Gorillapod's

Hi,

Does anyone use one of these. I believe its the GP2 that's suitable for slr/dslr's.

What's your thoughts on them?? Are they worth having?

Ebay have Gorillapod 'style' tripods, has anyone tried one of these and if so, what are your thoughts?? Are they comparable with the Gorillapods??


Dave.

I have a Gorillapod 'SLR Zoom' I think it is called and it is fine with my K-7 plus a small prime lens, but put a slightly weightier zoom on there and it starts to sag and generally wallow around a bit - not so useful... but fine with a lightweight lens. Could be that mine is getting on a bit and the joints are not as 'tight' somehow...

Regards

The big Gorillapod seems well thought of, I haven't handled one but know someone who raves about them. I did buy one of the compact-type ones for a relative whose photos are often a bit wonky, it felt well made and worked as advertised.

If you want something a bit beefier then look at the Slik Mini Pro range, great little tripods if you're not fussed about being able to wrap the legs around stuff. They weigh next to nothing and are made to the same standard as their bigger 'pods.

My other half has one (SLR model), doesn't work too well as a tripod but it's great for tying your camera to trees, fences, in fact anything you can wrap it's legs round.

There is an uber-Gorillapod made of metal which looks pretty heavy duty. It's about £70 though.

A colleague in the office has brought one in today - the SLR Zoom model, with Joby ballhead - and says that it worked brilliantly for her on a several month long trip to Thailand with Nikon D5000 plus kit lens.

Just tried the K-7 with 50mm SMC-M prime on it, and it was great. I was particularly impressed by the ballhead, which makes the pod much more usable that it is by itself. The quick release plate clips in and out very easily too, and there is a handy spirit level built in. The ballhead is so good that I would consider using it on other gear - eg monopod - and I would not buy the Gorillapod without it.

I'm not sure I'd use the pod with really heavy or long lenses, but as a compact and very flexible travel option for use with lighter lenses (eg primes and the kit zooms), I am sure it would work very well. I'm less convinced that it would cope in the long term with the longer and heavier DA* zooms, but I don't think it was made with that market in mind.

Have a look at the Gorillapod Focus model if you want something that will hold a larger zoom lens.