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| |  | Electronics | Home » » Joby GP3 Gorillapod SLR-Zoom Flexible Tripod for Digital SLR Cameras | | | | | | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 9.8 inches | | Product Width:
| 2.4 inches | | Product Height:
| 2.4 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.53 pounds | | Package Length:
| 12.6 inches | | Package Width:
| 2.99 inches | | Package Height:
| 2.91 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.75 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 195 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 195 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
332 of 347 found the following review helpful:
 What seemed like a good lightweight solution is more gimic than usefulJul 29, 2007
By I. Miller
"Digital Photographer"
I bought this small tripod to take on a backpacking trip across glacier. Having read reviews of the smaller versions of this tripod I opted for the biggest one since I have a rather solid D200 with 18-200mm lens that I intended to use with this product.
First, the joints are quite firm, yes it will support the camera fairly well, however when the legs are bent too far from a straight tripod style the leverage will over come the joints and your camera will sag in frustrating ways.
Second, forget framing a shot in a reasonable amount of time. Horizen line off a little bit? Be prepared to fight the above slops and sags while trying to make precision adjustments.
Third, make sure when you buy this that you are not expecting small tripod style behavior. You can't throw this thing down, make a couple of quick leg adjustments and go. You will be screwing around for a good 5 to 10 minutes trying to force it to do what you could have done in less than a minute with a real tripod.
Bonus - the screw that attaches to your camera is a pain to use. It is not fixed to the tripod; it spins freely. Who has a screw driver around all the time to take it on and off? I ended up lightly screwing it on and off by spinning the whole tripod while holding the screw with my thumbnail. This sort of works as you fight the non-slip rubber on the camera and the tripod top. After the frustrations of using it and not getting what I wanted in the shots, fighting to take it on and off the camera can be enough to evoke choice words from the most patient...
Overall this product might be easier to use with a tiny ball-head. Points two and three could hopefully be resolved for the most part but it would cause even more leverage on the legs compounding the observations in point one above. Since I own it I will probably go this route to give it one more shot and update my review if it helps out a lot.
Over all this product works as described, you can hang it off random posts (upto about 2.5" in diameter) and entertain small children. I probably won't use it more than 2 or 3 times in the next couple years for the type of work I do though.
92 of 94 found the following review helpful:
 Caution: you get full use only with a light dSLRApr 09, 2009
By Michael Sandman
This version of the Gorillapod is supposed to hold up to a 6.3lb combination of lens and camera but... it doesn't. If you use it as a regular tabletop tripod, the top knuckles buckle under a medium weight dSLR (Canon 50D or 5D) equipped with a solid lens. It would probably hold a lighter camera and mostly-plastic "kit lens" -- a Canon 500, 1000 or XT series or a Nikon D40 or D60 series.
Even then, it's a very springy platform and it will vibrate to the slightest touch, so if you're in a low light situation and need to use a stable platform, you'll need to use a cable release or use the 10-second delayed release timer. (Two seconds is too short a time -- the Gorillapod vibrates for longer than that if you exert enough pressure to trip the shutter.
There are two places where where I can use it with a mid-weight dSLR: (1) when I wrap the legs around, say, the top rail of a chair, or a two to three inch thick tree branch and get the platform close to the horizontal support and (2) if I want to get very close to the ground for a shot and can bend out the bottom half of the legs so they're horizontal. That makes it less likely that the knuckles just below the platform will buckle under the weight of the camera.
So: OK for a light SLR; limited use for a medium one (Canon 20D-40D-50D & 5D series or a Nikon D700); don't even think about it for a pro camera (Nikon D3 or Canon ID series). I'm sure this would work well for just about any camera lighter than an SLR. But even with a light camera, you need a delayed shutter release to let the considerable vibration from tripping the shutter to die down.
60 of 67 found the following review helpful:
 Flexible Accessory for Travel PhotogJul 08, 2007
By J. Chinn
"Movie Guy"
When traveling, less is more. This is especially true for the serious photo enthusiast. When I travel, I want to carry as little as possible. However, I also want to have at hand everything I need to deal with the variety of situations I might encounter. In other words, my equipment choices need to be relatively compact, lightweight and flexible. I don't want to carry multiple single-purpose items. Instead, I look for single multi-purpose items.
That said, the Gorillapod is ideal. It's clever design and lightweight materials make it easy to carry and useful for a variety of photo situations. The SLR-Zoom Gorillapod is sturdy enough to support my Nikon D200 with 18mm-200mm Nikor zoom lens, and at the same time compact and light enough to attach to my camera bag with a hook and loop strap. All 'n all, a clever, useful and travel-friendly photo accessory.
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
GorillaPod - good but not great ...Jul 06, 2007
By lion_newbie
What I like :
a. It's reasonably rigid and does not change position under the camera's weight.
b. VERY light - love that !
c. Takes standard 1/4" and 3/8" screw mounts for most cameras / tripod heads so works with all your gear. (But see below !)
What could improve :
a. Not very stable with long lenses. (I think they may have to change the laws of physics to fix that problem !)
b. Open package VERY CAREFULLY, or you may lose the 3/8" adapter ! It's a small thing and you will lose it unless you look out for it.
c. I had expected it to be a bit longer; the legs are not that long, so the ability to wrap the thing around pipes / tree branches / park bench handles, is a bit constrained as you often run out of leg !
Overall does the job reasonably well.
15 of 15 found the following review helpful:
Good enoughApr 29, 2008
By steve armijo
I frequently carry my dSLR with me to work or when hiking but don't always want the bulk of a traditional tripod. The Gorillapod is small enough to fit into my camera bag or backpack without adding much bulk.
I regularly use it for low/no light photography with my Rebel XT and 10-22mm lens. I have made exposures of up to 30 seconds with no problems whatsoever. The bendy legs allow me to mold it to say fit on a chain link fence or tree branch and then use a remote trigger to trip the shutter.
This product will never replace a traditional tripod but once you understand what it excels at and learn how best to use it you'll be incredibly happy you bought it.
For a handy little tripod that's slightly smaller and much more versatile that a traditional tabletop tripod the Gorillapod can't be beat.
See all 195 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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