YC Onion Pineta Pro Carbon Fiber Monopod with Pedal Base, Light Stand Lightweight Travel Monopod with Quick Release Plate for Sony Canon Nikon DSLR Cameras, Gimbal and etc Max Load 11lb/5Kg

I bought this to replace the monopod that I use to shoot sports. I never really mastered the trick of swinging that giant 400 out of the way, and this fixes the problem—one squeeze of the grip and the lens is gone, and I'm grabbing the body with the wide-angle.This does that well. After using it for a half-dozen games, I have no worries about the mechanism failing or breaking. Whatever's going on in there, it feels solid. It took all of about a shoot and a half to get used to dropping the rig, something that I can do with one hand while the other reaches for the backup camera.If that's your only use case, you're probably spending too much. Or you're really sick of hitting yourself in the face with your camera.But if you look at this as a system, the thing becomes more palatable.You're not just getting a stick that holds the weight of the camera and lens, you're getting:- A mini-tripod- A quick way to switch between on- and off-monopod shooting- A temporary stand for your equipment during breaks- A stable platform for shooting off the back of the camera- A really nice bag that holds more than just your monopod- And one of the best ways to get your camera out of the way so you can switch bodiesLet's dig into this.For most of what I shoot, I'm sitting. In that situation, I tend to not use the feet. At best they get in the way, and at worst, it's bulk I need to shuffle when readjusting to follow the action.But if you get your hands on an additional quick-release plate, you can turn those feet into a mini-tripod. The height is perfect for dropping behind a net to get dramatic shots, and the whole thing is perfectly adjustable and stable.I *did* wind up using the feet when shooting a recent dance performance, and it was great to:- Not deal with the weight of a camera around my next for six hours- Be able to drop it out of the way when I didn't need it- Use the swivel on the feet to shoot from the camera back instead of the eyepiece, meaning no back pain from hunching overHow stable are the feet? Stable enough to hold a Nikon Z9 and a 400mm lens. Ok, with the monopod completely collapsed, but I still felt comfortable leaving the rig like this for five minutes while I hit the restroom.With a lighter setup, it was even more trustworthy—it held a Z8, relatively heavy short lens, and a flash for several hours with no issues.I don't think I'd use it as a replacement for an actual tripod, but in a pinch, it could work.If you do forego the feet, there's a rubber foot that you can swap in. That foot is a solid inch wide and half-inch thick, much beefier than the one on my old tripod. This thing isn't going to separate after getting dragged across the floor.The monopod came with one of the nicest carrying bags I've ever received as standard gear, and a second rubber foot was in there. Having recently paid $20 to replace the foot on my old boring monopod, that was a nice discovery. The bag is extremely roomy—I was able to fit the monopod, foot, travel tripod, and a lighting tripod in there without straining the zipper.If you're not using the bag for the monopod, it is big enough for a standard tripod as well. If nothing else, you can make your office tidier.The bag also has a generous zippered mesh interior pocket, along with a nice wide carrying strap and serious zipper. Having replaced one Peak Design bag because the zipper failed, they could learn a thing or two from this design.Because of my height, I did need to pick up the extension tube. That also came with a much less fancy bag, but one still long enough to work with the main monopod (sans feet). I usually just strap the monopod to my backpack, but with the bag, it's nice to know that my expensive purchase will take slightly longer to acquire dings and scratches. That extension tube also came with a quick-release plate, giving me my mini-tripod.Speaking of that quick-release plate, it will make you think differently about how you use a monopod.How many times have you disconnected the monopod at the end of a game, getting ready to run onto the field for post-game shots, only to wind up hand-holding everything for ten minutes? Or were awkwardly trying to focus on something happening in the stands with a five-foot stick attached to your camera?Getting the camera on and off the monopod in under a second is a serious game-changer. I didn't think that I'd ever use this feature, and now I find myself using it all the time.There are two minor annoyances with the quick-adjust feature.First is that, without the foot attached, the tube doesn't have enough weight to drop on its own. I usually have to get a boot on it to hold it in place, but that's fairly easy to get used to.The second issue is that you are *constantly* resetting the height. There's no way to limit the travel, so every time you extend it back up, you're hunting a bit for that perfect setting. It's not awful, but it was enough for another photographer to comment on it.About my only other complaint is with the carrying strap placement. The aluminum loop for the strap sticks out to the left, and if you're using your left hand to drop the monopod, it usually digs in. Now you may be saying "I am not left-handed! That won't be a problem!"I'm not left-handed either. Which means that I'm using my right hand to grab that other camera.I don't really use the strap, so getting periodically stabbed by something superfluous is annoying. And the design of the monopod is such that you can't move the loop without completely taking the thing apart, so I just have to live with it.Last potential con: fully collapsed, this is about 4-5" taller than my old tripod. That's tall enough that I can't comfortably use it when sitting on the ground. Not that that happens often, but it does mean that there are events where the old one gets carried around, just in case.Overall, this was a very expensive investment, but I have almost no regrets. I'm wrangling a 400mm lens around almost weekly, and this is getting me shots I might have missed, without the camera hitting the floor. Reusing the feet as a mini-tripod means more shots I didn't even try to get previously (although that meant spending more money on Pocket Wizards). And I'm seeing new possibilities with it for some of my event photography.If all you need is a basic tripod, this probably isn't for you. But if you're sick of having a wrestling match every time you need your backup body, this will likely make your life easier.

Excellent product design which no other brand has achieved.