just got the manfrotto 561HDV monopod

[David Schuurman]

Pretty pumped to use it tomorrow on a wedding. I already can't believe I've gone this long without it and I haven't shot anything yet! Bummer that it doesn't have some kind of ball lock for leaving it standing for short periods. It can definitely stand upright if you leave it carefully balanced but after seeing one of the clips from a member here where it fell over doing just that well I'm not taking any chances lol. Anyways, just wanted to share my excitement on a new piece of gear that pretty much everyone else uses already :)

[Michael Simons]

congrats! you'll love it..especially for those long Maid of Honor toasts.

[David Schuurman]

haha, for that I'll go on the tripod.

[Allan Black]

Congratulations David. If you intend panning on that rig, I'd get in plenty of practice, it's very easy to wander off the vertical alignment and angle the pix.

Even so before you record any pan on a monopod, do a run through to ensure you have your body, arms, legs all aligned and you don't fall over. Bad scene in public bix :) But it can be done successfully and add to the excitement in a wedding video .. have fun.

Cheers.

[Chip Thome]

Either put a lanyard on it or the camera strap on your camera and put that around your neck. My experience was when it goes down, it goes down lens first. That also will allow you to balance it and take a short break form always holding on to it.

[Keith Betters]

Cool, I'm in the same exact boat. I bought the 562B on Wednesday and I'm very excited to use it. It has a nice build to it and it is very sturdy. I too have a wedding on Saturday and can't wait to test it out! Love the feet, the only thing is it seems to stick every so often making doing some leaning and panning shots more difficult to achieve. But I will work through it and I use mostly for static shots during ceremony and reception.

Enjoy and post your thoughts after your wedding and I will do the same.

[Michael Simons]

I also carry a small socket wrench in my bag bc the legs (not the feet) tend to get loose. You'll feel the monopod "shrink" on you. So it's good to have a socket wrench handy.

[David Schuurman]

Keith I noticed the same thing tonight, it sticks. but I found that when putting extra weight on it when you want to make a move helps it.

[Greg Fiske]

I had the problem with my first one where the monopod would stick when I panned. I sent it into manfrotto and they sent me a new monopod that works perfect. Maybe this is a defect of earlier models? Watch stillmotions canon caravan on how to use it.

[Keith Betters]

Yea, the monopod is awesome when it comes to stability. Very stable for static shots but still mobile. Howver, I'm going to have to find a solution for the popping in the fluid cartrigde at the bottom. It was noticeable for most of my shots where I would lean to far. But I will learn to work with it, and maybe oil it or see if I can loosen the cartridge.

[Tim Bakland]

Originally Posted by Keith Betters

the only thing is it seems to stick every so often making doing some leaning and panning shots more difficult to achieve.

WD40 kept in the back of your car/trunk and applied once at the beginning of each shoot fixes that. (applied on/around the ball at the bottom.

[Keith Betters]

Cool, thanks Tim. I will try that this weekend!

[Sigmund Reboquio]

Originally Posted by Tim Bakland

WD40 kept in the back of your car/trunk and applied once at the beginning of each shoot fixes that. (applied on/around the ball at the bottom.

i have the same problem. i plan to put one, but if you put wd40, it will be smooth.
now, the problem is when you want it to almost stand by itself, would it still be able to ?(or not anymore.?

thanks,

[Tim Bakland]

That's a good question. I'm not usually in that position (I'm usually on the move often enough not to "balance" it on its own). For me, its smoothness of movement is more important and the WD40 does that.

One more thing I love about this monopod: it can act *somewhat* as a glidecam at times. That is, if you need to walk around a bit with it as you film, you can do it in such as way as to create a very smooth shot (no, not the quality of a well-balanced glidecam rig, but still quite good under many circumstances).

[Mark Davidson]

I had heard about WD-40 but was kind of sorry I sprayed mine. It was much more difficult to lock it in the middle.

It's a trade off. I suspect it will tighten back up a bit as I continue to use it and will eventually hit the sweet spot of being just right.