Joby flamboyantly markets the Gorillapod SLR Zoom to “serious photographers”.  Will it hold up to the promise of freeing us from our tripods or is it just another useless gadget cluttering our bag?

Let me give you the answer right now. The Gorillapod SLR Zoom is not stiff enough and therefore, sags a bit, making very long exposures difficult, if not impossible.

Where the Gorillapod excels

Tripod heads on Mini Pods

What I really appreciate about my Gorillapod is the dual thread. It has a small screw with a larger adapter (easy to lose) that allows me to use the pod directly on my camera or with a tripod head.

A tripod head gives you additional flexibility to use the Gorillapod on horizontal and vertical poles (see picture). On the flipside, the tripod head adds to the weight of the camera assembly, pulling on the pod.

Mountaineers, City Slickers and Backpackers

The Gorillapod SLR Zoom makes a very sturdy impression and it is very light. When you need to minimize weight at all cost, the Gorillapod is a nice alternative. In some places, you are not allowed to use a tripod, but you may bring mini tripods. The Top of the Rock Observation platform in New York is one example. Despite the shortcomings of the Gorillapod, I was able to take photographs of the New York skyline at night.

And where it is not sufficient

Not enough resistance

The legs bend nicely to adapt to whatever you want to wrap them around, but they do not offer nearly enough resistance. When you use the Gorillapod standing up, you need to pre-bend the legs to give them more strength. My camera system and head (still below the 6.6lb max-specified weight) would make the pod sag slowly as the weight of the camera would push down on the tripod legs.

That kind of sagging can ruin a wonderful night shot. I had many of my pictures from the Top of the Rock ruined this way.

The lacking resistance also requires that you wrap the legs completely around poles or twigs. If the tree trunk is too thick, it cannot keep itself attached and will slowly sag away. Use the position I am showing in the picture at the top of this article, where the pod rests on the third leg against the tree trunk.

Flimsy Thread Adapter

The thread of the camera tripod mount is smaller than that of a tripod head mount. There is no technical reason for this, except that the camera industry can milk us.

The Gorillapod therefore includes a thread adapter. The pod itself has a small thread, suitable to attach it directly to your camera.

In order to attach it to a tripod head, you use the screw cap adapter.

Unfortunately, the adapter comes lose when I unscrew my head. I am afraid that I will lose it one day in the field in one of those moments where you need to act fast and cannot pay attention to your equipment.

Hard to set up even

Because the legs bend so easily, it is very hard to get a straight horizon with the Gorillapod. With a good tripod head you can compensate somewhat, but even then it is vital to set up straight.

Conclusion

When you attach a longer lens, the center of gravity of your Camera + Lens combination will shift. As a result, you have to fiddle with the legs to keep the center of gravity between the legs or the tripod tends to tip. You will have this problem with all mini tripods. At least the Gorillapod is flexible enough to counter this effect at least somewhat.

I love the Gorillapod SLR Zoom. If the bend resistance of the legs were stronger, I would recommend it 100%. The pod works excellent, except it keeps sagging and dis-attaching. This results in a fair amount of frustration, especially when you have to get the shot.

I will keep using my pod, since it is still the next best thing to a real tripod. Maybe Joby will come up with an improvement, but I do not see myself dropping another $100 for two of these.

Other Tripod Articles

Subscribe to my feed to get the latest articles delivered.