total units of all brands of still camera, digital still and camcorder
8mm Monopods ,under $50.00 retail , imported
into the USA for the year 2002..

I will guess only 10,000 were imported in 2002, as I have not noticed
any one using a monopod at Disney World or other Orlando, Florida
theme parks which I visit about once a month. I think I would have
noticed. This also means people in foreign countries rarely use
monopods when they visit the USA as about 1/2 of the visitors are from
foreign countries.   Neil

The number  guessed is a guess..I think much to low. Several companies
import Monopods.. Slik, Sunpak, Cullman, Bogen, Quantaray, Kowa and
Velbon are a few that I see in the stores. There must be a large
market for so many brands... to make and seek these dollars.
Perhaps an IMPORT number might be the right question???
thank you

For what it's worth, the use of monopods is largely confined to
professional photographers, using long (>300mm) focal lengths. They
are widely used by spors photographers and the paparazi, and less so
by press and portrait photographers.

I would suggest the majority of the market is to professional and
'prosumer' users, and much less so to consumers. The majority of the
bands you mention also deal in tripods, which appeal much more widely
to the consumer market.

Not sure if that helps, but it may help someone focus their enquiries.