Manfrotto 560B monopod review
I have returned from the land of the long white cloud and am now ready to review the Manfrotto 560B monopod.
Unfortunately, after four weeks abroad I have little else to add to my initial impressions of the monopod I gave a month ago: the 560B is wonderful.
A quick recap: before my requisite work siesta I was looking for a way to increase the stability of shooting with the Twoneil adapter without the need to pack a bulky tripod. The Manfrotto 560B seemed a nice tradeoff; it snaps down to about 60cm, provides panning support and stability, weighs just under 1.5kgs and doesn’t take up too much room in my suitcase. In fact, strange as it may sound, throughout my time abroad I never really felt burdened by the 560B; hefted in your hand it can just feel like a weighty stick, and for some reason that feels natural to a neanderthal like me.
Over the course of my trip I took the 560B out pretty much everyday, hefting it most times over my shoulder like you would carry a club. The lever snap locking system feels incredibly secure, so much so that I rarely took the camera off while tramping through the wilderness (urban or otherwise). After a while I forgot altogether (whilst stumbling over rocks and skreet) that the camera was perched so delicately 6 feet off the ground behind my back.
Most of the time I would take the monopod down a few notches for a little bit more peace of mind, but it was always a very quick “stand and start shooting” process. Though I would stop short of saying that you could use it for a walking stick – you invest a lot in the smooth operation of those little feet.
Panning is an art, and I have yet to master it. The video below is the first part of my holiday and much of it was taken in the Tongariro National Park where the wind is reliably strong, hence some of the footage is a little shaky. This I don’t believe is the fault of the monopod as much as my own general shakiness.
Following the advice from someone on Vimeo, I turned off the stability control on my Hv30. If left on, it can supposedly screw with panning – making the picture jump around unecessarily. Unfortunately it also means you take a small hit to the smoothness of all your shots (in my opinion). If you remember, the first video I did with the monopod was without DOF adapter (the main culprit of camera shake), so really this was the first time I’d really used the monopod at all for it’s true purpose: to smooth out shots with the adapter.
A worthy comparison is between the video above and the video I first shot with the twoneil some months ago (handheld). The improvement is easily noticeable – though not as much as if the adapter wasn’t on at all. I would not have dared trying some of the pans and camera movements performed in the above video without the monopod.
Overall I am very impressed with the Manfrotto 560B – whilst the shots still exhibit some shake, many of these were taken on the fly in awkward situations and resting upon unstable terrain with the wind blowing quite heavily. Yes the dream of perfectly stable shots still haunts me, but I also realise I would quite likely have never taken the time to take many of the shots I did were it not for the ease of setup the 560B provides. Always in search of the perfect picture, my partner and I travel with a significant amount of camera equipment (both video, digital still and film cameras) and right at this moment, lugging an additional tripod around with me on holiday would just add to the feeling that we are a travelling paparazi sideshow.
In the past few months I have been exposed to more and more professionally produced movies and user videos that employ a more relaxed approach to image stability. I am finding that this approach is more akin to the visions I have in my head and plays to the strengths and weaknesses of my own equipment setup.
Thanks to it’s three little fit and central column pivot system and with enough time, practice and imagination, I believe the Manfrotto 560B monopod will produce some truly unique looking shots to rival those of a conventional tripod. I have barely scratched the surface.
HV30 Indecisive Buyers Guide 
Your blog about the HV30 decision process has been a joy to read. It seems we have very similar styles to our purchasing processes and I really enjoyed the thought (and completeness) you put into your blog. I’ve been contemplating getting into some hobby videography and I already feel like when I do dive in, I’ll at least have some idea of what I’m getting into. Thanks for the effort!
Hey Kurt, thanks for the kudos. I’m thrilled somebody’s enjoying the story thus far. If you have any questions, or article suggestions, throw them my way. Cheers.
Hey there!
Great updates and reviews. Really honest and straightforward. One thing I wanted to ask was about stability. I see you bought the manfrotto 560b, but with the twoneil, doesn’t the cam unit get very long, and does it put pressure on your threads??
Best wishes,
O
Hi Omar,
I don’t find any real pressure on the threads, as i mostly use a 50mm lens on the end. I have recently ordered the additional achromat, which I understand does make the barrel a little longer – so I may have to invest in some rails to support the adapter after that. But it seems pretty solid at the moment.
Mark.
I tried the 560B on a shoot in India recently and was pleasantly surprised. It seems like a goofy idea, but it works. And it’s cheap enough to make a buying decision easy – compared say, to buying a tripod.
Did you have any problems with dirt? I found very fine dirt got into the ball joint in the foot, which makes it judder when panning now. I suspect if I take it apart and clean it, it will be right as rain. What is your experience?
Brad
Hi Brad,
Thanks for commenting. I haven’t had any troubles with dirt thus far, but I have heard others with similar problems. I think I read somewhere that you can take the foot apart and wash out the joints, but you might want to do a bit more research first.
Yeah I think thing I really liked about the monopod was the price. At under AU$200 its a very affordable solution to camera shake.
Actually, I recently disassembled the ball joint in the foot and found it was clean as a whistle. The problem was not dirt. It was simply too tight. A minor adjustment set it right again.
Hi Mark,
Thanks so much for your review of the 560B. I just purchased the 560 BHDV, which includes a fluid head. I’m still figuring out how to use it. I was, at first, disappointed when I put my video camera on and started to shoot. Keeping the monopod in a proper vertical is tricky, to say the least. In fact, I don’t even think it’s possible, since you can’t shoot and watch the level bubble at the same time. I guess I was expecting it to work more like a tripod. Silly me. Anyways, as I have continued to experiment with it, I think I’m getting the hang of it. And, I think it will serve the purpose for which I bought it: not having to always lug around my very heavy tripod. Make no mistake about it: this thing will never replace my tripod! There’s nothing like the stability of a tripod for beautiful pans and tilts. But, the mobility and ease-of-use of the monopod makes learning how to shoot with it worthwhile. And, I’m sure that in time, I will become more proficient such that my monopod shots will be much better than just hand-held (right now, one might say it’s a toss-up, but I’m optimistic). As far as the construction of the thing goes, I have to say it’s really robust. I feel confident, as you have mentioned, leaving my video camera attached and just walking around freely, not worrying about it falling off. The three little feet on the bottom are a nice touch, helping to make panning nice and fluid.
Anyways, thanks again for your post, and for the video postings. They help me to understand that others have gone through some of the ‘uncertainties’ when purchasing and (trying to) operating new gear.
All the best,
Vic
Hi Vic,
Glad you found the review helpful. I am still using the monopod, even though now I have switched camera to the Canon 5d Mkii – a tripod is better, but much more expensive and heavy to lug around. I’ve also been experimenting a lot more with making movies with that kind of restrained “first person POV” in which a little bit of shake is a good thing. For that kind of shooting, the monopod is perfect. I think people should keep in mind that the monopod is about stabilising or reducing shake, not eliminating it.
If you want perfect pans, then get a tripod. If you just want to calm the jitters, a monopod is a great investment.
Mark.
Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear.
Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Regardless,
just wanted to say wonderful blog!