Benro MAD38A Adventure Aluminum Series 3 Monopod, 4 Section, Flip Lock

2023-11-11T10:45:50

Here's what is good about this monopod The height that this extends to along with the weight that it is rated to support would for many other monopods put the price up over $200. Maybe even close to $400 for some bigger brand names. Fully extended it measures 75 inches/190.5 cm. It's very sturdy. Won't be easy to bend like another brand I had before when was accidentally stepped on. It has latch locks which I prefer over twist locks. Plus it comes with a plastic hex wrench that clips to the upper part of the shaft in case you need to tighten the hex bolts on the latches. Which I rarely needed to do. The wider foot makes it more stable when trying to pan while taking pictures. And the foot has a ball joint for mobility. The foot is interchangeable and it comes with a wrench to use to take the foot off. Has a pretty good foam grip which is good for cold weather and hasn't gotten hard and started to flake away. Here's what is not good. The top base has three small allen screws that appear at first to be there to bolt the platform to the monopod. They don't. They are there just for decoration. Two things will happen (and maybe this was made to happen quicker from carrying my stuff in a back pack while riding a motorcycle), but the screws will work themselves up, thereby interfering with the mount arm of the collar on the lens, or they will work themselves down and fall out. You have to tighten them from below the base. That part is minor, because all three on mine have fallen out and it doesn't affect anything. In fact makes it better because you don't have to worry about screwing the monopod onto your lens and have screws sticking up and scraping the collar on your lens. What does keep the plate onto the monopod is the central screw that does screw into you lens collar. And here lies the problem with this monopod. Of course the central screw is bigger on the end that goes into the monopod, and it has a bolt around the standard stud that keeps it locked in place.(and it comes with a wrench for that bolt) But what can happen is when you try to unscrew the monopod from your lens, the stud gets stuck in your lens collar and you end up unscrewing the monopod from the central stud. So you're left with the stud still in your lens collar hole. And it's not something you can get out just with your hand. And the central stud is not that hard of a mental, so eventually, as what happened with mine, you can end up messing up the threads from the times trying to get the stud out of your lens collar. So I would actually recommend if buying this monopod is that you take the central screw out of the monopod, and use something like a Dremel tool to cut a slot at the bottom of the screw that fits into the monopod that's big enough to have a screw driver fit into it. That way if when taking the monopod off your lens the stud gets left in the collar, you can use a screwdriver in the slot to get it out. It is a pretty good monopod. And it does have a great price compared to others. You may have to replace it every 2 or 3 years because of the stud occasionally coming out of the monopod and the damage to the threads trying to get it out. Which is what I had to do because it got stuck in the lens collar after a football game. And getting it out the threads got to the point where I couldn't get it screwed back into the monopod good enough or into my lens collar. So I had to go get a new monopod while on my way to a volleyball game the next day.

Gregory L.

2021-05-13T09:32:30

Nice pro quality mono pod

PAUL F.

2020-11-29T15:46:43

Haven't gotten to use it much, since I picked it up just before the end of football season, but it was very good in the three games I shot with it. I can get it up to eye level - hard to find a good one when you're 6'3 - and it handled my 200-500 5.6 without flinching. Games I shot were indoors, so it hasn't been tested in the elements (by me, at least).

JAMES C.

2019-03-23T16:32:01

Bought this to replace my Manfrotto 679 which I broke a latch on when I dropped it. Chose this one because of the price, it has the flip locks I prefer over the twist locks, and had a good height. It's a little heavier than the Manfrotto, but it's larger tubing and rated to support more weight. It's labeled a Mg/Al alloy and made in China. Max height is 75 inches but it collapses down to 21 inches, which is shorter than the Manfrotto by about 3 inches. Fully extended it has much less wobble than any other mono I've had. The locks have a hex nut and an Allen nut and the monopod comes with a plastic wrench that you can clip to the monopod, as well as comes with an Allen wrench should you need to tighten. It also comes with a wrench to remove the stud. That same Allen wrench fits the Allen nuts that fasten the top plate to the monopod. I mention this because out the box, two of the nuts did need to be adjusted because they were sticking up above the plate. It was simple to do. Just press in on the padding to get to the nut. I had to use the wrench at an angle but it was still easy. Strap doesn't rotate, so when I tighten down the plate, the strap has to stay where it is. The rotating foot is going to be different than the regular rubber base. I shot a soccer game with it and depending on surface, the foot on this will be harder to rotate around when panning. Like a tartan track. And probably cement or concrete. It's made of hard rubber like other foots but it's a larger surface and has tiny cleats.Turf wasn't a problem so I don't see grass as one either. Nor gym floors for volleyball/basketball. One drawback to the foot may be over time with other monopods, you could use the rubber foot for walking canes to replace a worn out monopod foot. With this one if it gets worn out, or ever comes off for some reason, it won't be such an easy fix. That's why I don't give it 5 stars right now. Plus just getting it. But I do like it better just getting it than I did when I just got the Manfrotto.

Gregory L.

2019-01-28T14:10:55

Works great with my telephoto lenses. Easy and fast transaction

TOM D.

2018-11-11T09:58:43

Used it to take a photo of the moon with a Nikon 200-500 lens. Image looked like I used a high powered telescope.

DONALD R.

2017-09-20T09:19:25

Very sturdy for a great price!

Mary H.

2016-09-05T15:17:06

($) is a great place to start with your first mono pod. At this price it's quality is good enough to trust for your camera gear. Then down the road you can up grade to a more expensive one if you like.

JAMES K.