I've been vacillating on getting a monopod. My real question is how much do they really stabilize? I got the remote shutter release to eliminate that part of the camera movement but I've hesitated on the monopod because I don't see how that solves the problem of my being not so steady. :|

What brand do you have/recommend? How late can I tell you that I'd like to try yours because I decided against buying my own?

Thank you for your very kind offer! I just might take you up on it if I don't have a chance to get to a camera store or decide I'd rather try before buying.

I think you'd find the stabilization factor pretty impressive... I've only used it at a couple conventions, but I got good shots from far away in crappy light, so it must have been effective. :)

I don't recall the brand off hand (it's at home and I'm at work, and my searches through online vendors are not being terribly helpful), but most such products are pretty inexpensive.

In any case, since I'm driving in, I don't mind tossing it in the backseat at all. Consider it yours to experiment with for the Saturday events if you'd like. :)

Thank you! You won't need it on Saturday? I assume you'll be taking photos?

I wish they'd make a monopod a little like a mic stand -- with a round, weighted base. That would probably do me wonders. Not really portable, which I think it the point of the monopod. :)

I rather suspect my seat will be bad enough that it won't matter if I have the monopod or not. I just wanna see Ms. Thang, anyway.

That design would be cool, but... impractical, I think. Especially for moving targets like hyper actresses who like to bounce around on stage or run around through an audience. :)