Do you use a monopod?
 

So, do you use a monopod for weddings? I either want motion in my shot or don't, and a monopod seems that it would be somewhere inbetween. I realize some video cameras have IS that helps this. But is it solid? What about DSLR shooters? Does lens IS (or Nikon VR) do enough? How long can you keep a shot still? Did it take a lot of practice to get to that level? Thanks!

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

We shoot Canon DSLR...

IS seems to be more about that little glass wobble in the lens that comes with any real movement. My monopod/tripod has less to do with that than even just anything more than slow, smooth movement. IS really helps though, especially on telephoto lenses.

A monopod is really convenient for those times when you're on the move. Getting ready, or the processional/recessional. You will still have some movement, the handheld look (most of the time), but if you are NOT shooting telephoto, and you practice a bit, its not a problem.

That is, unless you take the extra few seconds to let the ball joint settle and adjust so it stills still on its own, like a tripod. Then you can get that perfectly still shot.

Its also nice when the footprint is small, like when you want to be in the middle of the tables and film speeches.

I've tried using the monopod as a stabilizer, as I walk around, but its a little too light for me. I prefer to use my heavier tripod with its legs all the way up. I've even used it as a monopod, with just one leg down.

Now, I usually use the monopod, until the processional is done. I put a quick release plate on it, so I move to my ceremony camera position and quickly switch over to the tripod.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

My A-Cam facing forward is always on a tripod so that's a lock down. My B-Cam is on my shoulder but I have an ENG rig under the lens which is a sprung rod with a mini-ball head at each end going to a waist belt. They sound simple but, man, they are so stable you don't need any other support. It was a favourite of Don Bloom's too. I find it way more portable than a monopod and the sprung rod also allows me to change height instantly ... like you get the flower girls coming in, then suddenly a 5'8" bridesmaid!

I don't use the B-Cam without it unless I really have to and it stays with me so there is nothing more to carry.

Chris

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

I stopped using monopods as I found them cumbersome to drag around during bride prep or in tight spaces, they are great though if you need a bit longer continuous recording on the move. I use Panasonic m4/3 cameras with stabilised lenses and shoot handheld when I need to act quickly, those camera are so light, you hardly feel the weight and OIS is good enough. My goto all purpose lens is the 12-35 f2.8 (or 24-70 full frame equivalent) which I mostly use handheld, once I change lenses and zoom in further then the camera goes on a tripod, I even find a monopod for such occasions too wobbly and prefer to have rock steady tele shots.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

Bryon,

I've done it all. This time a year ago I had just moved from tripod all day to monopod, and now to handheld.

Heres the thread I started about IS handheld with a video sample a few weeks back.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/wedding-...-shooting.html

I just did a wedding on Friday past - first time with IS. I went entirely handheld for the bridal prep and the photoshoot.

OK, so maybe it's not rock solid - but its the (what I would call) 'micro shake' that is gone, and thats all that really bugs people.

If you think that camera movement is 'bad' (like I used to) then you just havn't seen it done well.

I soon realised that a film looks really good because of the content/framing/grading/story/music. All these things being 'good' means camera movement is irrelevant to the viewer. As long as its not so bad its distracting.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

Monopod ? What's that ?
My carry gear already weighs in at 7 lbs. No way am I gonna add to that.
I use a simple camera bracket with one grip, held by my right hand that also has the pause/zoom control on it and my left hand is on the lens as additional support, all resting on my right shoulder with my eye in the viewfinder. 2 small Sony batteries counterbalances at the rear. Kind of a 4 point support.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

I think monopods are one of the more unappreciated tools, i use them quite a lot

When i'm doing events/running around/etc... i haven't found anything that beats a monopod.You don't need a heavy duty one either, which is where the heft of some of them come in. the ones with the feet are nice, but i find myself preferring the ultra small ones, because you can clip them to your pack/belt and it's just there if you want it. Even if i plan on being handheld the whole time, i like to have a small monopod with me.

The other great thing about them is you can also use them on your belt, or belt pouch/bracket.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

Clive, your option here surprised me. I am pretty sure I read a post by you regarding not wanting even the slightest wobble or sway in a steadicam.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

I used a monopod for my first wedding during the preps in particular, as well as capturing reactions during the speeches. I found it to be an invaluable tool. Just set it up and go. I especially liked the movement that could be created with it, especially when placing something in focus, then moving out of focus, setting record and then moving back in so that the subject comes in focus... just one of many moves that seem to be used by some of the pros including Ray Roman and the team at Vimeo.

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents... still very much an amateur.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

Hi, monopod is my favourite weapon. When shooting events, I'm constantly changing heights and cramming myself into confined places. It's true that a monopod is in between motion and locked off, but that's the compromise to hectic wedding environments. I can usually keep it pretty still, and I stabilise in post if I'm able to.

If I'm shooting a short film or whatever, then the monopod is in the gear bag just in case I need it (for tricky terrain, or to get shots fast), but tripod becomes the preferred tool.

But this is just my aesthetic. It's just taste. I've worked with a lot of people who believed they could shoot really steady material handheld, or with IS, or with a Z-finder, or using a neck strap on their DSLR, or whatever, but it's rarely steady enough for my taste.

Another way to think about this: in real movies, people make a conscious choice about shooting handheld or not, depending on the scene. Maybe, if you want to produce a well thought out wedding film, you should apply the same thinking -- handheld might be more appropriate for some couples than others, for some situations than others. A while back, I posted a link to a wedding film shot on actual film, mainly handheld, and it sort of worked in that context -- quirky couple and quirky look to the wedding; plus the handheld kind of added to the nostalgic, vintage feel. I could see it working, also, if you wanted to produce a really exciting, fast-paced wedding film.

For myself, the feel is more about lingering on the details or savouring the moment or whatever, and I want my weddings to feel calm and elegant. I think having a perfectly steady shot in itself adds to the production value, in the same way that being able to have a perfectly smooth slide adds to production value.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

99% of my wedding is filmed with a monopod.
Anything you see on my samples or website that is NOT a timelapse or slider shot, is done with a monopod. (Manfrotto -- the one with 3 little legs, whatever that's called).

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

I have done a Macedonian family dance routine comprising 12 songs all running into each other each around 3 minutes ..that's 36 minutes all handheld and it looks like it was shot on a stable platform too.

That's just with a waist belt and support rod under the camera. It takes all the weight off the camera front end which for me is more important than you smaller DSLR guys.. apart from the cam body I had my Sigma 18-35 F1.8 lens mounted which probably weighs more than the average DSLR body. Dragging around a monopod is a pain and you cannot shift position very well either. Look at it much the same as a monopod that doesn't reach the floor but instead goes into a pouch in a belt around your waist so it's totally portable and part of you. The big advantage of course is that the "monopod" bit that goes from your waist to under the camera has two spring loaded sections which absorb any movement when you shift position and they also provide an adjustable upward force to your camera rig so all the weight is taken by the belt around your waist. All you need is a finger light touch on the camera to keep it upright.

I actually started this rig off by using, yes, a small monopod in a pouch made from a fanny bag around my waist and it worked really well especially if you kept the ball head loose. The only disadvantage was the inability to adjust camera height and later the adjustable spring loaded rod that replaced the monopod solved this totally

Chris

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

If I had to use a monopod it would be like this, just attached to a belt to take the weight out of my hands, to get some extra stabilisation and to hold the viewfinder up against my eye, often in the morning when family arrives and see the bride for the first time in her dress that is a great time to capture emotions, a monopod that you put on the ground would restrict my movement because if you need to reposition yourself without loosing the shot you would need to lift the monopod up and hold it up in the air or reposition it, during that time you need to be looking from a distance at the lcd screen and when you place the monopod down you will see that bump in your shot.
I prefer to have the camera up against my face looking through the viewfinder all of the time during run and gun which is for me the only way to see if I"m in focus and if other settings are as they should be, that's why OIS lenses are crucial during that time, I have used the 25mm f1.4 unstabilised lens and handheld with some success as well but often needs stabilisation in post, there a monopod would certainly help, but not the ones that extend to the ground as it would get in the way more then I would like.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

Weapon of choice:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/487696-REG/Manfrotto_561B_561B_Fluid_Video_Monopod.html

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

Yea Bryon, like I said, I've been through all the various schools of thought.

But for the record - theres a difference between the slight natural looking movement involved in IS handheld and a steadycam thats swaying...

(I still will use the steadycam at two/three points of the day)

The change in my approach came after other videographers who I respect started doing it - and their films proved to me that it works. Check out this handheld video by a friend of mine.


So... once I established that the handheld movement doesn't in any way hurt the shoot, I started questioning what the benefits are...

Say its bridal prep, and theres cards on the table top. You have to shorten or extend the monopod for the height of the subject you are filming (assuming you like to frame things up well and not everything from eye level). When shooting handheld, You have so much more flexiblity. Lift the camera to the eye (with Sony A7S evf!), and effectively shoot like one of the togs.

Shoot instantly, crouch, get up on a chair, get in behind something, squeeze past people...

I still use the monopod at parts of the day when handheld can be tiring. But I would certainly recommend you all to buy IS, and break free from support gear!

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

With the latest camera's having great viewfinders there is less reasons why not to shoot handheld with a OIS lens, I also agree with Clive shooting handheld with a dslr only (only for run and gun, otherwise it's all tripod for me) is very liberating, especially with small sized and light camera's. During the photoshoot I just follow the photog around with one dslr and one (ois) lens, feels like I"m on holiday :)

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

Right on ! I follow the photographer with an ultra light shoulder rig and keep out of his way. I let him/her do all the posing and people fetching while I stand like 30 feet away and using just the zoom. The zoom is the nicest invention ever made.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

So, there seems to be several that use monopods, and even handheld shooters. Do any of you provide a long form of the wedding or are you just picking short clips to put into an edit? How long (clip duration) do you shoot with a monopod/handheld? I believe I know your answer Chris. You probably shoot all day with your spring loaded contraption. :)

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

I do mostly in-cam edit, so I know what I want and be very selective. That means that 90% of all the clips I take to make up that under 2 hour capture are short 4 to 7 seconds of this and that. These small clips have the slight possibility of being shortened or eliminated in case someone passes in front of the camera etc. I did use at one time tripods and monopods but I feel that for the majority of the time they are not really needed if you use wide to normal views. For that tele long distance shot, I just take a deep breath and try not to do any focusing that may introduce shake. That is why I have an AF camera with the zoom controller as part of the grip. I can zoom if needed without touching the camera controls at all.It is just a technique that comes with experience. I can also do a kind of slider effect by putting my feet as far apart as possible and crouching a bit, swipe the camera from the extremities. the trick is keeping the camera level and at the same distance from the floor during the swipe. Less gear to schlepp around.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

Bryon, I have to say my handheld/monopod a-cam stuff are all quite short clips 5 seconds or so would be the average.

For the long form stuff like the ceremony I use 80% b-cam footage (I know how that sounds) which are auto focus cameras on locked off tripods. The a-cam footage is clips taken throughout this period of time and dropped into the timeline and synced.

But for the speeches, i go monopod with my 2 locked off b-cams again. This time, the a-cam on monopod is much longer length clips. I don't find fatigue or anything too much of an obstacle.

I find the monopod invaluable at speeches time since you have no idea who in the room will get a special mention. With the peace of mind of locked off b cams, you can quickly turn and move around with the monopod to get a shot of any of the guests.

Hope that helps - what are your concerns? Fatigue? Camera sway/wobble?

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

Hi Byron

Not quite..I'm lazy so I shoot only what I have to. At Bridal prep I use just the B-Cam (yes it's on the spring thingy always) so clips there are around 30 seconds (I'm like Arthur, we are old school and used to linear editing which were a pain so we shoot for edting..90% of my shorter clips only need a top and tail)
I have the A-Cam on tripod which does the entire ceremony usually off centre right and apart from a bit of reframing that camera runs the entire ceremony likewise my C-Cam is an elevated wide shot of the ceremony. The B-Cam does bridal entry, and basically cutaways ...I keep my cutaways to 10 seconds (no shorter) and again they get a heavy top and tail. I don't do 4 second shots ..If I'm going to pick up the camera I really don't want to have to put it down 4 second later so I'll probably shoot a whole set of cutaways making sure some are generic enough to put out of sync to cover blocked shots.

My A-Cam which runs the entire ceremony plus all the speeches carries my audio receivers too so that only has "big" clips on it. B-Cam is the handheld so that gets everthing else that's short and often not so short ...normally though clips wouldn't exceed 6 or 7 minutes (like the first dance/bridal entry to the reception and suchlike)

Chris

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

I would say camera shake is my main concern. Then second would be fatigue induced camera shake... I did a test run tonight with the canon 100mm macro tracking my kids running around the living room. I was impressed by the IS. With the motion involved, shake was definitely a non issue. After I get them in bed I will try to hold a closer shot like I might do during bridal prep. That will be a better test. Although the four little ones were great practice focusing on moving targets.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

I think that most are going a bit overboard on the tiniest wobble!

The next time you watch TV instead of looking at the content carefully watch the top of frame and you will see how much the handheld camera moves around. Programs like the CSI series and I even see them in ads. Now, I see them ONLY because I'm looking for it. No-one else see it cos they are looking at the content. Has a bride ever come back to you and said your handheld shots are wobbly? Of course not because they are looking at the shot not the framing.

As long as you don't hold a tiny camcorder and start waving it around with one hand brides will simply not see any movement in the frame because they are not looking for it so don't over think the handheld shots too much. I also wouldn't give too much attention to those who post clips here and ask for comments ...there WILL be comments as viewers here feel they are expected to at least find something wrong. They actually feel if they don't find something wrong then it makes them feel bad.

Concentrate on giving the bride well balanced and framed footage with good content and she will be over the moon ..wobbles included!

Chris

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

I do have a monopod, but I seldom use it anymore.

I have a very light carbon fiber tripod with 40mm level ball head, and a 701 head. if I am on tight spot I can just spread the feet 12 inches at a minimum. Best thing with this is that I can leave the camera rolling while checking other camera.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

That is a good point Rickey. I do run several cameras, so the monopod camera would suffer while adjusting the others... I guess bridal prep is a good place to start. I have used a monopod there before with a vg30 and an XA20 - just never with a DSLR.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

If its not the ceremony or speeches we are monopod. Its our weapon of choice for nearly everything else.

Height adjustment isnt an issue for us as were pretty quick at it now.

It takes the weight off your poor arms plus it stops the most undesirable camera movement of all... roll!

If I were to go freehand I would probably look into a shoulder rig to help reduce that roll.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

I don't know if this is helpful at all, but I DJ'ed a wedding this weekend and posted some highlights shot with a monopod (Manfrotto). Its very light weight, so this is how I practice - when I'm not being paid to film. I also feel I'm doing much better with white balance (tungsten), a flat profile (Cinestyle here), and minimal color grading (curves, upped the contrast a little).

I was able to keep the monopod moving pretty smoothly, I thought, and the feet allowed me to set it on my table and leave it, like a tripod. Used a Canon 5d Mark ii, 50mm, f/1.8, ISO 1600

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

I never shoot weddings free handheld EVER, even with IS. For everything other than ceremony and speeches I use a monopod. See my work for results. For wedding ceremony and reception speeches I'm on the sticks.

John Summerfield
Summerfield Films | Toronto Wedding Videography

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

I currently use the manfrotto 561BHDV-1 with modified 701 head (TBH I think the feet are a marketing gimmick as it feels no different from conventional monopods to me) but only for ceremonies and speeches where space is tight. I'm thinking of using it more during the day but don't want to feel 'tied' to it - especially height adjustment so I've got a Manfrotto Neotec so I can adjust the height really quickly with the trigger thing. I don't however want to swap heads so may purchase another modded 701.

What heads are you guys using?

Pete

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

For those that use a monopod, if you use stabilised lenses, do you leave the OIS on or off? I know when on a tripod it's essential to leave it off because the OIS can result in unwanted movement at the end of a pan motion, but not sure what gives better results on a monopod.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

Hey Noa, I leave it on, and it definitely helps -- not just for 400mm and macro shots, but all focal lengths.

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

I also leave IS on pretty much anytime other than stable tripod. Even when i don't expect to need a tripod i'll pack a small one which especially at longer focal lengths is not perfectly steady, and for such situations IS also is a great help in making insufficient tripods steadier. it also depends on the lens though. some lenses have a jumpy IS

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

Chris,
have you got a link for your springy tube thingy?

Re: Do you use a monopod?
 

Hi Andrew

DSLR Rig Support Rod|Shoulder Mount|Waist Belt

I didn't like the belt though so I made my own by getting a waist mounted "fanny bag" and just removing the bag part so I had a more flexible belt ...this one's belt is rather stiff and bulky but for the price you just use the bits you like and replace the ones you don't

It's an absolute life saver for me ...especially when I have heavy lenses on the EA-50!

Chris