FREE STUFF! GorillaPod style tripod – winner

UPDATE: We now have a winner! Congratulations Ryan from Derbyshire, who has won the tripod and become the second winner of the FREE STUFF section of the blog. Thanks to all who entered.

When is the next giveaway?
It could be any time, so why not subscribe with one of the methods top right of the page to find out as soon as the next one appears.

This giveaway was for a small item but one that I have found quite handy at times due to it’s great flexibility and light weight. No it’s not the camera (sorry about that), it is in fact the tripod. A large GorillaPod Zoom style tripod that you can just keep in your camera bag and quickly pull out and set up whenever you need it…handy for turning many objects and surfaces in to potential sturdy supports when you need it.

Did you say it’s a copy?
Yep, that’s right. I actually picked one up on eBay to compare with the original version and was so impressed, I ordered a few more! I’ve never used one of them though so it’s time to let it go…

Are they any good?
Although these things do not weigh a great deal they can support a fairly reasonable load. They are of course best suited to items such as compact camera’s or flash guns, where you can then wrap the legs around objects to get your gear in to positions you usually wouldn’t be able to. The legs are basically lots of ball joints and each one has a rubber ring surface around it, which provides extra grip.

That said, they do have the ability to support larger gear too, pictured here supporting my D3 with 50mm AFS & 70-200 VR…but please do keep in mind, although they will support this load on a flat surface I would never try and wrap the legs around something to hang this from somewhere like I would with a compact camera or lighter equipment – I’m merely showing you these pictures to demonstrate that the legs are surprisingly strong for the size of the unit. Smaller DSLRs like the entry level models from Nikon or Canon would suit these little tripods quite nicely I think, in those times when you want to set the camera level but don’t have a suitable flat surface to do so.

When is the next giveaway?
It could be any time, so why not subscribe with one of the methods top right to find out as soon as the next one appears.