Jun

Gorillapod SLR-Zoom

Written by Neil Galloway

I purchased a Gorillapod SLR Zoom the other day. It is a pretty neat little device. Basically it is a small tripod that has legs made up of pods that allow it to be bent and molded to hold onto objects to support your camera.

I had been looking for awhile, but they didn't have a model that was strong enough in my opinion. The original Gorillapod was geared more towards compact digital cameras and the Gorillpod SLR has a maximum weight rating of 1.75 pounds. This is not enough to hold an SLR with a heavier zoom lens. The SLR-Zoom version is rated at 6 pounds. Quite a huge difference really.

I included a product photo from the Joby website for the Gorillapod. Notice that each of the pods has a ring of rubber around it and the end pods have a the bottom half covered in a rubber. This is to help grasp objects and providing some holding friction.

Check out the Gorillpod SLR Zoom product page.

Why Did I Buy It?

I am a minimalist when it comes to traveling and tripods just could not come small enough. My other argument is that if it works out well, I might end up getting a normal tripod in the future anyways. I will almost always have the Gorillapod on-hand because of its size, but the tripod will be occasional.

How It Works

Pretty good, but I have only had it for a week. In the store, I loaded it up with my same camera and heaviest lens. We had it hanging off some narrow display racks and it held the weight pretty good. You have to think a little different when setting it up though. I think it will take practice and some creativity to learn all the possible applications for it.

I did a search for Gorillpod on Flickr that turned up some examples of people using it in action. One application I did not even think of was for setting up a flash.

Concerns

I don't know how long the stiffness in the pod joints will last. It has great holding power now, but after a couple trips, a lot of bending, and a bit of grit getting in there, who knows.

The height of it sucks. A tripod will give you eye level height regardless of the situation (unless you are on water or a weird surface). The Gorillapod can only give you a foot or the height of whatever object you are using.

What Did I Pay

I paid $60 Canadian plus taxes. Literally a week and a half later, I saw it in Black's Photography at Chinook Mall in Calgary for $50. So if you are looking for one as of this posting (June 20, 2007), go check it out for one.

The Joby website lists it at $54.95 US with free ground shipping (US only??).

eBay had a few on there, but surprisingly few and not for cheaper than the store once I factored in shipping. This will probably change as the product ages a bit though.

What Accessories Are There

You probably don't want many, but I am considering a compact ball head with a quick release. This will let me attach my camera quickly and quickly adjust the angle of the shot. Plus I can use the ball head on a real tripod whenever I purchase one.

Conclusion

I know it seems like the cheap way out (though it isn't that cheap), but I think I will use this a lot more and take it with me a lot more as well. I will post some updates on it after my trip this summer.

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Category: Photography

1 Comments

BenSpark Says:
2007-06-20 11:58:41
I have the smaller Gorillapod that I use to attach my Sanyo Xacti C4 to my Bilge Pump on the bow of my kayak. I use that to take on the water podcasts. The joints have held very well so far. Not sure about the larger ones however.