[PeterAM]

I just bought a Manfrotto 6858 monopod, specifically because of the way that it opens/closes ( Manfrotto by Bogen Imaging | 685B NeoTec Monopod Deluxe | 685B ). I use a tripod when working from/near the car and thought that a monopod will be useful when walking around.

Question is whether or not to use SR when the camera is mounted on the monopod. I understand why not to use it on a tripod, but wonder if the same logic holds with a monopod, as I expect it will have a bit more movement than the tripod. Can anyone speak to this, from experience?

[Marc Sabatella]

This gets discussed fairly often; you'll find people with opinions both ways. I'm guessing it will end up depending on the situation (how steady you are, the specific monopod, the specific focal length and shutter speed, etc).

[mithrandir]

My personal experience with my K10D and monopod is that I get the best results with SR on.

[jmc7104]

I turn mine off anytime I am using any type of steady rest,tripod momopod beanbag car window or leaning up against a tree. Also if using car window or dash for steadyrest be sure Engine is off. It will cause more vibration than sr does. jim

[Jon Schick]

My experience with Manfrotto Modo monopod and Tamron 500mm mirror lens is that it works well with SR left on. And much better than using this lens handheld.

[reeftool]

I have had shots come out bad with SR on with a tripod. I try to follow the the suggestions of the manual and turn it off but do forget with the monopod sometimes. There are times, especially at some of the rowing events I have shot, that I have fired off a few shots while moving position along the shoreline and did not have the monopod on the ground and having the SR on probably saved those shots. Pentax specificly mentions in the manual that SR can ruin a shot while using a tripod, monopod, or panning suggests that they had issues while designing and testing the SR and it would be worthwhile to follow their advice. The fact that 99% of the time the shots come out perfectly fine leads some to question that advice. I think the instances where the SR causes a blurred shot are probably very small. You can count on the fact that if the manual didn't address this issue, there would be countless threads in the forum and thumbs down camera reviews over that occasional (but rare) shot when the SR blurs a picture. When I'm hiking or paddling and the camera is on/off the monopod a lot, I usually just leave it on, mostly because I forget at the moment and it isn't even crossing my mind.

[philbaum]

There was a poster who was quite specific on this issue on DPR. He had no problems using a K10's SR on a monopod, but his K20 had gotten fuzzy images while using SR on a monopod. I have adopted his suggestion of turning SR off on the K20 when using a monopod.

[NaClH2O]

Hi Peter,

I basically follow Marc's advice above. The times I can get my monopod moderately to fairly steady I turn SR off. The times that it isn't as steady due to position/angle/terrain/whatever I leave the SR on. I'd guess you'd say my answer is "it depends". If it's an important shot I'll try it both ways, the results bear out the above, not so steady, I get better results with SR on. Moderately to very steady I get better results with SR off. Also like reeftool I can forget if I've turned it off, as my default setting for it is ON. I've tried to train myself to look for the little hand icon in the viewfinder info, but sometimes I still forget.

NaCl(there is a LOT of difference between mono and tripods)H2O