Bamboopictures
Senior Member
I found this interesting monopod/tripod hybrid (FF to 3:20)[video=youtube;DFzzaidIkq4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFzzaidIkq4[/video]going for a song at Gain City and bought it to do some subterfuge shooting.
Must say I'm very pleased with the flexibility of the Velbon Pole Pod in terms of how it combines with some other gear I have.
First, the tripod section can be extended to form a very large base sufficient to stand the monopod, a WF117 fluid head and a GH2 perfectly well without hand support. With hand support, and a foot firmly on the tripod base, panning and tilting with the fluid head produced results indistinguishable from what you'll expect from a tripod. But more impressively, the mini tripod base is removable by unscrewing it from a standard 1/4"-20 socket at the base. I thought it'll be fun to attach a Pico skate dolly to the socket and see if I could use the whole set up as a camera skid. It worked acceptably well, producing slider-like footage when the monopod was at its shortest length. But with the Pico attached, the extra weight of the skateboard wheels acts as a counter-balance for the camera, giving you a poor-man's steadicam.
Must say I'm very pleased with the flexibility of the Velbon Pole Pod in terms of how it combines with some other gear I have.
First, the tripod section can be extended to form a very large base sufficient to stand the monopod, a WF117 fluid head and a GH2 perfectly well without hand support. With hand support, and a foot firmly on the tripod base, panning and tilting with the fluid head produced results indistinguishable from what you'll expect from a tripod. But more impressively, the mini tripod base is removable by unscrewing it from a standard 1/4"-20 socket at the base. I thought it'll be fun to attach a Pico skate dolly to the socket and see if I could use the whole set up as a camera skid. It worked acceptably well, producing slider-like footage when the monopod was at its shortest length. But with the Pico attached, the extra weight of the skateboard wheels acts as a counter-balance for the camera, giving you a poor-man's steadicam.
