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Joby sent us their new Gorillapod 3K pro ($151: Amazon| B&H). Now, I’ve been using Gorillapods for a while, from their old 3K kit to the aluminum heavyweight 5K kit… and even some tiny, tiny pods.
I’m going to have a deep look into the Gorillapod 3K pro, and see, how it stands between the original 3K kit and the bigger 5K kit.
Joby’s Gorillapod has been the tripod of choice amongst many vloggers for quite a few years now. They weren’t originally designed for this use, though, and it’s been tough for them to stand up to the rigors of daily use for this purpose. They don’t always last as long as some might hope and vloggers have posted at length with their frustrations, yet still keep buying more.
Joby has now responded to those concerns, though, announcing the Gorillapod 3K Pro – a lightweight aluminium version of the Gorillapod designed to help stand up to those daily vlogger demands. DIYP had a chat with Joby during NAB 2019 to find out more about it.
There are a few brands out there that make small, compact tripods. But SwitchPod is a new product that aims to provide you with everything you need from a mini tripod. It’s small, lightweight, compact and it transforms in a few seconds. And you could find it useful regardless of the camera you use and what you shoot, be it photos videos or vlogs. Well, especially vlogs, I’d say.
GorillaPod is a handy little tripod that can make your life easier on various occasions. And in this video, COOPH has an idea for making your own. You most likely already have all these items and tools at home. But even if you don’t, it will cost you a couple of bucks to get them and make your own DIY GorillaPod.
GorillaPod has a new member of their family of flexible tripods. JOBY has announced GorillaPod Mobile Rig, aimed particularly at smartphone filmmakers. This rig has the same flexible design, but with an extra pair of “arms” in addition to the three legs. So, it lets you mount the additional accessories for a better smartphone video or vlog.
GorillaPod is a handy tool for photographers, and pretty popular among the vloggers. But, you can use it in many different ways when shooting video. It can help you mock a slider, a camera rig and even a drone (sort of). Jordy Vandeput of Cinecom.net shares five tricks you can pull off using just the GorillaPod. Although they’re mainly aimed at filming, photographers can use some of them as well.
A few weeks back Kickstarter’s Cineskates project funded with almost half a million from backers.
It was only a matter of time till someone came up with a budget friendly solution. Instructables user fungus amungus built a similar contraption using a Hybrid Gorillapod and $35 worth of Rollerblade wheels (for two sets of dollies).
For this project you actually have to drill the Gorillapod unlike the click-based Cineskates system, but saving about a $100 may provide some incentive.
[Tripod Dolly on instructables]
Sony has announced its new Sony ZV-1 II (buy here) vlogging camera, the successor to the popular Sony ZV-1 (buy here), released in 2020. At release, the ZV-1 seemed to essentially be an RX100 V in a new vlogger-oriented form factor. And true to RX100 fashion, the ZV-1 series seems to be following suit. The ZV-1 II is largely quite similar to the original, with some slight – but significant – changes.
The Sony ZV-1 II and ZV-1 both feature the same 20-megapixel 1.0 type sensor, but the lens has been switched out. Gone is the 24-70mm equivalent f/1.8-2.8 lens of the original ZV-1, replaced by a smaller range 18-50mm equivalent lens with a slower f/1.8-4 variable aperture. I said the changes were significant. I didn’t say they were necessarily better. Some will find it better, with the wider angle on the short end providing more environmental context. However, the slower aperture at the long end is not so great.
This seemed to slip below the radar the other day when Joby announced a whole new range of Wavo microphones, but Joby has also announced a couple of new tools specifically for smartphone content creators. The two new products are called Joby Spin, which is a motion controlled Bluetooth 360° pan head, and Joby Swing, a Bluetooth mini sort-of-slider. Both of them are designed for smartphones with a focus on size, weight and easy of use.
The new Spin and Swing produts work with both iOS and Android devices with the Joby Motion app, and allow users to create more advanced camera moves with minimal gear at a much lower cost than they might with other brands. Spin, for example, was a collaboration between Joby and Syrp Lab (both of whom are owned by Vitec) but comes in at a much lower cost than any Manfrotto-branded-Syrp product.
Joby, the company famous for its GorillaPod line of bendy tripods, has always had a pretty strong focus on vloggers, social media shooters and self-contained content creators. They’ve also released a microphone or two in the past, but now they’re planning to take that sector of the creator market head-on with a new range of Wavo microphones. But have they released just one new microphone? Oh no. There are five of them!
Joby is owned by Vitec now, so you know they’re going to go big or go home. And go big they have, announcing five new microphones all at the same time to launch their newest range of “Wavo” microphones. Well, I say they’ve gone big, they’re all fairly small, with a dual wireless microphone kit, a lavalier mic, a couple of on-camera mics and a large-diaphragm condenser for sitting on your desk.
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.
John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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