Customer Reviews

Monster Pod MPX01C Tripod Stand

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

What struck me first about the Monsterpod was that I couldn't use it against a flat vertical or near vertical surface, like a wall, in order take pictures directly opposite the surface because the socket ball can't pivot so that the camera can be parallel with the Monsterpod. So for example if you wanted to stick this thing up on a wall to take a picture of you and something opposite that wall, no can do. You'll have to find some other angle. Looking back I should have known this since no demonstrations of the Monsterpod show it take pictures from a vertical surface in landscape mode level with the ground.

Beyond that the other reviewers are right. This is basically a ball and socket resting on a disc of silly putty. It gets dirty quickly, and leaves bits of itself on the surface you stuck it too. It can be cleaned, and the residue can be washed off, but its more hassle than its worth for regular use.

I'm also not to crazy about trusting Monsterpod to hold up an expensive digital device. The instructions say it can hold for 1-10 minutes. Are we supposed to guess when the camera is about to take a fatal fall?

I'm kind of disappointed..given my terrific experience with the Gorillapod I thought this would be another indispensable take-everywhere tool. Instead I don't see myself using this outside of some narrow situations where the normal tripod or Gorillapod won't work. And I'll be ready to run in case it decides to fall over.

UPDATE : I put the Monsterpod on my wall. I didn't use any great force. I peeled it off, and it took some paint with it. I now have a patch on my wall I need to fix, and without repainting the entire room its not going to look good. Monsterpod is in the trash now.

I used this pod on the back of a rough stone bench at a state landmark. It worked very well. I was able to tilt the camera and change its point of view easily. When I took the POD off of the bench,it left a good amount of its orang goo on the sotne. I spent a large amount of time trying to peel the mess from the stone. NO luck. I left with the bench marred and looking as tough someone intentionally vandelized it with orange wax. This pod won;t last long if it leaves itself everyplace it is used. I wish I had seen the Gorilla Pod before buying this. Not a good deal at all.

I cannot tell you how disappointed I was when this arrived. I was under the impression that this was some new hi-tech material that is sticky but does not get dirty... It's just basically silly putty... Firmer, yes.... stronger, probably, easier to clean? Maybe... But it's basically just strong silly putty. Would you stick silly putty to a tree and expect it to come back off in any reasonable condition? No... Maybe I'm missing some magic here... I haven't actually stuck it to a tree yet, but I have stuck it to my wall and it already has lots of hair and stuff in it.

In short, this is not the miracle gecko-foot material or whatever... it's just basically silly putty. It may be useful, but don't expect much more than that.

The previous reviewer's comment about this being essentially "silly putty" is correct. I tried this out by mounting my Canon Powershot S2 IS on it (not a really huge or heavy camera); and pressing it against the side of my car. In about a minute, it popped loose. Fortunately, because I was watching closely, I was able to catch it before it hit the ground.

To add insult to injury, I left it sitting in my living room overnight. In the morning the orange goo had seeped out and was all over my carpet. I still haven't been able to get it all out of my carpet. "Monster" indeed - sorta like the 50s movie "The Blob".

This device may have limited usefulness in special situations where there aren't any good alternatives. It might be all right on a predominately horizontal surface, and where the camera can't fall far if it lets go. For a person who uses several kinds of tripods, it may be good to have as part of a large "bag of tricks". But it is too unreliable, and the concept is simply too flakey, for something even remotely approaching universal use. I WOULDN'T reccommend it for someone who only wants to carry one or two kinds of small tripods, and wants something that will work under nearly all circumstances.

As I read in one review, "it is just silly puddy".

Probably I was expecting too much. When it advertises you think that you can adhere your compact cam to every surface with ease but that is not true.

You really have to work hard to do it .


so hard that I havent use after i first test it.

and this says it all.

The monsterpod is a cool looking thing but not so functional. Don't get it, you'll save yourself $25. The viscoelastic material breaks out and comes out easily. In addition, it is NOT as flexible as shown on the ads. The grip is good on flat surfaces. No question about that. But as soon as there are some angles or rougher surfaces, I am always so scared it will drop to the ground with my camera that I actually no longer use it. Honestly, I don't get how it can stick to a golf putter as shown in the commercial...
Sorry folks, this is not a product I recommend you to get or spend any money on.

I returned this product because the sticky orange underside, which is what allows the tripod to stick to "any surface", leaves residue wherever you stick it. This was not the quality good i was looking for although the concept was interesting and useful. I would not buy this unless you are only planning on using it on outdoor surfaces. The company was very understanding and offered a full refund.

This is the only mini tripod I've found that works for my specific task. We use the monster pod to mount digital camcorders above the dash in small aircraft. We need the camera to stay "stuck" during abrupt maneuvers. Generally, the airplane stays upright, but bounces around a lot in turbulence and the like. We've found the monster pod holds the camera safely in place, even when the airplane rolls upside down (briefly). A couple of observations: the mounting surface we use is metal and flat, so the "silly putty" on the monster pod forms a very strong bond, in fact it takes two hands to pry it off after a few minutes in the hot sun. Second, the monster pod is really designed for still cameras, and the camcorders we use are larger and heavier, so the tripod ball and socket on the monster pod are a little light, but do work acceptably. (we found we can get to the ball/socket to tighten it by removing a little of the silly putty from the center) The only other types of mounts we've seen that might work use suction cups, are larger, more complicated, and much more expensive.

Put it on a smooth flat, non-moving surface and it is fine. But so is a beanbag, a book or a number of other handy camera supports.

The super revolutionary "visoelastic morphing polymer" appears to be Super-Putty, the children's toy.

The unit does not stick well to verticl surfaces and you are putting your camera at risk when you use it in this manner. If you could use it on a vertical surface, you are restricted to vertical format images. (Good luck with your camcorder when a flagpole is your only available support.)

The goo will pick up loose debris from whatever surface you put it on. So unless you want to pick out bark, don't use it on trees. It can also lift paint, so don't use it on painted surfaces or wallpaper. As you can see, the number of places you can actually use this thing is limited.

Overall, this product looks appealing, but the reality is that the demos are all marketing hype. In real life, this thing is essentially worthless. Get a Joby GP1-01EN Gorillapod Flexible Tripod (Grey)(or one of several other Gorillapod models) instead.

Jerry

This is a great product but I found that if you push too hard on the gripping surface it's too harder to remove. Also, if taking ISO 50 pics, the polymer will continue to move slowly as it adjust to the surface causing blurred pics. Overall...good product.