Monopod VS Tripod – Which is Best For You?
INTRODUCTION
Photography is an art. It takes years of practice and patience to master it. You need to be skillful and creative in handling the camera, lenses and other accessories to capture beautiful pictures. You need to be flexible with so many things to be a good photographer. Sometimes you may have to sacrifice your sleep to capture the beautiful sunrise.
Sometimes you may have to walk miles to capture one animal or a bird you were trying to chase for days. Sometimes you have to stand for hours with a heavy camera’s strap to shoot a wedding. Adding support to your camera can make your whole shooting experience easier, more fun and comfortable.
That’s when monopods and tripods come into the picture. You can fix your phone or camera in monopods or tripods and shoot comfortably. It gives you the flexibility to experiment more with your photography. But what should you choose? A monopod or a tripod? This is what we are going to find in this monopod vs tripod article.
What is Monopod & When to use it? | What is Tripod & When to use it? |
|---|---|
 |  |
A monopod can be defined as the accessory designed to support the camera. A monopod has a single leg hence called a monopod. Its height is adjustable. It has a quick release plate to place and remove your camera easily. | Just like a monopod, a tripod is also designed to support your smartphone and camera. It has three legs hence called a tripod. You get more stable support and some greatly advanced functions in a tripod. |
From the above table, you must have understood that both monopods and tripods are must have camera gadgets for photography, but the use case for each differs. To get a better understanding of which is better, look at the comparison table given below.
What is monopod?
A monopod can be defined as the accessory designed to support the camera. A monopod has a single leg hence called a monopod. Its height is adjustable. It has a quick release plate to place and remove your camera easily.
WHEN TO USE MONOPODS?
When you don’t need rock-solid support for your smartphone or camera, you can opt for a monopod. It gives you more handheld flexibility. This single-legged camera support accessory is available in different shapes, sizes and weights. Sometimes you have a crazy shooting schedule that requires continuous movements from one place to another.
At such times monopods come to your rescue. You might have observed many sports photographers using monopods. They are easy to carry, move and hold. They are small and compact. They don’t take much floor space. You don’t even need a carry bag if you are using a relatively small monopod.
You get more mobility and quick operation. You don’t have to fold three legs every time. Some monopods even have a multi-stage leg. Just unfold the leg, adjust the height and start shooting. This light piece of accessory can accommodate the weight of heavy lenses. So if you are into adventurous, nature, sports or landscape photography, then monopod is the best affordable portable option for you.
What is a tripod?
Just like a monopod, a tripod is also designed to support your smartphone and camera. It has three legs hence called a tripod. You get more stable support and some greatly advanced functions in a tripod.
When to use tripods?
A tripod offers you a strong, solid platform to place your camera. Its legs are more stable and steady compared to a monopod. You get a variety of sizes and different mounting styles in tripods.
You don’t need to worry about shaking off a camera as it offers amazing stability. You can use slow shutter speeds and take long exposure pictures comfortably. It can hold the camera at one spot and hence is most suitable for macro, time-lapse and studio photography where it is required for the camera to be held in a fixed position.
You need to set the camera once on a tripod, and you are free to control it remotely using a shutter. While in the case of monopods, you have to constantly get worried about dropping down the gadget and ruining your shot.
You get beautifully blurry backgrounds and sharp, clear images using a tripod. It is also a great option for wildlife photography as you can set a camera on a tripod, place it at the desired location and then disappear to take shots of wild animals. It is best suited to capture beautiful HDR and panorama shots.
Why not monopod?
Why not tripods?
CONCLUSION
That's a wrap for monopod Vs Tripod. Both monopod and tripod serve the same purpose of supporting your camera with different functions and features. You get one leg with monopod while three in a tripod. Both of them provide better stability than the handheld camera. You can get rid of heavy cameras hanging around your neck and shoulder by using them.
Monopods are great in terms of portability, while tripods provide better stability. What you want to choose depends on what are your photography requirements? If affordable, it’s better to have both of them so that you can have a 360-degree solution for all styles of photography at your fingertips.
