Although a sturdy tripod should be used to firmly support your camera when taking pictures with long prime telephoto lenses or long range tele zoom lenses, sometimes there is not enough room to spread a tripod's three legs or the tripod is just too heavy and bulky to tote along with your camera equipment in the field. That's when a monopod such as the Gitzo Studex G1564 MK2 excels.

It provides needed weight support for your bulky camera/long lens combination weighing up to 17.5 pounds, yet is relatively lightweight and only requires a small one-leg contact with the ground. Most monopods don't come with a tilt top or ball socket head, so you will have to purchase one separately for more flexible use. A 9-inch-long rubberized grip at the top makes it easy to carry the camera attached to the monopod.

The four leg extensions all have ribbed rubberized grips for easy loosening and tightening. The speckled gray and black enameled metal leg should wear well under heavy use. A strap swivels from the top to assist in carrying. A rubber foot is removable.

We found the Gitzo Studex G1564 MK2 monopod most helpful when using a 70-300mm tele zoom lens on a SLR at an area zoo, but it would also be good when covering any type of sporting event when you have to be able to move about frequently and not block other nearby photographers or people.