Manfrotto 678 Universal Folding Base for The 679, 680, 681, 3016, 3018, 3249. Monopods

I purchased this item for an upcoming trip and wanted to pack lite. I had purchased the Manfrotto 680B Monopod because of it's small travel size and because I wanted something for those shots when you needed some type of support. At least one review said that you had to fasten the legs together to keep them from rattling around inside the base of the monopod. I did not have this problem. They fit snug and do not make any noise when they are collasped and stored inside the monopod. I wouldn't use the folding base with the camera unattended in breezy or windy conditions but it does have the ability to support the camera on its own using the monopod. I would not use a long lens and I would make sure one of the legs is in the same direction as the lens to reduce the chance of tipping in that direction. If you are in a seated situation you can still use the folding base. You can even put your feet on the legs to give the monopod extras stability allowing you to use your hands for camera settings instead of holding the monopod. I am very pleased with this item.

First, the positive. This looked promising, and it is very well made as is everything by Manfrotto. I discovered (took a chance buying it) that it indeed does work with my model 670B monopod. It is a slick design, and it does enable one to use their monopod with a self-standing base. But if used as a tripod the problem with it is that it wobbles badly, and continues to wobble when left alone for some time, gradually releasing whatever energy input created the wobble in the first place. I had hoped that it would actually support the monopod to use as a tripod, but not realistically so. You still need to hold onto the camera/monopod to stabilize it. I wanted to use this for shooting video with my DSLR 60D Canon, to save "footprint" space taken by a video tripod, but in the end decided not to use it. I may still try to use it as a "stabilized monopod" in the future with the caveat that it still needs hands-on support much like a regular monopod. Since there was no specific description by Manfrotto on how it's intended to be used in the first place, perhaps the only original intention is to help using the monopod as a "base-stabilized" monopod after all. For that purpose it would do nicely. But this review is more about my overall experience given that there is no real description as to the proposed functionality of the item.

I am an avid semi-pro outdoor and wildlife photographer and have used my Manfrotto 680B for nearly 10 years with both ball- and gymbal-type heads. While monopods are a good tool when you can't or don't want to hassle with a tripod, they still can't reduce wobble or vibration enough when using high focal length & heavy lenses under many lighting conditions to the point where you can consistently get tack sharp images unless you significantly boost the ISO on your camera (even with f2.8 fast lenses), which of course introduces significant noise into your image (amount of which is very dependent on the quality of the sensor in your camera and whether you've underexposed the image much).If you purchase the stabilizing base for this monopod, and realistically are not expecting it to turn the monopod into a tripod from a stability standpoint (to take self-timed, or long-exposures using remote releases), then you will likely rate this product as a 4 or 5. Otherwise you will be disappointed with the product since there really is no way to turn a monopod into a support that's as sturdy as a tripod....and never will be......so you need have realistic expectations and match the tool for the shooting circumstances.I've found that while the base will not make the monopod as stable as a tripod, depending on your subject and shooting circumstances it will definitely introduce more stability, and less wobble into your images, and since you will still likely be using image stabilization when shooting with a monopod (especially moving objects such as wildlife), you will be able to take advantage of the IS and shoot with slower shutters than you would without the base. This provides more flexibility with exposure settings and potentially may allow you to reduce the ISO some to achieve better image quality.....all significant benefits if you're serious about your work.In situations where I am sitting (such as in a blind), the base performs extremely well and can be further stabilized by placing weight (heavy sand or bean bags) or your feet on the support legs. You might be thinking then why not use a tripod.......but in tight quarters you often don't have the room for a tripod, so this is a good stability, space-saving, not to mention weight alternative to a tripod.Now, you're really not going to use a cable release with this product unless you're using very small/light camera with no wind, etc., but for the right type of shooting circumstances this is an excellent product and will be an important edition to your photo gear.You will want to experiment with mounting the base...there are a couple of ways to do it, one more stable than the other but isn't recommended by the manufacturer.....there are a couple of other reviews on Amazon's website that elaborate a bit on this, so I won't go into it here.Happy shooting.....

I purchased this folding base with the assumption that it would add a significant amount of stability to my monopod. That was an incorrect assumption. You are not any better off using this folding base while hand holding the monopod than you are without the base and hand holding the monopod. With an SLR with a decent sized lens, the folding base offers almost zero additional stability. Even attaching a smaller point and shoot, i.e. my Canon G9, the folding base offers very little additional stability.The legs on the base in order to be small enough to fit within the hollow area of the monopod are too small to offer the additional stability that would be expected from three legs.The folding base is a great idea, but unfortunately doesn't follow through.