Sofoto Monopod With Feet Head Removable Stand Base For Photo/Video - Carrying Bag Included 3978M

I struggled for way too long to decide on a cheap version of the Manfrotto monopod. I went with this because of the promise of FLUID HEAD. I want it for a golf tournament video and I NEED it to do a few things:Tilt (up and down) smoothly. 5/5Stand on it's own for a second. 4/5Pan left and right smoothly. 3/5I rated it above for what I EXPECTED before buying, after looking at dozens of monopod/head combinations from $20 to $300The tilt was great, not Manfrotto fluid head great but, better than I expected, no jarring from "a dead stop, to tilt, to a dead stop again". Awesome.Standing on its own with my AG-HMC40 camcorder was adequate. The base has a ball head that you can add/remove tension to, to allow for leaning the monopod, not something I anticipate needing especially if it comes at the cost of not having as stable a setup. I can however anticipate letting go of the monopod for a moment or two to change equipment or tie my shoe...Panning left and right was not suitable for me. The head itself can pan and can be adjusted but the weakest adjustment is still too tight, out of the box. However the base unscrews from the 'lil tripod legs and it's easy to start unscrewing it when you're trying to pan using the head. This unscrewing provides a smooth pan but at the risk of eventually having the legs come completely off if you choose to use it like that. Since I do not have the time to mess with the head to try and make it more loose, I will have to resort to panning by means of letting the base unscrew slightly to get a smooth easy motion. Or else I'll ditch the 'lil legs altogether & use the included rubber foot to pan like on a typical monopod.Overall I think it's a fine Monopod, I'd be interested in the difference to some of the cheaper ones that look very similar, but I'll revisit this review after a few uses.

Cheap built. Wont stand up with even the lightest camera. Its mediocre.

The monopo was decent quality but the fluid head wasn't so great. When vertically panning the head would make small pops that my cameras audio picks up, from the fluid moving. The plate only tightens down so far and it would slightly slip in some situations.

This product is terrible. This is not a "fluid head/pan head super sticky and not smooth. Also can't return it so big waste of 60 bucks. Also doesn't actually stay up on it's own, have to have a hand on it.

It is the first monopod I have used and it was very stable and easy to set up.

Thank you for your help love this easy to use

great and functional! very sturdy!!

Balance is the key. Works good