STC Spotting Scope Monopod Experiences and Recommendations (2 Viewers)

[grackle314]

Having just acquired an STC for compact scope use on hikes, can people comment on their experiences and recommendations on specific monopods they have tried with the STC or similar scopes?

 

[Jason Bugay Reyes]

Having just acquired an STC for compact scope use on hikes, can people comment on their experiences and recommendations on specific monopods they have tried with the STC or similar scopes?

Just wondering what's the main reason for want to use monopod with the STC?

 

[grackle314]

Just wondering what's the main reason for want to use monopod with the STC?

There are trips, and local walking excursions of many kilometers, where using a scope to see something beyond what an 8x or 10x binocular will pleasantly yield is desired. In the past, I have carried a little Kowa TSN-501 angled scope and found when it was on the desired view that it was helpful even without a tripod. However, angled view without tripod was difficult to get on a target either stationary or moving. The STC gets right on the target handheld, easily at 17x, and can be moved up in magnification okay but gets shakier with higher magnification. The STC can be used balanced on local support, but that is not always readily available (such as in desert hikes). I use an ATX/BTX 115 with backpack for a few kilometers and find that setup takes more time to utilize at a given stop than the STC.

The STC will find use where lightness and speed play a role. My wife and I hike a fair bit and she does not share the joy of stopping for bird observations. When with her, I carry a Leica Ultravid 8x20 which comes quickly out of my shirt pocket and onto a bird while still walking, then allowing decision for a one second stop on my part without her slowing down, or letting her know a longer viewing will occur.

A monopod for the STC would allow greater stabilization while still staying in the lightness and speed department. I also digiscope and the STC is proving quite satisfactory initially for mobile phone photos using a Samsung S22 Ultra and the Swarovski VPA2 adapter. A monopod would allow more stable higher magnification photos and videos on the STC as well as less jerkiness to my eye without the mobile phone attached.

 

[4John]

There are trips, and local walking excursions of many kilometers, where using a scope to see something beyond what an 8x or 10x binocular will pleasantly yield is desired. In the past, I have carried a little Kowa TSN-501 angled scope and found when it was on the desired view that it was helpful even without a tripod. However, angled view without tripod was difficult to get on a target either stationary or moving. The STC gets right on the target handheld, easily at 17x, and can be moved up in magnification okay but gets shakier with higher magnification. The STC can be used balanced on local support, but that is not always readily available (such as in desert hikes). I use an ATX/BTX 115 with backpack for a few kilometers and find that setup takes more time to utilize at a given stop than the STC.

The STC will find use where lightness and speed play a role. My wife and I hike a fair bit and she does not share the joy of stopping for bird observations. When with her, I carry a Leica Ultravid 8x20 which comes quickly out of my shirt pocket and onto a bird while still walking, then allowing decision for a one second stop on my part without her slowing down, or letting her know a longer viewing will occur.

A monopod for the STC would allow greater stabilization while still staying in the lightness and speed department. I also digiscope and the STC is proving quite satisfactory initially for mobile phone photos using a Samsung S22 Ultra and the Swarovski VPA2 adapter. A monopod would allow more stable higher magnification photos and videos on the STC as well as less jerkiness to my eye without the mobile phone attached.

I haven't tried the STC with a monopod, but I have been using a Nikon ED50 on a monopod for over 10 years. Pretty much any monopod will do, as long as it's tall enough for you, with a little extra height if you need to tilt it back a lot to get on the bird. The weight difference between aluminium and carbon fibre monopods is negligible IMO so the additional cost of the carbon fibre is not worth it. I would be careful with the 4 or more leg section travel monopods designed so the length is very compact with the legs retracted, as the smallest diameter bottom leg section may be so small that the monopod feels "bendy" in use. Doing up and undoing all the leg section locks also becomes irritating ! The "normal" 3 leg section ones will be stiffer. The best thing to do with that issue is try one. The other issue is twist locks or flip locks on the leg sections. I very much prefer flip locks as I find them quicker to lock and unlock than twist locks. You may disagree. I use a Velbon, but the model I have has been superseded by the UP-400.

The hardest motion to control is the twisting of the monopod. Without something to stop it you a limited to around 20X magnification. Sticking the bottom end in the ground will help, but there are much better solutions available. The Monostat as championed by Hermann in other posts on this forum is effectively a fluid damped device you attach to the bottom of the pod which allows you to twist the monopod when you want to, but otherwise it stays still. A simpler, and probably a cheaper, solution is a single fold-down foot which I use, which I robbed from one of these :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Konig-Aluminium-Monopod-Single-Tripod/dp/B001CZOQ0W

All you do is fold the foot down and put your foot on it. This completely stops any twisting and I am easily able to use the x40 limit of the MC2 zoom eyepiece (lighting and atmospheric conditions permitting). If I need to twist the monopod to get on the bird I simply lift my foot slightly to let the foot slide over the ground, and then put my foot down to hold it once it's in position. You soon get used to it. I would avoid monopods with three feet - they are overweight, over-expensive and completely unnecessary IMO. A simple, single foot is all you need.

I started off with a 3-way head on the monopod but soon found it was redundant, because it was quicker and easier to get on the bird by tilting the monopod left and right, forwards and backwards and by adjusting the height. The ED50 is therefore attached to the top of the monopod with a Velbon QRA-3 Q/R plate.

 

[Hermann]

A simpler, and probably a cheaper, solution is a single fold-down foot which I use, which I robbed from one of these : [snip]

All you do is fold the foot down and put your foot on it. This completely stops any twisting and I am easily able to use the x40 limit of the MC2 zoom eyepiece (lighting and atmospheric conditions permitting). If I need to twist the monopod to get on the bird I simply lift my foot slightly to let the foot slide over the ground, and then put my foot down to hold it once it's in position. You soon get used to it. I would avoid monopods with three feet - they are overweight, over-expensive and completely unnecessary IMO. A simple, single foot is all you need.

Sound advice, and a very clever idea. I'll stick to my Monostats though, at least for the time being. The company that made them went out of business when they lost the market of the professional photographers when IS lenses came onto the market ...

I started off with a 3-way head on the monopod but soon found it was redundant, because it was quicker and easier to get on the bird by tilting the monopod left and right, forwards and backwards and by adjusting the height. The ED50 is therefore attached to the top of the monopod with a Velbon QRA-3 Q/R plate.

Yep, I agree. Any head adds only more weight to the setup. And it's not really needed.

Nice post!

Hermann

 

[mbb]

Does a compact straight scope work well with a monopod?
It would require a monopod that is very tall. (Though I can imagine it being great when seated somewhere.) I've never used a monopod with a scope, and thought that most were using it with an angled one.
Very curious to read about hands on experiences.
Wouldn't it be possible to use some kind of short monopod resting on your belt (maybe with a small belt-pouch to make it rest on/in)? Not perfectly stable probably to make it rest on your waist instead of the ground, but I'm wondering how well that would work.

 

[4John]

Does a compact straight scope work well with a monopod?
It would require a monopod that is very tall. (Though I can imagine it being great when seated somewhere.) I've never used a monopod with a scope, and thought that most were using it with an angled one.
Very curious to read about hands on experiences.
Wouldn't it be possible to use some kind of short monopod resting on your belt (maybe with a small belt-pouch to make it rest on/in)? Not perfectly stable probably to make it rest on your waist instead of the ground, but I'm wondering how well that would work.

My compact straight ED50 scope works so well on my monopod I recently got rid of a Swarovski STS80 which I hadn't used for nearly 10 years. I haven't tried an angled scope on a monopod. Intuitively it sounds like it might be more awkward to use than a straight scope, but there may be others who use an angled scope on a monopod without a problem.

I am 5 ft 11 inch tall and had no problem finding a tall enough monopod. This is pretty much normal for a monopod - most of them are sold to photographers and most cameras have the viewfinder at eye level, so they need to cover the normal height range of a user. I still have some unused extra height available to use if I need to look at something at a high angle above my head.

"some kind of short monopod resting on your belt" is called a "Finn stick" and can be used for cameras, binoculars and scopes. Here's one :

There are many more on the internet.

Cullman used to make a shoulder mount like the folding stock on a WWII Sten sub-machine gun for cameras and telescopes - see thread below. I don't know if they are still available. I have seen some wooden DIY versions on this forum.

Shoulder-table-pod #080

 

[Richard D]

Does a compact straight scope work well with a monopod?
It would require a monopod that is very tall. (Though I can imagine it being great when seated somewhere.) I've never used a monopod with a scope, and thought that most were using it with an angled one.
Very curious to read about hands on experiences.
Wouldn't it be possible to use some kind of short monopod resting on your belt (maybe with a small belt-pouch to make it rest on/in)? Not perfectly stable probably to make it rest on your waist instead of the ground, but I'm wondering how well that would work.

I've not seen one for years, but chest pods are another option to give a little bit of stability

 

[4John]

I've not seen one for years, but chest pods are another option to give a little bit of stability

I've never seen one of these either

Handsfree Bird Watching

 

[grackle314]

Your replies have each provided excellent details, ideas, and further questions to guide towards a solution. Thanks to the collective brain trust here! I will get some more handheld STC experience to help guide what this 180 cm tall (6 feet) person might benefit from. Sounds like experimenting with an inexpensive adjustable monopod of maximum length more than I can conceive useful is a good start. Today I also found that Manfrotto offers a shoulder brace for monopods, a bit bulkier than the foot rest suggested above.

Please continue with more good ideas and questions. Thanks!

 

[TheBlackGrouse]

There are trips, and local walking excursions of many kilometers, where using a scope to see something beyond what an 8x or 10x binocular will pleasantly yield is desired.

The STC gets right on the target handheld, easily at 17x, and can be moved up in magnification okay but gets shakier with higher magnification.

The STC will find use where lightness and speed play a role.

A monopod for the STC would allow greater stabilization while still staying in the lightness and speed department. A monopod would allow more stable higher magnification photos and videos on the STC as well as less jerkiness to my eye without the mobile phone attached.

A year ago, I bought the STC and I've used it with the very strong RRS-34 monopod. It has thick tubes, that's important from my experience, especially when there is some wind.

The STC with monopod does everything you mention here. It's a lightweight setup that's easy to move around. On a monopod it's usable till the 35x magnification, when you stabilize the foot a bit in sand, mud or grass. At 25x you hardly see any difference with a tripod.

No video head is needed, simply mount it directly on the monopod, the combination weighs 1.7 kg. A bird high up in the sky? Grab the stick and lift it as a whole, it's not tiring at all.

Nothing with this image quality comes close. For instance the STX 65 is already 1.7 kg on its own and needs a stable tripod with pan/tilt or video head. With a tripod and head you'll get double the weight.

In your case, and mine as a moving birder, speed is important. A monopod is ready in a few seconds, you can hold it in your hand while walking, the STC is attached with one click, you can change position when you want because it's just a stick.

The glass is fantastic. The only thing to 'worry about', is the magnifation enough for your birding style and the landscapes you're visiting?