Product: Gorillapod Original
Manufacturer: Joby
MSRP: $24.95 [BizRate]
Lowest Historical Price: $18 [History]

Preface
If you're like most people these days, your point and shoot digital camera is never very far away so that you can capture every memorable moment in excruciating megapixel detail. Image stabilization technology has come a long way to mitigate your shaking hands, but there are some situations where only a tripod will do.

Review
Enter the Joby Gorillapod. It is a mini tripod that is very portable and pocketable, but that's where its similarities to regular tripods ends. Each of the three legs are made out of ball-socket joints connected end to end for a total of 9 segments on each leg. This allows each leg to be manipulated and contorted into the perfect grip for stabilizing your camera. The grip is further enhanced by a grippy rubber ring that is overmolded to the circumference of each socket joint.

The Gorillapod attaches to your camera via the standard 1/4-20 screw, and the mounting pad that makes contact with your camera is made from rubber so that it won't cause scratches. It has a quick-release compact shoe that is supposed to make it easy to disconnect your camera from the Gorillapod. That may be the case, however in our testing we found that leaving the shoe on your camera effectively impedes you from using a standard flat surface to free-stand your camera for taking pictures. You must then use the Gorillapod, which is not necessarily the best solution for spontaneous shots since it take a bit of fiddling to get it configured right. We found that instead of using the quick release shoe, we simply left it on and screwed the entire Gorillapod to the camera each time we wanted to use it.

Weight Limit
The Gorillapod Original is designed for use with cameras weighing up to 9.7 ounces (275 grams), which pretty much limits it to point and shoot cameras. There are two higher priced Gorillapods available, the Gorillapod SLR for the Digital SLR enthusiast, as well as the the Gorillapod SLR-Zoom for even heavier SLRs with Zoom Lenses.

Conclusion
Overall, the Gorillapod is an innovative product that does its job just as you'd expect it to. It allows you to position your camera in places you might not have thought possible before, making it a worthy addition to any photographer's goodie bag.

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Price History [History]