Joby Gorillapod Original review

As good as the latest anti-shake technology is any pro will tell you that it’s no substitute when it comes to the rock solid, dependable old tripod. Trouble is, carting round even the most compact of models isn’t exactly practical, so step forward the Gorillapod.

A tripod for all occasions

At first glance it’s not dissimilar to the traditional ‘pod – three legs, a screw mount head for your camera – but there the similarities end, for while tripods like to be extended and placed on solid ground, Gorillapod can go practically anywhere.

We had our Gorilla wrapped around railing posts, a tree branch, the workie’s head – believe us, we never tired of finding new places to site our bendable friend.

The construction is simple – the white bits do all the gripping, while the round black bits are the joint responsible for the bending. Extra ‘white bits’ at the bottom are handy for simply sitting it on top of something rather than wrapping around it.

Tentacular

The super appendable tentacles are seriously sturdy once gripped, but you are slightly reliant on handy inanimate objects to sit the little fella on or wrap its legs around, which means you can’t always get the position or height you’d like.

Try it with anything too heavy and its little limbs will also buckle under the pressure – but then there is the Gorillapod SLR and even sturdier Gorillapod SLR Zoom for jobs that require meatier equipment. Use it with your average compact snapper and you’ll have absolutely no problem.

It can’t replace tripod for every job but we doubt you’ll find a more useful gadget for your camera.