success rate would increase. When in doubt, I bring the monopod now. Always.
