How to choose and use a monopod and a tripod?

What is a monopod?

A monopod is a single-leg, foldable camera support device. Like a tripod, it has components such as legs, a gimbal, and a quick release plate. When using it, the user installs the camera directly on the gimbal on the top of the monopod. With the changes in usage scenarios and user needs, in order to better meet the user's more requirements in video shooting, the current monopod is also equipped with a hydraulic head with a handle. But in the vast majority of cases, the monopod is still used with more spherical heads.

A monopod serves two main purposes: First, it adds a point of contact to the ground for the camera, which can provide far greater stability than you would get when holding a camera by hand. Secondly, when shooting for a long time or waiting for a shooting opportunity, it can reduce the pressure on the user's arms and shoulders, and it can be more flexible for fast-moving shooting.

Monopods have different heights, and their height is usually directly related to the number and size of folding legs, and the number of folding legs can also largely determine the weight-bearing quality and stability of the monopod. Usually, monopods are designed with 3 layers of folding legs, and there are also designs with up to 5 layers of folding legs, but they are relatively rare. The greater the number of folded legs, the larger the unfolded height, or the shorter the folded length. The former mainly appears on some large-size monopods with high load quality. They usually use large-diameter thick legs, which have high stability and reliability, and are made of lightweight materials such as carbon fiber, which can It can well meet the heavy load and high mobility requirements of professional sports photographers and ecological photographers' large photographic equipment. The latter is usually used in some entry-level monopods, mainly to meet entry-level photography enthusiasts, or travel photography users who have high requirements for portability. The legs used in this type of product are mainly made of aluminum alloy and carbon fiber. However, due to the small diameter of the folded legs of the latter stage, they are easy to break, so most products are made of aluminum alloys. This kind of light and small monopod also has a small load and poor stability, so it is mainly used by some entry-level mirrorless camera users, or users of digital cameras and smartphones, and is often used as a high-end camera in shooting. "Extension pole" for angle shooting, even as a portable extension pole for microphone, flash, LED fill light.

What is a tripod?

A tripod is a high-stability photographic equipment stabilization device with 3 support points. It is a high-stability platform commonly used by photography enthusiasts and photographers. Compared with monopods, tripods have higher stability and load capacity, and have more styles and more mature designs. In addition to the common vertical lift central axis design and multi-layer folding leg tube design, there are also designs such as no central axis and horizontal central axis, and carbon fiber and aluminum alloy materials are also widely used in the material of the leg tubes. Due to the high stability of its 3-point support, compared with monopods, the requirements for the thickness of the carbon fiber material and the weaving method of the legs of the tripod can be appropriately reduced, so whether it is large, medium, or highly portable small Tripods are available in various grades of carbon fiber legs. In terms of the abundance of choices, tripods have natural advantages over monopods.

In terms of use, tripods are different from monopods that need to always rely on the "support" of the user. Even if the user leaves their hands, they can have high stability and independent support. Therefore, in terms of reliability and stability, tripods are more reliable and stable. dominate. Likewise, tripods carry more weight, and products larger than 3-layer folding legs are more reliable.

In the selection of the gimbal, the tripod benefits from its stable 3-point support structure and high load capacity. It can not only use larger and heavier multi-axis and multi-dimensional gimbal, but also use special pan-tilt gimbal and cantilever gimbal. Cloud platform.

Pros and cons of monopods and tripods

In general, monopods are always smaller and lighter than tripods. From actual use and shooting experience, the lighter the accessory, the more likely it is that people will actually use it. Therefore, the advantages of a monopod are that it has a high usage rate, is very practical, and is more suitable for users of photography themes such as travel, outdoor, and ecology. For example, in hiking, the small size and light weight of the monopod can give the user an intuitive and good use experience. More importantly, some monopods also have the function of "alpine poles", and users can install a specially designed "ball head" on the foot tube, making it more convenient for mountaineering and hiking users.

The second main advantage of a monopod is that it requires very little space whether it is in the retracted state or in the unfolded state, which is basically the same as handheld shooting. Therefore, monopods are more suitable for use in crowded shooting scenes, such as jungles, crowds or aircraft cabins.

The disadvantage of a monopod is that it is not as stable as a tripod. It takes the weight of the camera and keeps it at a certain height from the ground, but the user must keep (at least) one hand on the monopod at all times, but this also introduces a lot of instability to shooting, such as holding Hand tremors, etc. The second is that monopods are usually top-heavy, which is a "congenital defect" brought about by their structure and manufacturing costs, which is almost unavoidable. Therefore, when the monopod is in use, especially in high-angle shooting after the legs are fully extended, the stability and support of the fuselage are very poor. However, when using large equipment, the monopod can still reduce the fatigue of users who hold the camera for a long time.

A tripod is more stable than a monopod. Basically, as long as it is used in an environment without strong wind and resonance sources (such as a car passing under a pedestrian bridge, etc.), the user can safely remove the hand from the tripod and the camera can still be Obtain a very safe and stable platform support effect. This stabilization allows users to confidently use the slower shutter speeds required for all long exposure photography.

The disadvantage of a tripod is its size and weight, which is at least 3 times the size and weight of a monopod in products of the same load specification. And, the actual difference is often much more than that, as tripods usually have a bottom bracket, or require the use of a larger head. This makes them more difficult to pack when traveling, and more cumbersome to carry on the outside of a camera bag. What's more, on long-haul flights, tripods are restricted by many airlines from being carried by passengers and can only be checked in. This will undoubtedly increase the travel burden. Although monopods have similar limitations, they do not need to be individually packaged because they are easier to store and can be easily checked in a suitcase. So relatively speaking, tripods, especially large tripods, are more inconvenient to carry and use during travel.

Another disadvantage of tripods is that there are "no tripods" signs in many crowded places and tourist attractions. There are two main reasons for this. First, after the legs of the tripod are unfolded, it is easy to cause bumps on other passengers or passers-by, increasing the risk of tripping. Second, the use of tripods to take pictures in scenic spots in some countries (such as the Eiffel Tower in France) is considered a "professional behavior" and "profit-making behavior", and it is suspected of infringing the intellectual property rights of famous buildings in scenic spots, so it is prohibited. Obviously, it's really frustrating when you've struggled to carry a tripod with you all day, only to find that you can't be allowed to shoot.

The last downside of tripods is price. When comparing monopods and tripods of the same quality level, tripods are always a little more expensive, especially in the case of tripods made with carbon fiber, where the price difference can become prominent. This is mainly due to the cost difference between the two.

When should I use a monopod or tripod?

Landscape photography often requires a small aperture to increase the depth of field range to get a clear picture from foreground to background. In most cases, a light reduction filter may even be used to further reduce the amount of light transmitted and extend the exposure time. This shooting method of landscape photography requires long exposure or slow shutter speed, which is destined to have higher requirements for camera stability.

Therefore, in order to obtain clear details, reduce the sensitivity to low, or use a longer exposure time to shoot, a tripod with more stable support is almost an inevitable choice for landscape photographers.

From a composition standpoint, tripods are also great for lowering the camera closer to the ground, or for framing shots in more complex surface environments. For example, on a muddy lake, open the legs of the tripod at a large angle, and use the inverted center axis method to place the camera at an angle closer to the water surface to shoot the scenery, so as to obtain a better reflection effect, or to highlight the lake water. flow or some kind of plant by the lake.

Another example is when shooting night scenes, in the process of long exposure, using a tripod can shoot stationary buildings more clearly, while blurring the moving pedestrians, vehicles and other elements on the street, and then in the bustling urban area. Take pictures of quiet city night scenes. Highlight urban buildings, lights and other landscapes to make the picture cleaner and the image quality better.

In addition to landscape photography, commercial photographers who often need to shoot merchandise from fixed positions and angles are also more suitable for tripods. Because after the tripod is set up, the shooting angle and position can be well maintained. At this time, all the lights in the studio are also fixed at the same time, which will greatly improve the shooting efficiency of multiple products at the same angle, reduce the frequency of lighting settings, and also reduce the light and shadow differences in the photos of the same group of products. The exposure and tone consistency of the product photos. This is also a shooting method that is often used in commercial photography for batch shooting of commodity videos, and the instability of a monopod is destined to be unable to replace the role of a tripod in this type of shooting.

In macro photography and portrait photography studios, tripods also have an irreplaceable role. The first is that macro photography requires a more stable support platform to support the operation of the macro gimbal and the macro lens with a long focal length, and capture higher resolution and richer picture details. Even when shooting macro images in the wild, the ultra-low viewing angle and high stability of a tripod (especially a tripod with a horizontal axis) are more suitable for macro photography that requires higher operational precision.

The portrait photo studio is even more inseparable from the tripod. The reason is also the same as the lighting arrangement of the commodity photography mentioned above, but also to reduce the lighting time and improve the tone and exposure consistency of the entire group of portrait photos.

For shooting pictures of wildlife and sports, although tripods have a more stable support effect and were often used in the past, in recent years, with the improvement of monopods in terms of load capacity and lightness, their movement and operation are flexible. And the characteristics of good environmental applicability have been highlighted.

Unless you're using the "trap focus" or "squat shooting" method, a monopod is more suitable for this type of work where you shoot dynamic subjects in complex environments. Especially sports photographers, they often need to use a 600mm focal length "cannon" lens to shoot on the field, and the shooting space reserved on the field is usually crowded with photojournalists and photographers. At this time, using a tripod will make the action and shooting. Operations became bloated and sluggish, making it difficult to constantly track and photograph athletes' movements through the viewfinder during the event.

On the other hand, when you need to move a lot while shooting, the portability and flexibility advantages of a monopod can be realized. This is critical when photographing wildlife, because the ecological photographer needs to carry the shooting gear to move with the wildlife (or search for the whereabouts of the wildlife) at all times. At this time, it is easier to use a monopod to quickly complete the disassembly and deployment operations, and It also folds up quickly, allowing photographers to easily carry the entire set on their shoulders to follow the movement of wildlife.