ベルボン Velbon L60 Ultra Stick Monopod - Black

I'm a devotee of Olympus (now OM) cameras for their small size, light weight and great build. Well, this is the perfect compliment. I often leave it on unextended because it then makes a very steady additional grip for hand held photography without a serious weight penalty to my E-M5 and OM1. It's like a form of mechanical image stabilization. And of course so handy to have with you when you need the added stability of a monopod, avoiding need for a bulky tripod, at least with Olympus IBIS cameras. I've had mine for years and there's no sign of degradation from wear.

小さいバッグに入ります。持ち運び便利

Fits nicely in my camera bag but is still sturdy enough to support my big lens and camera (2.5kg).

The Ultra Stick Super 8 monopod is very compact and fairly easy to extend.The use of an internal expanding clamp system means that the sections slide completely inside each other making the folded length very small. This monopod (with tilt head attached) will just fit into the top of a Lowepro Event Messenger 150 shoulder bag, and fits easily into the side pocket and strap of the Lowepro BP150.The instructions imply that the unit will be used without a head and advise the use of a pan head for "vertical" use. It is not clear if this means Portrait orientation shooting, or aiming up/down, but either way a pan head would not work - an error in the translation of the instructions I suspect. A tilt, ball, or 3 way head would be needed, not just a pan head.As this is a monopod, a tilt head is better and that is what I have fitted. A 1/4 to 3/8 UNC adaptor is needed for this (easily available) as the monopod is 1/4 only.When extending the legs, long arms are needed (I am 6 ft tall and my arms are at full stretch) so practice at locking would be strongly recommended although after a while it becomes simpler. Fortunately the first section has a gripping ring, which helps.The instructions advise checking the legs are locked before applying any pressure ("make sure legs do not shrink"), I would say this is essential as locking the sections does take a little practice).At full extension the height is sufficient to allow the use of the monopod in an angled position for maximum stability (tilt head essential), and is also high enough to use with heavy binoculars for simple astronomical use.The hand strap is held with a split ring, to which the supplied belt clip can be attached. The strap fixing does not rotate around the head, so could end up in an awkward position when the camera or head is fitted, but I am lucky as it ends up facing me (I am using the Andoer Monopod Tilt Head).The belt clip is also very useful as it clips onto the shoulder strap of my Lowepro Messenger when the monopod is in the side pocket, stopping it slipping out. When used on a belt I think it would be short periods only as the weight of the monopod hitting your leg when walking is a bit uncomfortable, but for temporary use it is fine.The only real negative with this is that, due to the basic design, the rubber foot has to be permamently attached, so no option to replace with a spike for use on soft ground (unlike the Manfrotto Elements Monopod), but given the compact folded length, it is worth the sacrifice.

脚の固定と伸縮が簡単です。