Accessories Advice Needed

[ray5]

HI,
1) I need a pouch to carry my Lee Filters. Standing in cold water in Zion and fiddling with the bag to get and change filters was not fun! I received the Lee pouch today, though it looks functional, I am not too impressed by it. Any other suggestions?
2) I also want a monopod. Never used one before. Preferably carbon fiber. I have a RRS Tripod and Head and very happy with it so RRS is an obvious choice but they are very expensive. I believe the head is different from a tripod head?
Thanks,
Ray

 

[neuroanatomist]

I have the Lowepro S&F Filter Pouch 100, works well for my Lee kit.

Typically a tilt head is best for a monopod, you only need one axis – pitch (generally you have a collar for roll and you spin the monopod on its foot for yaw). If you plan to use it with non-collared lenses, you'll need a model where the clamp orientation can be rotated 90° (like the RRS MH-02 which I have, vs. the MH-01 which is fixed).

What gear will you need to support? I had a Manfrotto 694 CF monopod and a Manfrotto 234 head, worked great for a gripped body and 100-400, I only switched to RRS stick and head after getting the 600/4 II. For the 234, I'd recommend against the 234RC which has an integrated RC2 clamp (not a great system and not Arca-Swiss). The 234 was discontinued, but is still available on Amazon from 3rd party sellers, you'd then add a Arca clamp (RRS, Wimberley C-12, etc).

 

[ray5]

I have the Lowepro S&F Filter Pouch 100, works well for my Lee kit.

Typically a tilt head is best for a monopod, you only need one axis – pitch (generally you have a collar for roll and you spin the monopod on its foot for yaw). If you plan to use it with non-collared lenses, you'll need a model where the clamp orientation can be rotated 90° (like the RRS MH-02 which I have, vs. the MH-01 which is fixed).

What gear will you need to support? I had a Manfrotto 694 CF monopod and a Manfrotto 234 head, worked great for a gripped body and 100-400, I only switched to RRS stick and head after getting the 600/4 II. For the 234, I'd recommend against the 234RC which has an integrated RC2 clamp (not a great system and not Arca-Swiss). The 234 was discontinued, but is still available on Amazon from 3rd party sellers, you'd then add a Arca clamp (RRS, Wimberley C-12, etc).

Thanks. For the moment my heaviest lens is the 70-200 F2.8L II but learning from my tripod experience I want to buy only once rather than upgrade later. At some point I intend to get either the 200-400 or the 300 F2.8L. But do think I'll want the flexibility to use with both collared and non collared lenses.

 

[wsmith96]

Hi Ray,
no help here on a filter pouch, but I have been in your situation on the monopod. I started out with a flimsy Canon 500 monopod with a 234 head on it, and it did fine with a gripped 60D and 70-200 f2.8. Now for the bigger glass, I upgraded my monopod to a used Manfrotto 681B with a Kirk MPA-2 head.

I agree with Nero that you would only one a single axis tilt on a monopod and if you don't want tilt, you can always lock the head in place. The Kirk has performed as expected for me - no issues. Of course, RRS makes fantastic equipment too based upon what I've heard.

 

[Vivid Color]

For a 4 x 6 filter case, I highly recommend the MindShift Filter Hive as it is two pouches in one:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=1026987&gclid=CJbZvsXH78gCFVQYHwodFWAFSg&is=REG&m=Y&A=details&Q=

 

[ray5]

Hi Ray,
no help here on a filter pouch, but I have been in your situation on the monopod. I started out with a flimsy Canon 500 monopod with a 234 head on it, and it did fine with a gripped 60D and 70-200 f2.8. Now for the bigger glass, I upgraded my monopod to a used Manfrotto 681B with a Kirk MPA-2 head.

I agree with Nero that you would only one a single axis tilt on a monopod and if you don't want tilt, you can always lock the head in place. The Kirk has performed as expected for me - no issues. Of course, RRS makes fantastic equipment too based upon what I've heard.

Thanks. I am likely going to get the RRS. It's expensive and I don't need it too often, but when you do you do...

 

[ray5]

For a 4 x 6 filter case, I highly recommend the MindShift Filter Hive as it is two pouches in one:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=1026987&gclid=CJbZvsXH78gCFVQYHwodFWAFSg&is=REG&m=Y&A=details&Q=

Will take a look. Thx