nikkor t ed 800 / 1200 mm

[Corran]

Tripod AND a monopod. Read more carefully.

[Pfsor]

Tripod AND a monopod. Read more carefully.

I read it so. Hence - a stable support and the one that is not stable. Read more carefully.

[Corran]

Works fine for me.

[Pfsor]

Works fine for me.

And what stabilizes your monopod in its horizontal movements? Just curious.

[Corran]

In windy conditions I can see the front of the camera moving. With the monopod it stops. That's all there is to it.

Here's a photo I shot w/ the 720, in the middle of an athletic field and with some wind, since it is wide open:



Here's a roughly 30x crop of the weather vane where I discovered later was a hawk sitting:



I don't see any stability issues.

[Pfsor]

The question remains - what does stop the monopod in its horizontal movements when the lens itself is moved by the wind?
Of course, if you use the lens wide open and against illuminated sky then the short exposure time can fix some movement in some conditions. Not always and not in all conditions. The monopod is not stable in itself, the lens either. If you want to play the Russian roulette with your film the monopod is the right means for it.

[Corran]

Try it for yourself, you might be surprised. You can draw force diagrams if you want.

[Pfsor]

Try to understand that a heavy lens in horizontal vibrations cannot be successfully stabilized by a light monopod itself not stable in its horizontal plane. You might be surprised to see that physics can explain things you don't need to try first to see they cannot work.

[Corran]

Whatever you say boss. You seem to be discounting the force from planting the monopod solidly to the ground. To move horizontally it would have to describe a circle, but it can't if the monopod is extended solidly. I didn't invent this technique - others have done it as well. If you want to use two tripods, go for it.

[Pfsor]

The boss is not me, but the physical realities. If you want to use a monopod to stabilize a front standard using an 800 mm lens, go for it. You will be surprised to see how many times it doesn't work. Not only for me, the matter has been discussed on this forum before.