Customer Reviews

Vanguard MP-15 Lightweight Monopod

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was in the market for a sturdy monopod that could also serve as a walking stick for light trail use. The Vanguard MP-15 fits the bill fairly nicely with the following observations:

Pros:
Inexpensive compared to similar monopods
Very solid construction
Very sturdy camera mount

Cons:
Pan and tilt handle too close to grip when folded down
Attached "foot" does not provide much added stability

All-in-all, I am very pleased with this monopod.

Recommended!

CFH

I wasn't at all sure that a monopod would be an acceptable alternative to a tripod for getting nice, sharp images, especially with a telephoto lens. Have been pleasantly surprised.

I bought the MP-15 to use in circumstances when I didn't want to lug a tripod around; like on day-hikes, etc. Figured the MP-15 could double as a walking stick. It works admirably as a trekking pole; very solid (though heavier than ideal for that purpose). Interestingly, though, I have found that I often leave my digital SLR attached to the monopod and carry it horizontally -- my camera balances the extended monopod. When I see something I want to shoot, I bring the MP-15 to the vertical, quickly adjust the height of the monopod (if necessary), make any last minute camera adjustments and start clicking away. Very fast and convenient. I have also found it very convenient to strap the MP-15 to the crossbar of my bicycle when I'm taking my camera "on the road".

The things I like best about the MP-15 are its 1) solid feel, 2) long extension, 3) ease of quick height and orientation adjustments, 4) quick release shoe, 5) compact transportability, 6) combo metal spike / rubber tip. I agree with other reviewers that foot piece is of no use (I use a rubber band to bind it up). The pan and tilt handle has one problem (though not the one reported before -- it is trivial to lock the handle so that it doesn't interfere with the grip). The problem is that it is too long; it can catch you in the shoulder when you're trying to get your eye up to the camera's viewfinder.

Many features to recommend it, only a couple of minor niggles against it; it's an excellent value. Highly recommended.

For the money, this monopod rocks- plenty tall, totally adjustable, and the quick shoe is very handy. The quality is really quite high, as well- a nice looking, sturdy piece. The foot piece seems unnecessary, but it can probably be removed. I am very pleased with this one.

My husband has a tendency to "click" the shutter button, resulting in blurry photos. He has a tripod but it is unwieldy, both to carry and to set up, when we are on trail hikes. I bought the MP-15 as a birthday gift for him, and we set out on a 2-week trip to the national parks of southern Utah and northern Arizona. Since he is the user of this product, this is his review:

The monopod was shipped in a tripod box, with tripod instructions, but it's simple to use so no problem. The leg telescopes and retracts, locks and unlocks easily. The leg foot steadies the monopod and the "quick release shoe" allows the camera to be removed easily and quickly. The "pan handle" is in the way when looking through the view finder, and not useful with a monopod, so I removed it. If a person has a problem keeping a camera steady, the monopod is the answer. Much easier and quicker to set up than a tripod; lighter to carry, too.

A final note: three rolls of film, no blurry shots.

I just received this monopod as a gift and I am very disappointed. I tighten the quick shoe with a coin but my camera does not stay tightly attached to the monopod if you move the camera at all. To tighten the quick shoe again you have to release the shoe and then get out a coin and try again to tighten the screw. I don't think the quick shoe is saving any time, its increasing the time involved and very frustrating. Also a good quick shoe should indicate on the shoe where the front of the camera/lens should be and also indicate it on the positioning spot on the monopod.
The handle is in the way most of the time. It appears to be well made and lightweight but the controls are not well thought out and its so annoying I am going to go back and use my old brocken down monopod that just has a screw on top so you just turn the monopod to screw it on...its much faster.

I use a chair to get around, so a regular tripod would be too hard to handle. This is just great. It is light enough for me to take along and easily adjustable. This will help me to get better, steadier pictures, especially at night. Because of nervious shaking of my hands, I have had problems with blurry pictures. Now, this will help cut down on them. Thanks.

I enjoy a good tripod as much as the next guy, but when I go to the zoo or another place where I need to steady the camera for a zoom shot relatively quickly, the tripod takes too long to set up. I can't afford a VR lens, so instead I talked with photographers in my area and they all recomended getting a monopod. I looked around and this was the best deal in terms of both price and performance.

So far it has held up to abuse! I find that it gives me the stability I need without too much fuss. It sets up quickly and holds firm. This is definately a great accessory for anyone who wants to take nature shots or any zoomed shots where you don't have time to set up a tripod.

Hint: If you are taking a shot and the subject moves, make sure that you move or adjast the monopod. Don't get caught angling the camera differently to get a good shot because when the camera isn't level with your subject it can ruin your shots...

Side-to-side panning works smoothly. Flip-out foot brace helps steady monopod on smooth flooring. Simply put your foot on it. Much better than a tripod.

I really wanted to like this monopod. I have a Nikon Digital SLR, so I wanted something better and more rugged than the flimsy low-end monopods, and this sure looked like it would do the trick.

This monopod is very sturdy, rigid, and well-made. The flip-to-lock tabs set the leg length securely wherever you want, and they don't slip. It's quite impressive.

This model has a so-called "quick-disconnect shoe": you attach the camera to the shoe, then attach the shoe with camera to the monopod. Be warned: this is the ONLY way to attach a camera to this monopod; you can't just screw it on.

"Quick-shoes" are a professional standby, but you should consider whether one really fits your needs or not. A good pro quick-shoe system is above all stable and secure; it's quick and easy to attach and remove the shoe from the camera, and also to attach and remove the camera with shoe from the monopod/tripod.

Unfortunately, I found that this model has problems in all these areas. Maybe because just the little shoe of a pro system costs as much as this whole monopod.

To use it, you first remove the quick shoe from the monopod, flipping a spring-loaded release lever while pulling the shoe in a particular direction and lifting up. It took a little doing, but I finally got it off. Then, you need to find a quarter or something similar to turn the screw which attaches the shoe to the bottom of the camera; you can't do it with your fingers since there's no knob. Then, line up the screw with the hole in the bottom of the camera and screw it in as tightly as possible.

Then, you drop the camera with quick shoe attached back into the recess in the top of the monopod, while pulling the release lever. I thought it would just neatly drop right in. Silly me. Unless it's lined up quite carefully, it won't. But after a while, and some futzing, it does. Of course, while doing this, you're balancing the monopod with your left hand and the SLR with your right, while pulling on that release lever with your other hand.

Unfortunately, Vanguard doesn't give you much help: there are no index marks to show which way the shoe, camera, and monopod attach to each other, and the instructions provided only talk about tripods, not monopods.

But now (whew!) you're ready to take a picture. Hope it wasn't something moving, because it'd be gone by now.

Well, maybe I just need more practice with this thing, because some people love it. And I was willing to do that, until I picked up the monopod, and my camera swung sharply to the right. No, it didn't come off, fortunately, the screw just loosened. Guess I didn't tighten it enough. So I reversed the procedure above, removed the quick shoe and camera, re-tightened the screw as tight as I could get it with the quarter, and put it back together again. I picked up the monopod, and the camera swung sharply to the right. It was loose again.

I CANNOT tighten that screw enough with the quarter to hold my camera securely, and I've got pretty strong fingers. Obviously, my camera and lens are too heavy for this monopod, or rather, for its quick-shoe system.

But besides the insecurity, for me it's just too much time and hassle to put together, which keeps me from using it for spontaneous shots which still need some stability. I can get my camera on and off my ancient Sony non-quick-shoe tripod in a fraction of the time it takes with this monopod, and I don't need a quarter, and it doesn't come loose, either.

I considered leaving the quick shoe on the camera all the time, as the pros do. You can, but it adds a 5/8" high lump to the bottom center of the camera, so it's unstable when you put it down, the lens now carries part of the camera's weight, and it could mar some surfaces you set it on. I guess I could just leave the camera on the monopod all the time, but I don't really need it that much.

If you have a smaller, lighter, point-and-shoot camera, this monopod may work fine for you -- as long as you're more patient than I am, not interested in spontaneous shots, have strong fingers, and always have a quarter handy.

I think $32 is a decent price to pay for this. I accidentally ordered the Canon monopod for the same price, but I have not recived it yet.

This monopod has three aluminum sections that independantly slide up, down and lock in any position.

The bottom portion has a flip over lever that you can put your foot on so that the bottom can be steadied more. The bottom point is a rubber, screw out, knob type of thing with ridges so that it can be used on wood floors, linoleum or whatever. As you screw this knob in, a metal tip pokes out from the middle for those times you really need to plant this sucker in the ground.

The top part has a foam hand grip with wrist strap. The mounting head swivels left and right, which I don't understand, because if you want to rotate your camera all you have to do is twist the monopod. This swivel portion locks with a twist of the knob. It also moves to swivel the camera lens up and down, and it also locks with a twist of the wrist. If you want to take a vertical picture all you do is untwist a know and flip your camera vertical. This can be locked in the vertical position by twisting the knob.

My only gripe is about the quick release portion. It is a little "clunky." The tightening lever should have a concentric portion to it so that it tightens the mount to the head as it is pushed in. It does lock the mount in but it can be lifted up a bit. If this was a tripod it would probably be more of a big deal but the weight of the camera helps keep the mount down.

The way the mount attaches is that you put it in and as you move the lever it pushes the mount over where it locks in a little keyway. It is kind of a little extra safety device to keep your camera from falling.

As far as the mount attaching to the camera, yes you have to tighten it with something like a coin but you don't have to over torque it. It is a screw head and it is designed to be tightened down. My tripod had the same type of attachment. Perhaps the expensive tripods and monopods have something different but I don't find it to be a big deal. I don't see how one would strip out threads in their camera.

I build 767's for a living so I am familiar with materials and building structurally sound components. Even though I have only had this monopod for a week it seems well built and I don't forsee any problems with it breaking.