Benro Aluminum Monopod – 4-Section Flip-Lock Monopod with 3-Leg Folding Base, 64.6" Max Height & 39.7 lb Load Capacity for DSLR, Mirrorless & Video Cameras (A38FD)

Benro Aluminum 3-Series Flip-Lock Video Monopod Kit is everything I had hoped for. It is sturdy and light weight. It is built solid and well finished. Everything works as it should and it is very versatile. It is a great tool for shooting video with my DSLR. I will be using it for shooting real estate videos. I love my old Benro Tripod that I purchased a number of years ago. I use it on every real estate photo shoot and it has held up very well. I feel confident the new Benro Monopod will serve me equally as well. My only concern was the quick release that came with the S2 Video Head. It doesn't work with my Manfrotto quick release system. I use the Manfrotto 323 RC2 System Quick Release on all of my equipment and didn't want to have two different quick release systems going on at the same time. Luckily, I had purchased an adapter from Amazon a couple of years ago that resolved that problem. The adapter is still available on Amazon. Here is the link to the adapter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0111WY222/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It also requires a longer 1/4-20 screw then what is included in the Benro quick release plate. You will need to switch the screw if you want to make the same change that I did. Here is the link the the longer quick release plate screw from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Release-Flathead-Stainless-Manfrotto-Sachtler/dp/B00D97FMOU/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=Standard%2B1%2F4%22-20%2BSlotted%2BScrew%2B15mm%2Blong&qid=1630246531&s=electronics&sr=1-6&th=1 See the Photos I have included in this review. It will show you how the Manfrotto quick release is attached to the Benro quick release plate.

** Primarily used for recording basketball games in stands and along sidelines/baselines ** After heavy usage for about 6 months my thoughts are as follows: Pros: - Great Video head!! (S6) very smooth and easy to operate (quick learning curve in my opinion) - Monopod leg is quality aluminum material and extends past my need ( 6 ft tall ) - Extended height came in handy when recording in stands and people jump up in cheer ( recorded games standing ) - Twist locks are great. Strong hold when locked in place. - 3 Leg locking base is great for keeping a small footprint in limited spaces when recording or shooting photos Cons: - 3 leg base would come loose from monopod mounting point due to rotating the actual monopod when bottom ball joint was under tension ( tightened up with some teflon tape on the threads and seemed to remedy the issue ) - the 3 feet on the base were a bit loose at the hinging pin. 1 foot was more loose than the others and would pop into the locked position if carried outside of bag ( i used a small rubber band to keep feet in place when in transit. Haven't attempted to find a better solution yet. )

Benro has improved on Manfrotto's version of a supported monopod with the A48FDS6. It's a little weird to get used to at first and I didn't fully understand an issue I was having with it until I contacted Benro technical support, but more about that, shortly. The monopod itself is a trifle on the heavy side, but for the money, well worth it. If it was made out of carbon fibre, it would likely cost a great deal more. It has solid snap locks for each section and it's a fast adjustment. The quality seems good, but while I don't use this thing every day, I can well imagine that the section locks will loosen up (they do on every tripod/monopod I've ever owned), but Benro supplied Allen keys in that event. I also like it that the top section is covered in a comfortable foam, making it easy to hold. Too, the S6 head is surprisingly well engineered for a relatively inexpensive fluid head. It's got decent drag adjustment (not quite as sophisticated as a high-end head) and I've found that it makes for smooth run-and-gun style shooting. The quick-release plate snugging screw is quite close to the top of the head, so adjusting it when you have a camera with a wide base, requires a bit of patience and practice. But the screw has a ratcheting design, so it's simple to pull it away from the head body, reposition it, and tighten or loosen it. But the reason the A48FDS6 did not win five stars from me is due to the design of the monopod's base. The three leg mechanism can be locked in place or loosened with a red thumbscrew, so you can swivel the monopod on its base or lock it in a particular orientation. Locking it down is great, because it's quite stable and it will stand on its own (THOUGH I RECOMMEND THAT YOU NOT WALK AWAY FROM IT OR AT LEAST BAG IT!). But, when you lock the feet so that the monopod does not swivel and accidentally try to pan the head while it's locked, the base will start to UNSCREW from the base of the monopod! NOT GOOD! So, I called Benro support and they told me that the only thing I could do was use Locktight on the threads of the three-legged base. This is not a perfect solution. If I ever wanted to use it without the three legs (they supple a screw-in cap with a rubber foot for the base of the monopod), I would have to wrench the thing apart and then re-Locktight it back together, again. I have no plans to use it with just a single leg, so I'm going to use Locktight, but it's not the best design. All told, this is a good monopod and I recommend it to anyone needing a stable, if relatively heavy, camera support for run-and-gun style shooting... weddings, market research, sports, etc.

I got a manfrotto tripod with the MVH502AH head. I also go this item. The head's are approximately the same price, within 10 dollars. So, you'd think they are somewhat equivalent. Nope! The Manfrotto head is just better built. Everything is smooth, and the moving parts are well built. The monopod itself is fine. I mean, the only thing you can mess up here is the feet, and the locking mechanism. Those are fine. I'm contemplating sending it back and getting the manfrotto, or a generic. It doesn't seem any better than some of the sunpak stuff we've purchased in the past. Yeah, I said sunpak. That garbage you buy at best buy when you realize you forgot something and you're in the middle of nowhere so you buy it at walmart or best buy.

I really like this product. needed a tiny spray of WD40 to lube the bottom ball joint And i do find myself having to tighten the screws for the flip lock sections. I use a nikon d800 with heavy lenses so this may be why. I shoot weddings so i use this for many hours at a time and it really helps stabilize my video shots. great for panning and the head works quite well for up and down pans. The 3 legs seem to be holding up well so far... i will update this after 50+ weddings this year. Also.. I have used the Manfrotto version and I cant see much difference besides the feet being wider than the Manfrotto feet. Also.. i use a giottos quick release plate system on top of the stock plate that benro supplies. This is just so all of my units have the same plate (tripod, monopod, glidecam, and slider) Pros: easy flip lock sections with nice video head. Sturdy. Great for dslr video Cons: My only complaint is that the bolts for the flip locks begin to loosen just a bit after long use. But tightening with a multitool keeps them tight for a while. I would recommend this to someone who is looking for a less expensive version of the equivalent manfrotto monopod. Some other Guys at my studio use the manfrottos regularly and they were impressed with my Benro. **Update** With over 100 weddings and 1 year of heavy use now with this monopod setup... I am impressed with the durability. I have found d that the Manfrotto has a smoother pan left and right due to the extra pan section ( besides the ball and socket ) on the bottom by the feet that this benro model lacks. I find its not as firm of a pan and rotation than the manfrotto, but it certainly holds its own. Are there Times I wish I had the manfrotto instead? Can't deny that, but overall I am happy with the product and don't see any sense of getting rid of my benro to get a manfrotto instead.

I really really wanted to love this monopod. It is a very beefy monopod though fairly light. The S4 head is quite nice. It pans well, though I'd like to be able to adjust the resistance of the panning. The height adjusts very quickly and is very sturdy even when fully extended - (some tri/monopods start creeping downward with the slightest amount of pressure). The grip is nice - and it came with a very nice carrying case. My biggest issue and the reason I decided to return the monopod was the base. It would consistently and inadvertently start to unscrew under the slightest twist. The little red 'nut' at the bottom controls how the base operates - when it is screwed all the way down it locks the base in place (so the inner ball doesn't rotate). You'd use this when you wanted utmost stability in the shot. When the 'nut' is all the way up - it enables you to move in and out (toward & away from the subject). In theory this all sounds great BUT not if the base itself keeps unscrewing. Wish there was a way to lock the base into the monopod leg - so there was no way you could inadvertently unscrew the base. There were way too many scenarios when I was trying to pan in and out and the base would just start to unscrew. It drove me nuts! For a Videographer on a budget I can make some concessions with some equipment - but this is just a bad design decision.

i first bought the koolhaeoda carbon fiber twist lock monopod, and it was lighter. that's the ONLY good thing i can say about it. the foot assembly was lame. the twist locks were vague. the whole thing was flimsy. i sent it back and bought the benro aluminum flip lock mono and put my own ball-head on it. what a difference. rock solid. sturdy, holds my 5DMkIV and 100-400 zoom without breaking a sweat. no comparison. i think the head that comes with this one might be kind of a POS, but buy it without and put a better one on it and you got MONEY! can't wait to get to botswana!

I'm a bit conflicted when it comes to this monopod, because there are great parts about it and then there are parts that are quite frustrating. Pros: -Sturdy design and convenient to be able to have a little extra balance when filming shots. -Compact -Tall enough to get the shots you need. Especially at a wedding where you need to be above everyone to capture certain shots. -Easy to lock the bottom so that you can keep the base perfectly still or you can pan in any direction at just the kick of the switch at the bottom. Cons: -Basehead jitters when you pan left and right. Panning is very important with filming and a smooth pan makes all the difference in the world. I was very disappointed when I found out that the head doesn't sit perfectly flush with the monopod so whenever I pan, you see the camera jitter which made a lot of shots unusable. I dont know if this was just a faulty model but I was quite disappointed. Now I am past the return date so theres nothing I can do about it unfortunately. Overall, I really want to love this monopod but without smooth panning ability its virtually useless.