I fancy one to take on holiday with me. Any experiences?

I have a Nikon D60 with the standard 18-55 zoom lens: Do I need to go for the SLR Zoom version, or will the standard SLR version be sufficient?

I guess it might take too long to wait for your holiday, but dealextreme do a much cheaper clone which appears to be identical to the official one I briefly had (then sold).

I got the heavier duty one, but I reckon for a D60 and kit lens the lighter one would probably be ok, not tried it though.

Oooo for $12 that may be worth a punt. What are the delivery times?

My holiday isn’t for another four weeks yet, so got a bit of time 8)

I’ve got a DX one and a “proper” one, the DX one is just a little looser and doesn’t have the quick release on it but it does the job almost as well other than that. Great little things.

I think 2-3 weeks is average so you’ll probably be ok.

I also bought a cheap ball head with a quick release plate for mine, very useful imo.

Something sort of like this (but I dunno what this one is like)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MK2-Mini-ball-head-camera-tripod-ballhead-/120631408256?pt=UK_Tripods_Monopods&hash=item1c16313680#ht_2383wt_1141

7dayshop.com also do them, and great value they are, easily holdsa video camera, to the railings to film at the tour series road race, and a large rock at Brownbacks race.

Either Lidl or Aldi are doing them at the moment I think.

A veteran pro snowboard and mtb photog told me the Ultrapod II is great, he takes it everywhere, but those gorillapod things are shit.

More opinions:http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=36314741

loads of “fake” ones on amazon etc, ust as good as the real thing

The trouble with those “fake” ones on Amazon is that they appear to be made incredibly badly, going by the reviews.

Just stick to the Gorilla pod
Why go cheap?

Why go cheap?

Because I don’t want to pay any more than I have to, for anything. However, it can often be a false economy, as it would appear in this case.

Are there any suitable alternatives?

i got one of the mini ones for my dad, for use with a pocket sized camera, and he loves it.

My experience is of a 5 quid fake & an “identical” Gorillapod. The fake one worked well enough with a small & light camera, with the mounting boss in the centre of the base. I bought a slightly bigger compact where the threaded hole was offset. The fake job definitely wasn’tup to supporting the camera & would sag at the slightest provocation. The genuine one has never let me down. Much more positive friction on the segmented legs & it also has a quick release which saves the mount having to be unscrewed. I hate being let down by Sh**e kit & would recommend spending the dosh on the real deal.

£0.02

D.

I bought a cheap one. It came with the quick release. Worked really well for a year or two, great bit of kit. One of the ball joints has now cracked so that leg has gone floppy.

Any suitable alternatives to the Gorillapod? I would like something that could cope with long exposures.

mikey, have a read of the forums.dpreview link I posted earlier. pros and cons of the gorilla and alternatives discussed.

The ultrapod II works pretty well, but both depend on what you’re fixing them too and how windy it is.

My expensive one broke after 6 months, the fake one has lasted. 22 months, but don’t let that stop u from spending over the odds though

I did have a read of that Ned, thanks. Although it was mainly focused on support for compact cameras, rather than SLRs.

It looks like the Gorillapods so suffer from a certain amount of “bounce”, due to the nature of their construction.

I may look at something like the Slik Mini pro v: Although it’s not as versatile as the GP, it is apparently more stable.

My expensive one broke after 6 months, the fake one has lasted. 22 months, but don’t let that stop u from spending over the odds though

You appear to be the exception, rather than the rule, but thanks for the snotty reply anyway.

It’s ur hard earned, do what you like with it, i can tell you what you want to hear or the truth based on experience , if you think thats snotty then don’t ask for opinions or advice

I’ve got an ultrapod II and a gorillapod. I always find the gorillapod is more of a faff to set up as unlike the ultrpod it’s legs always need to be straightened out. The ultrapod just seems quicker and easier to use. Much more stable with a heavy DSLR on top as well.

It’s ur hard earned, do what you like with it, i can tell you what you want to hear or the truth based on experience , if you think thats snotty then don’t ask for opinions or advice

It’s not what you said, but the way you said it.

Thanks BigDave: I have looked at the Ultrapod ii, and it is currently between that and the Slik Mini Pro V