Twitter reader, vegasgeek asked: “Is there a big difference in quality of Monopods? I’m shooting with a 3.5 pound lens. Don’t want to hand hold it for 3 hours.”

I don’t blame you, I wouldn’t want to hand-hold it for 30-minutes. First, a couple of assumptions:

1. You’re going to attach a camera to this 3.5 lb lens and, two: it’s a DSLR type camera bringing your total tonnage up to just short of the 5 lb mark.
2. By “quality” I assume you mean build-quality which, most of the time, equates with ease of use and longevity.

A Wide Range of Options

You can get monopods from about $12.50 to up near $500.00, possibly even more if you buy a carbon-fiber volcanic silica mono-sodium nitrate type professional model, but if you were going to pay $1,500 for a monopod, you probably wouldn’t need to ask me my advice.

The cheapest of the cheap will indeed “monopod”, being able to stand straight up with a little help and, maybe, hold your camera up. Many of the cheapest models have a little “spring-button” lock to (again “maybe”) hold the sections of the monopod leg out. These can be quite a nuisance to fiddle with and, sometimes, very difficult to unlock. About the only time they unlock reliably is when you’re trying to hold more than the smallest (lightest) point & shoot cameras upright and the buttons give up on holding the monopod up. The concept that you can simply pull the monopod sections out and have everything click into place looks better in theory than in reality.

Locking Mechanisms

Next will get you into the better, popularly-priced options. These can include monopods made by reputable companies like Manfrotto and Giottos. These can come with the cam-lever type locks or with the twist-to-tighten type locks. I personally like the cam-action locks as they seem to me easier to lock and unlock, but can be intrusive with the cam-lever hanging out just waiting to be snagged and released.

The twist-locks are much more streamlined, but can be a bear to release if over-tightened (like when trying to hold too heavy a load for the monopod’s rating) or if poorly designed , which is what you’ll get with a cheaper, off-brand monopod.

These monopods can come with either a long-handled tilt-pan head like on the cheaper tripods or video pods, a inexpensive ball-head (or similar ball-head type set-up) or a 1/4″ bolt for screwing directly into your camera’s tripod mount or attaching whatever head you’d like to use (at additional cost).

Beyond the lower-mid range the sky’s the limit. Monopods can have ball-feet, suction cup feet, snow-spike feet, and, my favorite, 3-mini legs that make it closer in stability to a tripod.

Thank About the Weight

They can be made from everything from lightweight aluminum to space age plastics (actually carbon-fiber, but I’ve always wanted to say “space age plastic”) and volcanic splooge. The weight-loss on a monopod isn’t as great as with a tripod when using exotic materials, and more might be gained and less spent by purchasing a slightly heavier monopod and a lighter weight head (within the needs of your intended support needs). If you have to hike a long way, all weight is a consideration. Speaking of hiking, there are even walking-sticks with a 1/4″-20 thread on top for use as a (non-collapsible) monopod!

Size Matters

The length of the monopod from fully collapsed to fully extended will have to be chosen with your particular needs in place. Does it need to fit in a pocket, backpack or suitcase? Does it need to extend to 9-feet so you can do aerial photography without leaving your seat in the bleachers? Usually the more sections a monopod has the greater the difference between collapsed and extended lengths.

An Important Part of Your Kit

I would recommend you buy a monopod that’s rated for a little bit more weight than you intend to use so you have some margin should you tend to abuse it. A monopod is a great way to improve your photography’s sharpness by holding it all steady and is quite often allowed where tripods are restricted.