Monopod Review:
Manfrotto 560B Monopod

Jennifer O'Rourke
December 2006

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When is a 'pod not a tripod? When it's a monopod, of course. When does a monopod have one leg and three feet? When it's the 560B by Manfrotto.

We couldn't help but have fun with this valuable camcorder accessory when it arrived at the Videomaker Headquarters. From following our mascot, "Deen," the Jack Russell terrier, around with an inverted camcorder attached, to "Prairie Dogging" our coworkers (looking over the cubicle walls), we found lots of ways to use this monopod. However, it's power isn't in its obvious use but in its unique design.

The 560B is no ordinary monopod. All monopods do one thing well: they assist the user to keep hand-held shake to a minimum by supplying support on one leg. If well attached, they can also allow the user to shoot over-the-head-shots. However, the 560B goes a step beyond.

The monopod is equipped with three firm retractable feet at the bottom of its leg. Our first thought was that the feet were just a gimmick, but when we opened them, we saw how steady and unique this feature really is. When you unfold the feet, you'll find each locks firmly in place by spring-loaded clips that prevent them from being collapsed accidentally. Each foot has a rubber pad on its underside, giving them added support on slippery floors. You can lower any foot individually, or keep them retracted and use the 'pod like any standard monopod, as there is also a rubber pad protecting the bottom center. We would caution users to be careful when retracting the feet, as the spring is exposed and could stretch over time or become encrusted with dust and dirt if you shoot outdoors often.

With the feet retracted, the 560B works like any other monopod. However, open the feet and you expose the monopod's best feature: a fluid cartridge near the bottom of the leg. This cartridge allows the user to execute some incredibly smooth pans while still keeping a firm grip on the ground.

Employing a ball and socket design, the feet and base of the tripod stay steady on the ground while allowing the videographer to pivot the monopod flexibly and smoothly. Think of a handheld arcing shot sweeping over the hood of a car, or imagine standing on the upper-most peak of a mountain and panning across the skyline for a smooth panoramic shot of the mountain range.

The pivoting ball is smooth and has a nice drag to it. Even employing all the hand-held shooting tricks, pans are never as smooth as those using a steady device of some kind, and the thick support on the 560B's base makes movement smoother than those shot with an ordinary monopod. In fact, you might find yourself leaving your solid, steady, and cumbersome tripod in the car while you grab-and-go with Manfrotto's 560B.

The downside of this ball-and-socket design is the same as the retractable feet, the cartridge is exposed to the elements and water, dust and other forces of nature can get into the joint, clogging up the device, and rendering this feature on your monopod unusable. If it does get dirty, it appears that you can open the joint with a tiny screwdriver to remove the ball from the socket to clean it.

One might wonder why the designers placed this joint at the base of the monopod as opposed to the traditional placement at its head, and the answer is easy: for stability. It's all about physics; the joint at the bottom of a one-legged 'pod works as a counter-balance to the heavy camera on top.

Moving up the monopod, the leg itself has four sections, can be raised up to 65-inches, and collapsed as low as 26-inches. Each section opens using a locking flipper lever that feels solid and secure. If you don't need to raise the monopod to it's highest point, then you should raise the top sections first to get the height you want, because the bottom section is thinner and won't be as steady. This is true for all most tripods or monopods, but many people find it's easier to open from the bottom. Your 'pod is always going to be steadier with the larger sections in use as opposed to the thinner portion of the leg. Just another fun tripod tip.

The head of the Manfrotto's 560B is similar to other monopods; it has a locking tilt design and a quick-release plate. However, this locking tilt is firm and secure, and the quick-release plate has an added extra locking pin that prevents the user from accidentally pulling the quick-release lever and dislodging the camera. The ski pole-like grip is comfortable, and with a firm grasp, due to the pivoting cartridge at it's feet, you can smoothly spin the head for some handheld pans that look smooth as glass.

We tested the 560B using two camcorders: a Panasonic PV-GS39 camcorder, which weighs in at 1.03 pounds and a larger Sony DCR-VX2100, which weighs in at 3.6 pounds. The Panasonic camcorder mounted on the monopod was a breeze to put through tilt, pan, and arc movements and we were surprised to find the monopod had no trouble accommodating the larger Sony camcorder either. We did feel a bit uncomfortable with it's stability when the 'pod's leg was fully extended using the heavier larger camcorder, and would prefer to keep the smaller thinner lower section retracted. Although you must keep a firm grip on the monopod using larger camcorders, the specs list says the load capacity can hold up to a 4.4-pound camcorder without doing damage to the 'pod.