Stupid, no panning skills!

[Raskill]

Hi folks,

Just curious if anyone out there can help me with an issue.

I HATE panning shots with a monopod. I got some cracking shots with the 120-300 handheld, but this can only work for so long, as the weight of the lens/body tires the wrists quickly.

So, I need to improve my panning technique. Will any type of monopod head help? I think the issue lies in the fact that the camera pans on a point in front of the camera under the lens, rather than the natural area of under the camera.

Are there any monopod head, like wimberly ones, that will assist me.

Any help advice gratefully recieved!

[Wocka]

Gidday,

There are boby mounted camera supports. Doing a quick Google search found a few sites. Most seem to be aimed at the video market. But I'm sure I've seen DSLR versions before.

Prices look pretty expensive.

Cheers

[PiroStitch]

Would a ball head help? In theory it would give you more flexibility with panning and being able to change the direction quite easily whilst still providing the support required from the pod

[DaveB]

I would recommend that a ball head would be a BAD idea on a monopod, especially with a lens as large as this.

Panning with a monopod works fine for me. Sometimes you pan around the 'pod (which you have to do when panning with a tripod) and sometimes you pan around yourself (with the monopod swinging around).

You need a head which gives you some flexibility though. Some people like the Manfrotto joystick heads, but I use the Manfrotto 234 tilthead which lets the camera tilt up/down. With the lens collar loose you can tilt the camera left/right.

I have been known to combine the 234 head with a Wimberley Sidekick, but it might not suit you. With the Sidekick the lens collar is on its side, and you'd need to check that the Sigma collar doesn't lock up like that (some designs assume that the weight will be in one direction, and on the monopod you'll want the collar to be loose). Gimbal heads such as the full Wimberley (and the Sidekick) are usually used where you can level the base, level the camera in the lens collar, then lock the collar so that as you pan the camera will remain level. This doesn't apply at all to a monopod: another reason I suspect it might not suit.