Bought this fantastic monopod last month for $210 and it's on sale this month for $180.
Highly recommend this over the manfrotto options. Has a lock on the base where it can lock the ball joint and the head also offers a pan feature where on the manfrotto's it's locked.
Excuse my ignorance but, couldn't you buy the following two items from ebay and achieve the same effect?
http://m.ebay.com.au/itm/371319151811
And
http://m.ebay.com.au/itm/131495153333
I am not so sure about a monopod itself but a video head is completely different from tghe one in the post.
The one in the post looks like a very good quality one.
I got a similar one for $120 when our dollar was strong.
The ebay one looks more like the one I got for ~$20 including a tripod - I never used it but keep it as a backup option just in case.
Although I do not thnk that the cheap one will work well with my camera.
And I do not feel comfortable mounting my camera on a cheap one either.
The Benro video head is fluid, so no jerky movements. it's also easier to self balance
You can if you want. I don't know if the two peices are compatible. Also would you trust your $1000+ camera gear on a $30 monopod?
true enough I guess. I'm probably just being a cheap DSLR-noob, but I'm trying to get my head around paying roughly half the price of my D3300 (courtesy of an ozbargain post of course) on a monopod.
then again, like you say, can I really trust a cheap monopod with my gear…
Just checked a few reviews on the head and it seems to rate as a budget option and not quite there in use. I feel spending $50 more would probably leave you with a better long term purchase. The Manfrotto 500 series gets a good rave and I have seen it for $210-$220.
I checked out the mvm500a and it was more expensive and not as good for my needs. The head doesn't pan and the base tilt doesn't lock.
I have a MANFROTTO 701HDV FLUID HEAD.
It works really well.
If you need BOTH a monopod AND a video head, then this deal is quite good.