Digital Photography Equipment Review—The Joby Gorillapod
Of all the accessories that will help your digital photography look better and sharper, none is more important than a tripod. A simple concept, it steadies your camera for close-ups, in low-light conditions and a myriad of other photographic challenges. Eventually, every photographer, from hobbyist to pro, should have a tripod. Before you purchase one of the standard tripods (which are also worth the investment), consider the otherworldly-looking Joby Gorillapod. This line of flexible-leg tripods has a very inventive design, and all four Gorillapods are lightweight, easy to carry and will have your camera attached and hanging from the most unlikely objects and at the oddest angles, such as furniture, tree branches, pipes and posts, etc.
Although the Gorillapod will stand just like a standard tripod, what makes it so amazing is how the legs are designed and built. Each is a linked chain of nine ball-and-socket joints. This allows each leg to bend, curl and grip many objects and surfaces with great flexibility. The design of the individual links are also clever, with each surrounded by a thick rubber ring. As you bend a leg around a pole or the frame of a car door (with the window open), it grabs at many spots and with tight contact. The Gorillapod is even stronger and more secure when all three legs wind around the same object.
Gorillapod Models
Gorillapod Original
This pocket-sized version works best with compact cameras. It has a weight limit of 11.5 oz. (325g) and sells for approximately $13.
Gorillapod SLR
Use this model for lighter DSLR cameras of approximately 1.75 pounds (800g). Current APS or Four Thirds cameras with a normal-sized zoom lens would be in this category. The Gorillapod SLR sells for approximately $24.
For greater flexibility, the people at Joby gave the Gorillapod Original and Gorillapod SLR two additional links between the top and the legs. With this feature, both tripods can grip vertically, but allow the camera to remain horizontal. Both tripods are also equipped with quick-release camera platforms.
Gorillapod SLR-ZOOM
As the name suggests, this tripod has the additional strength for a DSLR camera with a zoom lens, weighing as much as 6.6 pounds (3kg). The Gorillapod SLR-ZOOM sells for approximately $49.
Gorillapod Focus
The most robust Gorillapod is designed and built for full-frame professional DLSRs and pro video cameras that can weigh as much as 11 pounds (5kg). The Focus sells for approximately $64.
The Gorillapod Focus being the top of the line, it isn’t surprising that it is made from sturdier stuff. Unlike the other three models, with plastic leg-joint sockets, the Focus sockets are machined aluminum. The people at Joby were obviously thinking of the pros when they designed the Focus. They are able to connect professional tripod heads to the Gorillapod Focus with an adapter, which converts the tripod’s standard 1/4-inch tripod fitting screw to the larger 3/8th-inch screw.
Joby also offers spare quick-release platforms for the Original and SLR models, and spiked feet for the SLR-ZOOM.
Gorillapods certainly come from imaginative thinking. They combine all the capabilities of conventional tripods with the unconventional, but highly versatile, design of their flexible legs, plus they are lightweight, take little space and are convenient to carry.