Velbon RUP-40 4-Section Monopod

Solid construction, small, light and good price. The only gripe I have is that it does not have a shoulder strap.

Does it's job and good the money. It could be a little shorter for easier carrying. Overall, still very good.

You can spend a lot of money on a carbon fiber monopod but this aluminum built Velbon RUP-40 is light, sturdy, and fulfills most of my needs. I use it for my Canon 30D with a 300mm telephoto lens and it works great. Most importantly, it opens up to 62.3" which is long enough for a tall person (up to 6ft.) yet when folded at 19.1" it fits easily in most backpacks.

Monopods will not replace a tri-pod, but they come in handy for when you need more stabilization than just holding the camera by hand. It does take a little practice as you can still wobble or sway with them.

This monopod is less than 1 lb, so it's great for packing around.

Very durable and easy to adjust. It has a screw on the top to screw it into the camera or a quick release plate.

Even though I have not used it this way, with the soft hand grip, it could double as a walking stick and given the durability, I am sure it would hold up just fine. If nothing else, you can use it to fend off those pesky actors when they are trying to shove your camera down your throat and as a bonus, perhaps Jerry Bruckheimer will catch you in the act and cast you as an extra in a sword fighting scene in Pirates IV!

I found it to be a great product (if used for what it is designed for) and sold at a good price.

This works pretty well to help me steady my MiniDV camcorder that though they claim has stabilization is unusable at even moderate zooms without something to stabilize it.

Now I don't need to look for a bench or a tree to help me hold still though it's still not nearly as good as a tripod when the zoom gets out to 10 or 15X.

Good value.