Manfrotto 685B Neotec Monopod Deluxe with Safety Lock (Black)

This monopod is very fast to set up and to make instant height adjustments. Pull up to extend, then squeeze the handle and safety lock and push down to shorten. It's not like other monopods that require knobs to be turned for adjustment. It has a lever at the base to step on so it can be held down with the foot while pulling up with one hand to extend it. Speed is critical in wedding photography, where this comes in handy to keep my camera steady in low light situations. I get so many more useable shots with this monopod. It also has a sturdy build. I recommended the Manfrotto 685B Neotec Monopod to my fellow wedding photographers in Indianapolis, and they commented that this is now an essential tool on every shoot. I use the Manfrotto 222 joystick head with this monopod for speedy camera adjustments.

I give this product a 4.5 rate but half stops aren't an option here. I am reserving a half star for a couple of small reasons; more on those later. But Firstly and most importantly let me say this: I will NEVER again deal with multiple leg monopod adjustments!!! This is THE smoothest, fastest, and easiest monopod to adjust bar none. I have a heavy prime lens with a DSLR and TC that I mount on this monopod, with a quick release tilt head, and it's handling the weight just fine. The lock release mechanism is very easy to operate yet I've never accidentally done so; as the redundancy system assures. I can go from set-up/full height to kneeling shots in one fluid move. I love this product. I've not had it very long, and I hope this love affair lasts. The reasons for the holding back of the half star is due to the fact that this unit is a bit susceptible to moisture/sand getting in the works. I do some shooting on the ocean coast in winter. It would be wonderful if there were some protective cover for it, to snug at the base and accordion with the stick. I will look into some form of narrow plastic bag. I'm not proud. I don't want anything to happen to this. I've read (had no experience with this myself yet) that the rubber foot/knob comes off easily. So with that in mind, I have only used it with the protective rubber base screwed to the top, exposing the metal foot. Ideally it would be a bit shorter at its collapsed length. And carbon fiber for perhaps more strength and less weight would be nice. But I was having such an issue with having to adjust multiple leg segments of my other monopod that I was mostly taking hand-helds, not fun with a camera/lens that weighs 11#. So, Manfrotto, any chance of some form of protective sleeve for this?

OK, this stick is pretty cool. With one hand I can increase or decrease length, sweet! Opened, the tubes are solid. The amount of height can be varied from 29' to well higher than I think I'd ever want and I'm 6' tall.The rubber foot sits on a plastic ball that threads onto a pointed spike. It takes only a little effort to remove the foot and screw the plastic ball to reveal the spike for stability on hard ground...not your clients hardwood floors!I have read a ll the reports about the rubber foot getting lost, yes I can see that would be a problem. I'll just have to keep my eye on it. It isn't so loose that it just falls off but yeah, in a busy enviroment I can see it getting missplaced, be careful!

The monopod is beautiful and seems to be a solid piece. However, the moment I extended the monopod fully and try to retracted it simply did not worked. The first section (narrow diameter tube) worked well but the second segment (wide diameter tube next to the base) never retracted. The only way to compact the monopod back to its initial state was to manually turned the second segment as it was a big screw which defeated the purpose of the whole thing.This happen right out of the box and worst it happened twice. The first monopod I shipped back to amazon immediately and I was nicely surprised to receive the replacement the next day! However, the excitement turned into disappointment when the second monopod failed in the same way.I'm no stranger to this neotec system. I have owned a Manfrotto 458B (http://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-458B-Neotec-Photo-Tripod/dp/B0002TKGZS) for many years now and I'm very happy with its performance, it is fast and reliable. Now to think more and find a different monopod.

Not all it was cracked up to be. After just a minimal amount of use it no longer had a smooth and fast transition to an extended position which is exactly why I paid the high price for. I sold on craigslist at a reduced price.

The positives of this interesting system do overcome the negatives, but at the end of the day, I give this three stars of five.Good:- Quick extension and deployment- Rapid adjustment- Solid feelPoor:- Weight makes the height creep downward; easy to just slip back up, almost creeps so slowly you don't notice it until your neck hurts- Careful with the adjustment of the rubber foot; there's a spike in the bottom, try putting that down on a hardwood floor during a shoot, oops- The rubber foot falls off about as often as I drink a cup of coffee; only a matter of time before that gets lost entirely- Combine those last two; lose the foot, you have a metal spikeDifferent:I'm used to mounting a long lens and then slinging the monopod over my shoulder like a shotgun. With this setup, that's tricky, at best. It rotates, so it flips around at will, and it extends, so it is possible to feel like the camera and lens are about to get away. I still sling it over, but have to be careful it lays down on my shoulder just the right way. This is only a problem in foot traffic, when someone is about to ram their head into the lens by accident and I try to avoid that.For me the jury is out on this equipment. And, as noted above, for some strange reason customer service from these once-good vendors has completely evaporated.Just a note to the company, if anyone who matters is listening, we noticed your support going away. We have choices.

Excellent product

Good product