E-Image MFC700 — best monopod for Video, DSLR, wildlife/sports photography

8 min readDec 10, 2022

The E-Image MFC700 monopod is currently the best monopod for DSLR video shooters and wildlife/sports photography. This E-Image carbon fiber monopod provides stability due to its tripod base in addition to flexibility of a regular monopod.

Weight

The E-Image MFC700 monopod weighs 1.4 kg in total including the monopod and the tripod base.

Height

The minimum folded height with the tripod base attached is 71.5 cm, and with a regular rubber foot attached it is 58.5 cm. The maximum height of the MFC700 with the tripod base attached is 1.87 metres, and when using a rubber foot instead of the tripod feet, it’s 1.73 metres. The tripod base makes up 15.5 cm of the total working height of the monopod, and in the folded configuration it makes up 14.5 cm of the folded height.

This feature is the only reason that I bought this monopod kit.

Tripod base

The working height of the tripod base cannot be adjusted. So the legs can be expanded to a single position and will be locked in the widest position for maximum stability.
The tripod base feet cannot move in either up or down direction once they are locked in place.
The feet can be unlocked using the metal buttons on the side of each foot in order to collapse them back up.
The diameter of the expanded tripod feet when opened is 43 cm, which is larger than most similar products.
The tripod base ballhead allows the monopod to tilt in any direction. I think the tilt is limited to around 30 degrees but I didn’t measure it so it could be slightly more or less.
The tripod base tilt angle cannot be restricted. I don’t have a need for such a functionality but it is worth mentioning that some monopod bases such as the Leofoto VD-02 have such a feature, if you need that.
The ballhead has some drag on it which can be useful for video work if a fluid head is not being used.
The drag tension of the ballhead on the tripod base can not be adjusted. So the drag is fixed at a loose and smooth level but it cannot be changed or be made completely loose like a photography ballhead.
Pressing down the lever on the tripod base locks the ballhead in the vertical position, and pressing it again releases the lock which allows the monopod to move freely in any direction. This feature is the only reason that I bought this monopod kit. I have used other video monopods such as the IFootage Cobra 2 and the Leofoto MP-326C with the VD-02 tripod feet and with those tripod feet it is not possible to unlock or lock the monopod into a vertical position using a single action press with my foot as they require tightening of a knob which can only be done using my hand which is not practical while operating the camera.
Using the locking mechanism it is not possible to lock the tripod base ballhead at an angle which is good in my opinion because it ensures the monopod is always in a vertical position when locked. Based on the way that I use the monopod when shooting video, this is how I want the monopod to function.

Load capacity

It has a maximum load capacity of 20 kg.
It is made from 12 layers of carbon fibre, which is more layers than other similar products.
The additional layers of carbon fibre make this monopod stronger but also heavier in comparison to other monopods of similar size.
This is a for section monopod and the tube diameter for the sections are: 32 mm, 28 mm, 24 mm, and 20 mm. So the largest section has a diameter of 3.2 cm, and the thinnest section has a diameter of 2 cm.

Mount

The top mounting plate has a diameter of 5.5 cm or 55 mm.
The mount screw is a solid 3/8th inch 16 piece that can be flipped around in order to use the 1/4 inch 20 side. The necessary tools to do this are included in the box.

Wrist strap

It comes with a wrist strap for extra security but it can also be taken off. I never use the strap on monopods and find that they get in the way. So I tend to remove them.

Bag

It comes with a padded carry bag that has an unpadded zipped pocket inside, and the bag has a shoulder strap for carrying. The carry bag has enough space for the monopod with a fluid head attached to it.

Flip locks

The monopod has flip locks as opposed to twist locks.

Advantages of flip locks are that:

Just by looking at the locks it is obvious whether each section is locked or not.
Each section can be locked or unlocked with a single action.
It is easier to lock or unlock flip locks when wearing gloves or in situations where the locks may be slippery due to snow, rain, or water.

Disadvantages of flips locks are that:

They make a sound when closing them which makes them unsuitable for scenarios that require quiet operation such as in wildlife, conferences, theatres, or weddings.
Another problem with flip locks is that wires or clothes can get caught on them during operation and result in an accident… or when sliding the monopod in or out of a suitcase the flip locks can snag onto items in the bag.
Flip locks also take up slightly more space in comparison to twist locks which sometimes makes it more difficult to fit the monopod in a bag.
Some people claim that when closing flip locks it is also possible to snap them on your fingers which can hurt, although I have never experienced this.
Flip locks may require tightening if they become loose, which typically requires a tool to tighten. The necessary tools are included when you purchase this monopod but this can be a problem if you don’t have one with you at the time when the legs become loose, or in the best case scenario it can delay the setup process. Whereas with twist locks, they can be tightened by turning them more without the need for additional tools.

Colors

The colours that are used on this monopod are relatively discrete and the branding is in grayscale colour as opposed white. So compared to the IFootage Cobra 2 monopod, it is a big improvement but there is still some orange used on the base tripod which is not ideal. I prefer all video equipment to be as dark and non-reflective as possible. This has two advantages:

It doesn’t draw unwanted attention in settings such as wildlife, weddings, or conferences. So the camera operator can remain as unobtrusive as possible.
Also it avoids reflection of video equipment being seen in video footage which sometimes happens when video equipment have bright colours, shiny parts or small lights which can be seen in reflective surfaces.

Some brands of monopods such as Velbon are completely black is perfect for video work.

Best monopod for DSLR Video & Wildlife/Sports photography — E-Image MFC700

Why I bought this monopod

The reason I bought this monopod was only because of the functionality of its tripod base which has features that are really important for how I use a video monopod:

It allows the monopod to be locked in a vertical position. This is important to me as it lets me free up my hands to do something else such as taking extra batteries or memory cards out of my bag, or adjusting lighting or audio equipment while knowing that the monopod is in a vertical position and the video continues to be recorded without any interruptions or camera shake. This is not possible with monopods such as the IFootage Cobra 2 C180 II but there are other video monopod base tripods that also provide this feature such as the Leofoto VD-02.
The second feature is the ability to lock the monopod using a single press action that can be operated with my foot instead of having to bend down to tighten a knob using my hand. This is something that is not possible on the IFootage Cobra 2 or the Leofoto monopods with the VD-02 tripod base.
The tripod base has a larger diameter in comparison to Lefoto VD-02 and IFootage Cobra 2 which makes it not only more stable but also more secure, as it is less likely to fall over even when left unattended.
The tripod base feet lock into position and do not move in either the up or down directions. This was a major problem for me on the IFootage Cobra 2 C180 II as that tripod base only locks the feet in a single direction so even when I locked the ballhead and placed my foot on one of the tripod feet, slight movements of the monopod would cause one of the tripod feet to move thereby one of the tripod feet would be at a slightly different angle to the other feet which meant the monopod would come to rest at a tilted angle. It is worth mentioning that Lefoto VD-02 doesn’t have this problem as the feet on that tripod base also lock in both directions.

I think the majority of the problems that I have encountered with the other monopods are only applicable to videography as opposed to photography. Also, I expect a video monopod to function almost as good as a tripod.

My purchase dilemma

Initially I only wanted to buy the baby tripod base to use with monopods that I already owned, however the tripod base was not available for sale on its own. So I had to buy the monopod with the tripod feet together, just to get the baby tripod base. Then I saw a package deal which also included the E-Image 610FH video fluid head, and this package deal only cost 2.5% more than the monopod on its own so I bought that instead.

The cost of the video fluid on its own was 13 times more than the additional cost that I incurred as part of the package deal. In fact only the pan bar handle for the fluid head cost 5 times more than the incremental price increase if I was to purchase it separately and since I intended to buy that pan bar as a separate purchase anyway, it made sense for me to buy the whole package.

The reason I wanted to buy the E-Image GB1 pan bar was because it is 75 grams lighter than the GB2 telescoping handle which I have been using with my GH06F video fluid head.

So I ended up with an additional video head, pan bar and release plate for a small 2.5% increase in the price of the package.