Monopod or tripod for travel ?

yinyangbt · Expire: 2012-12-27

The low light and night city photo is one of my favorites.
But what to do , when I want a light package , without IS in lens or In body ?
Of course , fast lesnses f 1,2 - 1,6 with wide angle (24-35) combined with full frame could be an answer .But that's heavy money ! and heavy gear !

Nex 3 is good as a body for the weight and money (I wish it had IS) . The fast lenses 28 /2 maybe a 35/2 not faster( the pocket Sad

)
I would add a light small and fast extending tripod or monopod for stabilising in extreme low-light . What would you suggest ?

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

light weight , small tripod, but with long legs. A 10 USD Chinese made one can be okay, a better one is very good to have. Monopod is not works to me, I like monopod for tele-lens only.

poilu · Expire: 2019-08-29

I take small monopod when I could make video, it help as my dslr doesn't have shake reduction
I don't need tripod, I have fast lenses Very Happy

yinyangbt · Expire: 2012-12-27

sold my 30mm/1.4 Sigma , but that lens teached me that even with fast lenses , sometimes I need a larger DOF , so the 1.4 won't help .I need to stop down to capture more detail in focus , and then... I'm cooked ! Laughing

need Image stab , or tripod . I had once a telescopic small one very fast to open and close but the ball head wasn't so good .Couldn't fix it well every time .I used it with Lumix FZ20 .It was so convenient that it was permanently attached on the camera . Never used a monopod .
The nex lacks the advantage of the viewfinder cameras of being able to stabilise in some degree by fixing against the face/arcade.

eddieitman · Joined: 12 Apr 2011 Posts: 1246 Location: United Kingdom

Seriously i dont miss image stabilization on the nex when using the antiblur shot mode, similiar to the panoorama it takes 6 shots and processes them very quicly to produce a perfect image i use on the longer lenses and works perfect

yinyangbt · Expire: 2012-12-27

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

I use a monopod typically to stabilize my camera/lens when the shutter speeds have fallen below the minimum required for that focal length. A monopod isn't much good at speeds slower than 1/4 second, I've found. And 1/4 second is pushing it.

So if you're planning on some long exposures at night, then plan on taking a tripod. You can find good ones that are designed for backpackers and the like, but they can get expensive. I'd start by looking to see what Gitzo has to offer.

And don't forget to pack a remote shutter release.