As any serious photographer will tell you, a tripod is a key piece of kit to get really tack sharp images. This is of course true, and a good quality, heavy duty tripod is first prize. This is all good and well until you want to travel somewhere. The idea of carrying a 7 kg tripod along is not very appealing and often not very practical. Until recently, there was no real solution to this problem. There are carbon fibre lightweight tripods, which are a good substitute, but they are not cheap, in fact, they are often more expensive than a normal tripod.
Enter the Joby GorillaPod Ballhead X
My wife and I recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. I knew that I would want some long exposure images and possibly some HDR images. Also, I knew that I would be shooting in low light on some occasions. On this trip however, there was NO WAY I could take my tripod along and so I decided to get a GorillaPod. If you aren’t too sure what a GorillaPod is, it is simply a small rugged tripod with flexible legs. This means that you can wrap the flexible legs around anything that is nearby so that could be a tree, a pole, some rocks or pretty much anything, it’s really up to your imagination. It has a tripod head and is very sturdy. The great thing about the Gorilla Pod is the size and this is the key thing. The Gorilla Pod that I used was the Joby GorillaPod Ballhead X and it weighed in at only 262 grams, but is able to handle a DSLR and lens of up to 5 kgs. This Joby GorillaPod is light and features a full 360 degrees of panning and a 90 degree tilt. It also has a quick release plate that you attach to your camera and you are ready to go. Perfect”¦in fact it was more than up to the challenge.
When climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, you need to be careful how much you are carrying as they days are long both in the kilometres you hike and amount of time with the backpack on your back. So, every extra kilogram counts. Also, you don’t want something that moves around on your backpack as this can become very tiring. The GorillaPod Ballhead X was the perfect fit. I slipped 2 off its flexible legs into a side pocket of my backpack and strapped it to the side of my bag. It was really firm and being only 262 grams, I never even felt it was there.
The photos – is it as good as a tripod?
Nothing can ever replace a good solid heavy duty tripod, but I have to say, the GorillaPod performed really well. Once it was secured, it was really easy to work with it, it felt solid and I never felt that it would slip and drop my camera. I was actually pretty surprised just how rugged it was. It worked well in below freezing conditions and didn’t feel unstable at all.
I used the Gorilla Pod to take some HDR images, long exposures, night images and group photos. In all these cases the Gorilla Pod performed really well and was quick to set up and take down.
Conclusion
If you are a serious photographer and really want to travel, you probably can’t expect to carry your tripod all over. I would recommend that you take a look at the GorillaPod, it is really worth it. The ruggedness and feel of the GorillaPod is great, it feels like a good quality product. The weight and the size of the Gorilla Pod is the major selling point, it is light and small enough to fit in a daypack, so it’s easy to take on a plane as carry on luggage. It is, in my opinion, a really good substitute for a tripod, particularly when you are travelling. I will continue to use it not only when I travel, but for family photos, possibly even wedding photography”¦it will help to get some unique perspectives as I can “wrap” it around just about anything. As a tool for Macro Photography, I think it will be a huge plus for getting into those tight little spots.
Overall I was really impressed with the GorillaPod, it was a very reliable piece of equipment and allowed me to get some images on Mt Kilimanjaro that would have been impossible if I didn’t have it. So, if you want a great piece of kit for travel photography or just about any other kind of photography, get yourself a GorillaPod, it will make a huge difference.
More Information:
Joby GorillaPods International Website:
Distributors in South Africa – Singer Photographic:
http://www.singerphoto.co.za/01/index.php
SA Camera online shop:
http://www.sacamera.co.za/category/SAC100104/Specialised+Tripods/
