Do your home movies evoke memories of the Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield? Has a private screening of some of your personal nature films caused any combination of the following symptoms: headache, nausea, seasickness, seizure, blindness? So you're running out of excuses, because an earthquake hasn't hit Des Moines in ages. If you're a budding auteur looking to make a decent (looking) film, or a nature enthusiast trying to capture footage of the fabled white-bellied woodpecker that will hold up in court, you're going to need something to steady your cam.
Enter the monopod. Simple in design, practical in practice, and suitable for mostly all camcorders and cameras, the monopod is a great instrument for clarifying and stabilizing the objects of your celluloid desire. As mentioned, monopods can be fitted to both SLR cameras and handdeployed, a monopod is great for snagging footage on the go.
Many monopods have the ability to "telescope" much alike, well, a telescope. Meaning they can fold down into themselves for easy transport when they're not in use. Other monopods have special adapters made for your belt or feet to further aid stability.
