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Joby Gorillapod
by ceebee27
I received this as a present after asking for a small tripod for my compact digital camera that would be lightweight and easily transportable. When I first saw it I thought, that's a great idea! Now I'll be able to stand my camera on all kinds of uneven surfaces without it toppling over. I quickly discovered that not only can I now stand ... my camera on any surface, but I can also hang it from things such as branches too!
The fact that the legs are bendy and moveable is great as it enables you to ensure your camera is stable on the most uneven of surfaces. The legs are really bendy too, which enables you to wrap them around things as well.
They are very sturdy and the gorillapod has very hard wearing so far and has survived being stuffed into a back pack on several holidays now. I haven't been particularly careful in my transportation of it, basically just cramming it into my backpack, which I regularly use to sit on when waiting for buses/trains. The gorillapod has survived all of this which shows it's a pretty hard wearing product! It's very lightweight and due to the fact it's bendy, easily fits into a bag and will bend to the space that you are trying to get it into.
I'm really pleased with the product and would definitely recommend it to amateur photographers over a standard tripod as you can literally put it up anywhere and your camera will be stable and safe.
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Hama Mini Tripod III
by europe-chick
I've wanted a Joby Gorillapod tripod for my compact camera for quite a while now. I love the quirky gimmicky look of the the Gorillapods, with the black balls with the brightly coloured stripes, and the fact that they are flexible tripods. My husband says that's all that they are though - gimmicky tripods and that they are not worth the ... money, £20 - £25. I think because I've gone on and on about wanting a Gorillapod he decided to buy me something similar - this Hama mini flexible tripod. He said that this was only £5, and that it will basically do exactly the same things as a Gorillapod at just a fraction of the price.
The Hama flexible mini tripod is the perfect size to use with a compact camera, it's really small and very lightweight and is a really convenient size to easily fit into a pocket or a handbag. I can easily fit this into all of my handbags along with my camera, I would only really struggle in a small clutch bag when I'm limited for space anyway, and I'd much rather take my lip gloss than a mini tripod! This even has a little clip on the tripod so that you could even attach it to your belt or shirt pocket, or maybe your camera case so that they are both kept together and you would always have it to hand.
This is a sleek and stylish looking little tripod, and it's black in colour, this does actually blend in really well with my camera which is black. It's made of metal so it's a sturdy little tripod, it's not cheap and nasty. It has the screw thread (I'm sure that's not the proper technical term for this!) on the top of the tripod which you screw into the little hole on the bottom of your camera. It seems to fit most compact cameras, it fits both mine and my husbands which are both Panasonic Lumix's but both different models, and I've had a number of friends use it with many different makes of compact cameras on nights out and it has fitted every single one. It is only suitable for compact cameras, it won't support the weight of a DLSR.
So after you've screwed your camera onto the tripod then you would then open the tripod legs and position the tripod on a table or a flat surface, or actually with this flexible tripod you could position it anywhere to get your shot. The little tripod legs are easily adjustable and the tripod will go from a minimum height of 10cm to a maximum height of 14cm, each tripod leg is flexible and independently adjustable so if you have the tripod positioned on an uneven surface then you can flex and adjust each leg accordingly to get it level, and to get it to stand steady. You can even twist the little legs and wrap them around something, such as maybe a chair back or a pole. The little tripod legs have sturdy black rubber balls as feet on the ends, so that it won't slip or slide on the surface you have positioned it on, they will create a steady hold for your camera. Your camera is safe and secure on the tripod, all you need to do then is just shoot your picture.
My two main issues however with this flexible tripod are; firstly, the 'top part' of the tripod where you screw your camera into isn't adjustable, it doesn't tilt or turn in other words. To adjust the angle of the camera you have to flex the legs. This just seems a bit odd, and the tripod just doesn't seem to be able to achieve the same range of angles that I would have expected. For instance you can't take portrait shots using this tripod. And secondly, although the little tripod legs are flexible, they don't flex as much as the Gorillapods legs, and so you can't use this in as many quirky situations, and it doesn't feel quite as secure as a Gorillapod when wrapped around something. I have used a friend's Gorillapod as well, and so I have compared the differences.
I do think that this little tripod is good value for just £5, however it isn't quite as flexible as the Gorillapods. It does work well as a mini tripod though if you are happy to just take landscape shots, and just need a small amount of flexibility with the legs. It certainly helps to take clearer, crisper photos, as obviously it takes away 'the shakes' factor, and it does create 'a steady hand' to take your photos. It works especially well for taking shots with the self timer feature, group shots, self portraits, time delay pictures etc. It's easy to use and to adjust, and it's very handy to have and use on the go, it's great for holidays, nights out etc.
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Konig Mini Table Top Tripod
by goosey
Intro
Although I am no David Bailey when it comes to photography, I believed that with modern, easy to use point and shoot, digital cameras there is no reason why amateurs like me, should not be able to produce some reasonably good photographs. So point and shoot I did and with a modicum of success.
That is until I ... tried to photograph close ups or zoom in on subjects. I remember my first real failure; it was of a fledgling blue tit hopping along on the ground, before resting; its mother, perched on a nearby clothesline, chirping motherly instructions. A close up of this little bird should have made a stunning photograph; the bird had not moved. I aimed the camera, zoomed in on the little bird, held my breath and took the photo.
However, it seems that holding my breath was not enough; the picture was slightly blurred due, I was certain, to camera shake. The moment had gone, and mum's warning of danger alerted the chick of my presence and off it hopped, to hide behind a bucket. All I was left with was a fuzzy picture of a blue-tit and a feeling of disappointment.
When I purchased my first digital camera it did not have, or as is more likely I was unaware of, an anti-shake mode. At about that time I spotted a mini tripod in Tesco or Lidls I am not sure where, but both have sold mini tripods.
It was inexpensive, again I cannot remember how much, but they are available today on Amazon for as little as £3.50 post-free.
This was ideal, for it held the camera steady and eliminated camera -shake when I photographed items at ground level, and meant that I did not have to suffer the indignity of lying on the ground and using my elbows as a prop, in order to keep the camera steady when taking photos.
It was perfect for photographing objects on the table for review purposes and even from ledges looking towards the ground, and because it was small, I often left it attached it to the camera, without it interfering with its use when the tripod was not needed.
I also used it on my desk when down loading, or is it uploading, pictures from the camera to my computer; not that it made any difference to the process. It just allowed me to stand the camera safely on my desk in a more stable position without having to move any clutter from the desk, the tripod just straddled pens, paper and anything else that happened to be sitting where the camera, minus its legs would normally have stood.
The Konig mini tripod
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The Konig is a silver, aluminium tripod weighing 4oz with a minimum height of 5.5-inches, and span of 5-inches between each foot. The maximum height when legs extended is 8-inches with an 8-inch span.
When folded, its length is 6.5cm, small enough to fit into the larger, camera carry-bags.
It has a universal screw attachment for the camera set into a robust ball and socket jointed, cylindrical holder, under which the three extendable legs are hinged. The ball and socket joint allows the camera to be positioned at whatever angle is suitable. On one side is a metal, screw mechanism to hold the camera at a chosen angle.
Each leg ends in a rubber foot to protect furniture. Unlike some tripods, this one is well balanced and refuses to wobble or tip, even when fully extended and accidently nudged, which I find particularly useful when taking close-ups of small items.
There is a narrow groove down each leg. When the legs are extended to their maximum length and twisted clockwise or anti clockwise, they will not retract until twisted back to their original position, with the groove in line with an indented triangle on the outer side of the leg casing; thus keeping the legs from accidentally sliding back to the minimum height.
The tripod is sturdy and stable enough to hold larger, non-digital cameras and also camcorders, yet small enough to carry in a pocket, handbag or camera carry-bag
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