Gorilla Pods and other christmas ideas

[subucni]

I've been asked for a list of present ideas for christmas, a gorilla pod was one of the first things that sprang to mind. i've got other tripods but just fancy one for awkward situations.

Anyone got any experience with them? And would recommend one? http://joby.com/gorillapod/slr/

According to the website the SLR one will support upto 800g, but the SLR - Zoom will take upto 3kg
I would have prefered the standard SLR one was it comes with an adjustable head and the Zoom doesn't.

But as my Nikon D200 weighs 830g for the body alone and my 18-200mm lens weighs 560g i guess that's not going to happen and i'll have to find a cheap ball nead to go on it later if i find i need one.

Also any of you guys had any experience with the cheaper ebay copy version? so much cheaper, nearly 1/3 of the price. SLR version SLR-Zoom


Another thing i definitely want is a camera specific backpack, but haven't really decided here if i want a nice easily portable small one for just my SLR kit or go a bit bigger and see if i can get one to fit my DV Cam too. Smaller is sounding more appealing at the moment. something like a http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-...-rust/p1521991

Also, can any of you recommend a good entry level flash? Although this may be a bit expensive and overkill as i could probably learn how to use the built in one better first, but would be nice to know what to look out for in the future so any recommendations are much appreciated.

[Stephen C]

Funny you should mention Gorilla Pods, actually sold mine just today!
They're really not much cop if you ask me, pretty poorly made and rather flimsy.

[subucni]

shame, is it a case of all the press pictures make them look more useful than they actually are?

[Stephen C]

Pretty much. Used it for about 15 minutes, just wasn't sturdy enough for my camera even though the camera and lens both came in under the specified weight. I can see it being good for a compact camera when you're out and about but other than that, from my experience, it just wasn't up to the job.

I think a couple of forum members may have one of these too so perhaps you'll get their input at a more reasonable time of day ^^

[binaryknight2]

if your going for a backpack id got with a larger one that what you actually need at the moment.
i personally grabbed a lowepro aw 50 as i was off on hols a day later and while it did what i needed at the time with my nikon d50, 18-55 and 55- 200 mm lenses i now wish i had of got a bigger bag as you also probably will once you start adding more gear to it in my case a battery grip, d200 + grip, 50mm prime lens.
it holds all the above but a very tight space and would be nice to have space say for food or waterproofs

[rox0r]

I have a Gorillapod SLR zoom jobby and to be honest all it gets used for is when I'm using a flashgun and want to plonk it somewhere like a rail or something. It's just not sturdy enough to trust my camera and largest zoom lens on. For a quick and dirty solution I prefer a camera beanbag.

For a cheap and cheerful flash, Jessops sell one for £79 that does the job perfectly well for starting out with.

Bags are a difficult thing to recommend I find because they're entirely a subjective experience, much like mice and keyboards for a PC, what I like to use as an ergonomic solution may not suit you at all. I've gone through nearly half a dozen bags before settling on one and I'm still not convinced.

[Flibb]

I have both the slr and slr zoom, thes mall one is only used for flash heads and a compact camera, the large one is more than capable of handling my D90 and standard 18-70 or my tokina macro (540g).

I reallyl ike the slr-zoom version, but cant see how they can sell the smaller one for slr use. Generally you can bend the slr-zoom in to a position so you dont need a ball head. I have also used it with a little ingenuity to hold a heavy spotting scope. Just dont think they replace a tripod, I mainly use them in situations where a tripod wouldnt be suitable

[stavroshamster]

I have the Gorillapod SLR Zoom, with the ball head which you can buy separately for it. I've found it fine for my SLR and 17-50 lens generally. It's quite useful when you don't want to take a tripod or in tricky terrain etc.

I wouldn't stick a telephoto on it though as it probably wouldn't cope, but for short lenses its useful - a bit pricey though.

[subucni]

Cheers for all the replies guys, from the sounds of it, SLR-Zoom is defintely the way to go if i do, and i think if i put it on the list i'll defintely only ask for the ebay copy, that way if it doesn't end up getting much use it on cost £14 not nearer to £45. May end up having other uses for it as a mic holder or something if i get back into doing some filmaking again.

Glad to hear you've had success postioning without the ballhead Flibb.

I think you are right Binaryknight2, had another look at that one i link and read the review, the image makes it look like you can fit a lot in but it's dececptively small apparantly, guess i'll have to head to jessops or somewhere and try a few out with my gear, and yeah already got a 50mm prime and battery grip to fit in there too, plus charger, remote release and usb cables etc..

Also cheers Roxor, had no idea the jessops ones were that cheap at the moment, i was thinking around £99 would be the cheapest around. Strange how the Nikon version is only £59.99 yet the canon and sony are £79.99

Cheers for all the input guys.

[rox0r]

Also cheers Roxor, had no idea the jessops ones were that cheap at the moment, i was thinking around £99 would be the cheapest around. Strange how the Nikon version is only £59.99 yet the canon and sony are £79.99

That's gone down £20 since I posted it.

[Bobster]

i bought a Hama Pod from ASDA for £15.00 its just as good as a Gorilla Pod - used it a couple of weddings back to hold me 20D and 28 1.8 onto a balcony pillar to shoot remote in the church

[g8ina]

My backpack was from ebay UK, GEM is the name, it holds bnoth the D200 and D70 and two more lenses. Was 32 quid IIRC. See item # 330485223113.

[subucni]

g8ina, that seems pretty damn good for the price, and the specs claim to only be about 20cm deep, which is ideal, the main thing i really didnt want was something that would stick out of my back a mile, and be a pain to store under the bed or something.