Customer Reviews

Joby GP3 Gorillapod SLR-Zoom Flexible Tripod

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have heard recommendations for the Gorillapod for some time now. Finally when planning for a flying, driving and cruise vacation I was looking for something light enough to carry and not take up much of my 50 pound airline weight limit. I looked for a small, lightweight tripod and found a really nice one, but it was designed for point-and-shoot cameras and would not hold my DSLR. I finally looked for the Gorillapod options and found this package to be the most versatile and suitable.

I carried the Gorillapod in my camera back-pack with little added weight. It was always very convenient when needed to either steady long exposure shots or hold the camera in the best position for pictures with my wife and me. It can be used as a straight mini-tripod or the legs can be wrapped around almost anything and grip very well. I wrapped it around our cruise ship cabin balcony rail, other railings and signs, on top of a chair that was on our cabin bed, set it on the car hood, trunk, trash can, and other places. The only real issue I had was I was forced to take shots from a very low angle or from non-optimum location when there was nothing to set or wrap it on where I wanted it, but those times turned out to be rare.

Switching from landscape to portrait mode was easy with the excellent SLIK ball head, though I had to turn the ball head to get the camera mount post into the 90 degree slot. It attached and detached from the camera very quickly by loosening the ball-head lock tension screw and spinning the ball head on and off the camera mount. Also if you have a relatively heavy zoom like my 18-200 Sigma you'll need to position a leg in front of the lens when used as a mini-tripod to keep it from tipping over. I was concerned about it falling but that didn't happen during my trip. The other accessories came in handy also as a travel cleaning kit. I'm very happy with this purchase.

This tripod is perfect for packing light. I travel a lot and a bulky tripod just wont cut it when trying to stay in the carry on item range. I have an olympus E-30 DSLR and this Gorilla pod manages it well with my entire lens outfit. It also forces you to make more creative shots when you are "limited" to 12 inches from the ground. I shoot HDR images and thought I may have some trouble with this product due to shaking or vibrations. It holds its own and after one good photo shoot with it I enjoy it more than my stand up tripod, as stated earlier it forces you to get creative. As far as function, wrapping it around poles, I was able to get this tripod stable on 1" diameter hand rails! I would highly recommend it to anyone, I have yet to find something I don't like about it.

I like the gorillapod because of it's flexibility. Even after tightening the ball head attachment as much as I could, it still didn't do a very good job of holding my heavy (Cannon 50D) camera in place. After fiddling around and adjusting the Gorillapod a bit, I was able to make it work. Regarding delivery of the products: Amazon has always delivered as they promised and on time. I also returned the larger size Gorillapod (to Amazon.com) because when I recived it, I thought it was too big and bulky. Their return process was amazingly simple!

THis is great kit. Do not try to use the gorilla pod on cameras lager than a Nikon D40, it won't work as expected.