Or how to go viral without going bacterial.
When I pulled the
Joby Gorillapod Mobile RIG off the Murray Street rack this week I thought of it as just another trendy apparatus to do interviews with. It wasn't until I looked more closely at the illustration on the front of the packet that the true nature hit me - this is a rig designed for the inveterate vlogger and selfist. And it's made to go out in the field to capture the full horror.
Actually, it's rather an engaging little fellow - like a small mannequin holding up a camera, light, microphone, and mobile phone as a monitor screen. I would suppose that the phone is simultaneously streaming whatever is being recorded of the speaker to the social media and/or external storage.
Well, if you're going to do it, this is a good way of getting a steady image and watching yourself as you do it. The Gorilla Pods have always been effective as mini tripods or wrapped around solid structures. Not so sure about the footage taken if you're going to hold it at arm's length but if you're running from the mob at the time you cannot be that fussy.
On the other hand, when I am using my Tiny Studio ( the same portable setup I use as a backdrop when I take pictures at Stirling or Murray Street ) I can indeed afford to be fussy and I've also chosen Joby as the product. I can command a little more space than just a Gorilla Pod so I use a lightweight travel tripod but top it with the Joby X head.
Just another ball head? Yes, but the secret is those rubber-covered tightening knobs. The rubber ribbing is set in reverse of what everyone else does and it means that when you twist them closed they do so without shifting the rest of the tripod and the close like a jolly vice. I can set my camera using the artificial horizon line and it will clamp every time without creep. The fact that the clamp is Arca/Swiss sized means the plates on all my cameras just slide in.
The price of the head is economical but the performance is luxuriously good.
Joby has certainly parlayed a funny little gimmick product - the original Gorilla Pod - into a real range of useful gear.
