Review on 🔍 Improved SEO: Manfrotto 678 Monopod Folding Base, Universally Compatible (Black) by Crystal Montanez

I used this foldable monopod with my heavy Canon XL2 (8lbs) to shoot a wedding last weekend. Here are some of my thoughts. It holds the camera by itself even when I raise the monopod 5+ feet. The all-metal construction (except for the rubber O-ring) feels sturdy and durable. It's fairly stable, although it doesn't take much effort to bring it down. When using this monopod, you still need to hold it. The problem is that when I left the camera alone, it was seldom level. The video was always weird for me. It was ok because the video I shot at an angle looked ok (the XL2 has a way of making bad shots look better). It was nice not to be lugging around a heavy 8lb camera all evening. I thought about what a reviewer had said about putting my foot on one of the legs to stabilize it, but given my setup I thought it was crazy. I never thought crossing my legs to stabilize this would be a good idea, I was too busy holding the camera with my hand and watching what happens. I thought using a monopod while receiving would be a blessing. because it would be easy to move from one place to another. I was wrong. While the monopod base is easier to move, if you want to shoot and move at the same time, your feet will easily bump into one of the legs and camera shake. I had to hold the base a little farther from my body to keep it from shaking, but it was very taxing on my hands. I felt I got the best out of my monopod by replacing the base and just using the Manfrotto 680B Monopod. . This allowed me to move as I wanted without worrying about my foot bumping into my supporting legs as I walked. I still haven't figured out the best way to use this monopod base. I think for tricks I just go with the basic monopod setup. For the wedding I use a normal tripod. I can try this setup for a ceremony (when I'm traveling for example) but I'd rather not if I had a choice (those professional tripods are a bear for an airplane). can work better with a lighter camera. It just doesn't work as well as I would like it to for my current needs. However, I will say that if I scale the monopod down to around 3 or 4 feet in height, it seems more stable and maybe even a little more level. I'm just starting out so I'll find more uses for this base over time. Before buying this I was looking at the Manfrotto 561BHDV which is also a monopod with 3 legs on the bottom but the legs are significantly shorter making it impossible to use as a standalone with a camera. I wonder if this monopod could help but at its current price I can't afford it.