I recieved this as a present at Christmas after dropping various hints to wifey. I wanted a tripod i could easily take abroad but could hold my Nikon DSLR safely. This version of the Joby tripods can hold 3kg in weight and i have no problen placing my Nikon D7000 with 16-85mm lens onto it.

Each leg is made up of a very clever system of 10 connected ball and socket type joints. Each ball will rotate anyway you need and this is the beauty of the system as you can secure the legs around many different things like branches, posts etc. I use my quick release ball head from my mono pod on the Joby and it makes for a very versatile system which is light and fits into my camera ruck sack easily. Without the use of an additional tripod/ball head though a camera mounts directly onto the top of pod which does make it very difficult getting the camera level so i highly recommend using an additional head, even a cheap one.

On a recent trip we came across a lovely waterfall and i wanted to take a long exposure to create a silky smooth flow of water. The Joby was perfect as I was eaily able to set it up onto various uneven rocks and the rubber feet kept the pod in place. Having damaged a camera due to dropping it in the past i always have the camera strap around my neck even when the camera is mounted on the Joby as it is better being safe than sorry. So far though it has performed perfectly though the balls right at the top are very stiff. Better than being too loose i guess.