Request advice re: Nikon Fieldscope ED50 (1 Viewer)

[Mike Crawley]

A broom handle long enough to use comfortably would be an awkward thing to carry around in a car/bus/train.

Something more compact would be better in my humble opinion

 

[Earnest lad]

Earnest Lad,

I wouldn't bother making a wooden one, I would buy an inexpensive aluminium one. I have used an ED50 on a monopod for over 10 years and recently started using an Opticron MM4 60 on the same monopod. Both work, although the MM4 is noticeably heavier. Unlike others, I found a three-way head on a monopod a nuisance and I can't get my head round a ball head. Try it for yourself and see how you get on. I attach the scope to the top of the monopod using a Velbon QRA-3 quick release adapter. If the scope needs to angle down I lean the monopod forwards and if it needs to angle up then I tilt it back. This, combined with minor adjustment in the height of the monopod gets me onto the bird every time. In my 10 years+ experience you don't need a ball head or a three-way head (like I started with and soon binned). I don't use a scope on birds overhead, or at a high angle in trees - for me that's a mug's game. I use binoculars. Etudiant commented that "no monopod will ever give you a stable viewing platform". No - it will never be as stable as a tripod, but with a fold down foot like this :

View attachment 1498655
it will give you all the view you want, not just a look. I took the foot off one of these tripods and attached it to my own monopod with a DIY attachment because the fit in the monopod it came off was sloppy. The hardest motion of the monopod to control is twisting. If you fold down the foot and put your foot on it then it totally prevents twisting. Atmospheric conditions/light permitting I can use the maximum 40x (45x?) magnification of the ED50's MC2 zoom no problem for a view, not just a look. I use a Velbon RUP4 now discontinued and I am 5 ft 11 inch and use a straight scope. There is at least another 6 inches of height extension I am not using so there's a good chance Velbon will have something suitable for you. Don't waste your money on carbon fibre - stick to aluminium - the weight saving IMO is not worth the extra cost.

 

[Earnest lad]

Dear 4John said
Thank you for your helpful reply. I apologize for the delay in replying. - there was much food for thought in your response, as it is evident you have practical experience that is most helpful. I would like the monopod in the attachment you kindly provided, as the foot would, I imagine be most helpful to myself.
As regards your comment about a foot on the monopod: I dont think I have the wherewithal to obtain a foot and attach one myself as I am not really a DIY person to any degree.
The other thing that comes to mind is regarding the now defunct Velbon model you refer to. I guess that model is no longer easy to get hold of even second-hand. I have seen the Velbon RUP40 on ebay but that one is stated to be only 160 cm max height. I wonder would that height be sufficient for myself at 6 feet three ?
Finally I was wondering what your comments would be about a monopod 2 way tilt head such as a Manfrotto 234RC ?
Many thanks.

 

[4John]

Dear 4John said
Thank you for your helpful reply. I apologize for the delay in replying. - there was much food for thought in your response, as it is evident you have practical experience that is most helpful. I would like the monopod in the attachment you kindly provided, as the foot would, I imagine be most helpful to myself.
As regards your comment about a foot on the monopod: I dont think I have the wherewithal to obtain a foot and attach one myself as I am not really a DIY person to any degree.
The other thing that comes to mind is regarding the now defunct Velbon model you refer to. I guess that model is no longer easy to get hold of even second-hand. I have seen the Velbon RUP40 on ebay but that one is stated to be only 160 cm max height. I wonder would that height be sufficient for myself at 6 feet three ?
Finally I was wondering what your comments would be about a monopod 2 way tilt head such as a Manfrotto 234RC ?
Many thanks.

Paraphrasing what is sometimes attributed to Einstein, I am sorry this post is so long (again) but I didn’t have time to make it shorter .

Amazon has a monopod for £21.72 with an identical fold down foot the one on the monopod I bought from China over 10+ years ago :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ex-Pro-Pro...79-9d80-b9bf474747a4&pd_rd_i=B0052SJYZC&psc=1

However, exactly as I found 10+ years ago, one of the Amazon reviewers said “First thing the foot is pointless as it is not a proper tight fitting and even if you put your own foot on it it will still be loose.” That's why I took the foot off and made a better attachment to a Velbon RUP-4. However, I only paid £9 for this monopod 10+ years ago, so IMO it’s now too expensive to buy just to take the foot off and attach it to another monopod.

Instead you could buy a monopod without a foot, and add the L-shaped foot bracket you were proposing for your broom handle. Take two small pieces of wood, clamp them together and drill a vertical hole on the join between them the same diameter as the bottom section of the monopod, so you end up with two halves you can clamp around the bottom section of the monopod to act as a foot.

My 10+ year old RUP-4 monopod is 1.69m maximum height. Looking at the current Velbon monopod range there doesn’t seem to be anything more than 1.56m high. However, your best bet maybe the Amazon Basics 1.7m monopod for £21.45 :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasi...s&sprefix=slik+monopod,electronics,69&sr=1-15

It’s sold by Amazon so it has free returns. I recommend you buy it and try it, and use it as a learning experience. As a minimum it will tell you whether 1.7m height is enough. You could keep it and add a foot if you like it, or if this monopod, or monopods in general, don’t work for you, then you can send it back for a refund.

Whatever you buy, I recommend that you put a quick release plate and holder on top like the Velbon QRA-3 I have (which may be nla). Slik do them as well and I am sure there are others on the internet. This will also give you approximately 10 – 20mm extra height.

I have never felt the need for one, but others like them, so you might too, so you could try a ballhead which could add approximately 50-75mm height. I am sure ballhead users on this forum will be happy to help you find one if you ask.

All this will screw onto the top of the monopod’s standard ¼ inch thread. Some ballheads/quick release attachments can be 3/8 inch thread but here are plenty of male and female adaptors available to convert one to the other if you need to.