DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

Search

Submit A Story

monopod

Hands on with YC Onion’s “Pineta” carbon fibre monopod

by Add Comment

I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with monopods. To be fair, mostly hate. This is due to the very reasons that YC Onion’s new carbon fibre Pineta monopod (buy here) addresses. Mostly, it’s the fact that you have a leg assembly comprised of multiple parts, and each needs to be unlocked and locked again manually every time you need to adjust the height. Ultimately, for me, they’re more hassle than they’re worth.

The YC Onion Pineta, on the other hand, is a breeze to operate in comparison. The reason is that it has just a single lever that locks and unlocks all leg segments simultaneously. This makes for very quick and easy height adjustments out in the field when you need to respond quickly. We took a sneak peek at the aluminium Pineta at IBC 2022, but now they’re back with the carbon fibre version at NAB 2023, so we had to stop by and take a look.

[Read More…]

Manfrotto’s new low-budget lightweight monopod is designed for run & gun video shooting

by 1 Comment

Manfrotto has today announced their new Manfrotto Element MII Fluid Video Monopod. They say it’s the lightest video monopod on the market, coming in at a mere 1kg (or 670g for the headless version), and includes three feet at the bottom to help it stand when you need to as has the option of a built-in fluid drag head for smooth tilting and panning.

It’s available in two different options. First is the whole kit with the built-in fluid head but you can also buy the monopod sans head with a 3/8-16″ thread on top allowing you to attach your tilt (or other) head of choice.

[Read More…]

Manfrotto and Gitzo team up with UNI to create a new international standard for tripod load capacity

by 1 Comment

Load capacity on tripods (and monopods, heads, etc) has, until now, been a bit like guide numbers on speedlights. Numbers that seem to state the obvious, but are quite easy to fudge and make equipment appear more capable than it actually is when compared to its competitors. Manfrotto and Gitzo weren’t happy with this, so they’ve developed a new measuring protocol to offer full transparency to customers.

The reference practices for testing has been published by the UNI (recognised internationally by CEN and ISO). Manfrotto and Gitzo say they are both compliant with the testing procedures and have collaborated with the UNI and industry experts to create the new standard for testing payload across all photo and video products for the industry.

[Read More…]

The Slypod Pro is a HUGE step up from traditional sliders (and monopods)

by 3 Comments

Sliders and monopods, what do they have in common? Absolutely nothing. Until now… In fact, they’re kind of meant for the opposite things, but the folks over at Moza have a really clever take on this, and they joined the two together. Now, we have the Slypod Pro, a brand-new slider/monopod combo that packs a serious list of things it can do.

[Read More…]

The Moza Slypod is the craziest looking camera slider you ever saw

by Add Comment

At NAB 2019, Gudsen announced the new Moza Slypod. It’s a kind of slider/monopod hybrid that looks pretty weird but is also very cool. When we saw it, we were intrigued, so we went to have a chat with them about the Slypod to find out more about how it worked and what it can do.

[Read More…]

The Lumapod is the fastest but oddest looking tripod you ever saw

by 5 Comments

I see a lot of new products come through my inbox. There are a lot of people out there right now really pushing to try to create something new and interesting. Something that makes us rethink everything we thought we knew about a particular type of product or process. They don’t always work, but sometimes something comes along that challenges the norm.

I’m not suggesting that the new Lumapod tripod sits in one particular camp or the other, though. I’d have to try one before I could make any kind of judgement. But it definitely looks a little strange. It packs up into what looks like a giant minimalist light sabre handle. But when you open it up, it’s a monopod with feet… and string.

[Read More…]

The Steadify claims to replace all your tripods and monopods

by 11 Comments

This is an odd one, and I’m curious what you guys think. When I first saw this, I thought “that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen”, but a couple of friends said it looks quite useful to them. The more I thought about it, I could see potential uses. But some of the claims made in the Steadify’s Kickstarter campaign are a little off-base.

The first of those being that it is “the first wearable stabilizer”. You can see what they mean by “wearable stabilizer” from the photo above. But that not really true, as this idea’s been floating around for years (and you can find similar for about a third of that price on eBay).

[Read More…]

Standardize your tripod plates for $15 or less to save time on-set

by 1 Comment

I own, maybe 8 tripods. I also have a monopod, couple of sliders and a gimbal. Each of these has heads which take some form of tripod plate. A way to attach your camera to the device.  But the big problem with them is that they all typically tend to use different tripod plates to each other. This means lots of switching out plates on-set as you need to move from one to another.

This number of camera supports might seem excessive, but I am not alone. Many folks out there own a number of tripods, sliders and other units, especially if they shoot video as well as stills. This video from Jordy Vandeput shows us how we can standardise all of our tripods to make swapping out a breeze, saving a lot of time.

[Read More…]

5 filmmaking monopod tips and tricks

by Add Comment

I mentioned in a post earlier today how valuable I’ve been finding monopods in my video work more often lately. They’re such a valuable, but often underrated tool on set. But the things monopods allow you to do aren’t just for video. Many techniques cross over into the world of stills photography, too. In this video, filmmaker Mason Mashtare shows us five great tips for using monopods during a shoot.

[Read More…]

Steadicam gets into the monopod game with their new carbon fibre “Gas Lift” Steadicam Air

by Add Comment

Cameras becoming smaller and easier to manage has led to monopods becoming more popular as a preferred camera support. As many are coming to the world of video from photography, a lot of folks already own one, so it’s only to be expected. They offer more mobility with a sort-of stabilised handheld feel to them.

Tiffen’s new offering, though, takes video support to quite an extreme. Capable of holding up to 25lbs (11.3kg), the new Steadicam Air is a lightweight carbon fibre monopod with an easy foot pedal for quick height adjustments. And it weighs only 3.5lbs (1.6kg).

[Read More…]

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts