Tray vs mono pole pros and cons

[tbone1004]

Frank, in a cave a pole is at a serious disadvantage because it of the lighting. Many of us will clip primaries to one of the arms or mount a small canister light to the bottom of the tray. We also are able to hold the tray one handed for signalling if we have to, but if our hand is on the line, you don't want video of any of that because if we are holding the line you can't see anything anyway.

Two lights are required in this situation due to lack of ambient light, so a pole with a single light wouldn't work out so well. In a cave situation, if you are wanting something lighter than a tray, this is a better solution to a pole if you have a UWLD light.

 

[nimoh]

The pole is definitely less bulky

Quite the opposite. From your pictures, it is obviously more bulky than a typical go pro with one video light on a tray since the tray is smaller than the pole, and all other things are the same.

 

[TONY CHANEY]

For one the pole is not extended and the diver is not holding onto it from the end. And I really would like to see a video using a light that small in a cave. If are trying to create an advertisment for the pole OK I get that. But you cannot refute that the tray can be used in all situations unless you want to shove it into a 6 inch hole to see what is inside but then again your light will not get too much. I think that BRad had it right the first time...this is not a discussion of Pole Vs. Tray...it is just advertisment.

 

[large_diver]

Tray feels more stable to me. I use a small tray, so filming with one hand if necessary is no problem. Having 2 hands out in front of your body also often helps to make you into a more stable shooting platform.

 

[Z Gear]

Quite the opposite. From your pictures, it is obviously more bulky than a typical go pro with one video light on a tray since the tray is smaller than the pole, and all other things are the same.[/QUO

Take a look a typical tray set up with two lights and take a look at the mono pole rig, are you saying the pole is still bulkier?

TE

I don't know what you mean by quite the opposite, perhaps you are thinking it in terms of having the pole partially or fully extended. This I can see as a way longer item to handle.

Frank G
www.zgearinc.com

---------- Post added January 7th, 2015 at 08:11 PM ----------

For one the pole is not extended and the diver is not holding onto it from the end. And I really would like to see a video using a light that small in a cave. If are trying to create an advertisment for the pole OK I get that. But you cannot refute that the tray can be used in all situations unless you want to shove it into a 6 inch hole to see what is inside but then again your light will not get too much. I think that BRad had it right the first time...this is not a discussion of Pole Vs. Tray...it is just advertisment.

I am trying to promote the advantages of the mono pole, lighting issues aside. Because I use it and I like filming with, its as simple as that. Furthermore there some out there who are quite happy filming with the mono pole and are probably refining their techniques. Perhaps there are other ways of filming with the pole but the truth is you don't leave any room for other views. Perhaps it would be a better place if some would try and be a bit more easy going ( not condeming or judgemental). Tone it down a notch is all I ask. I can answer your questions in regards to, why I believe the mono pole is a great choice and I am sure others also like using it as well. They just haven't chimed in yet.

MAY DAY calling all mono pole users, lets hear some of you talk about what you like about filming with the mono pole. So far this has been a one sided discussion and I need some back up, pronto!!!

PS: I think these guys are on a feeding frenzy!

Frank G
www.zgearinc.com

 

[Allison Finch]

Quite the opposite. From your pictures, it is obviously more bulky than a typical go pro with one video light on a tray since the tray is smaller than the pole, and all other things are the same.[/QUO

Take a look a typical tray set up with two lights and take a look at the mono pole rig, are you saying the pole is still bulkier?

TE

I don't know what you mean by quite the opposite, perhaps you are thinking it in terms of having the pole partially or fully extended. This I can see as a way longer item to handle.

Frank G
www.zgearinc.com

---------- Post added January 7th, 2015 at 08:11 PM ----------



I am trying to promote the advantages of the mono pole lighting issues aside because I use it and I like filming with its a simple as that. Furthermore there some out there who are quite happy filming with the mono pole and are probably refining their technique. I get this use the tray or wasting your time thing from a lot of you guys out there but the truth is you don't leave any room for other views. Perhaps it would be a better place if some would try and be a bit more easy going ( not condeming or judgemental). Tone it down a notch is all I ask. I can answer your questions in regards why I believe the mono pole is a great choice and I am sure others also like using it as well. They just haven't chimed in yet.

Calling all mono pole guys, lets hear some you talk about what you like about filming with the mono pole. So far this has been a one sided discusion I need some back up!!!

Frank G
www.zgearinc.com

I have both a pole and a two handled tray. I find that the tray is more stable and easier to keep steady. The pole, with a light is so front heavy it is harder to keep stabile. I find that I rarely use to pole except for "selfie" shots, like me swimming along with a whale shark next to me.

 

[Z Gear]

I have both a pole and a two handled tray. I find that the tray is more stable and easier to keep steady. The pole, with a light is so front heavy it is harder to keep stabile. I find that I rarely use to pole except for "selfie" shots, like me swimming along with a whale shark next to me.

When you use the mono pole with the light have you ever placed one hand on the mount and one hand on the handle. This seems to help distribute the weight better. Hence reducing strain and helping to stabilize the shot.

Thanks for chiming in and being objective.

Frank G
www.zgearinc.com

 

[TONY CHANEY]

See what I mean? It is about center of mass. So somebody tells you this and now you are back to using two hands on it which is opposite of what you were trying to promote before.

 

[BDSC]

I have both a pole and a tray for my Gopro. Without a doubt the tray is easier to keep stable when shooting video. It's really not even close and I find I can keep the tray very steady with just one hand. Hard to do with a pole mount. Another advantage with the tray is their stability if you want to leave your GoPro in a single location during the dive. Here off the coast of NC several of my friends will leave their Gopro by the anchor line during a dive and grab it on the way back up after the dive. A tray allows for that while I don't see that as being practical with a pole.

I also look at it this way, there are probably thousands of divers using Gopros now. What I remember early on was folks first used poles until trays started showing up and people switched to the trays. If the pole was the overall better option during a dive, folks would have figured that out by now and the poles would by flying off the shelf. But they're not, at least for diving.

 

[nimoh]

Take a look a typical tray set up with two lights and take a look at the mono pole rig, are you saying the pole is still bulkier?

Well the tray set up you show is much more useful with two lights and longer arms to reduce scatter, but as far as bulkier, the only reason it is bulkier is because of the extra light and the longer arms. If you take one light off of that tray and remove 5 connectors (making it comparable to the pole setup), it is clearly less bulky than the pole setup.