Gorillapod Gp 8 Tripod by Joby

Some jobs require both handheld and locked down shots in environments that are inconsistent with full-sized sticks. Others dictate that you travel lightly, shoot handheld, and quickly grab some steady shots as well. In these situations, a small tripod may not be sturdy enough to be trusted with an expensive camcorder. A large tripod would take too long to set up and would be too intrusive for the shoot. What you need instead is a small, strong and inexpensive gorilla.

Joby has provided innovative photographic accessories for years, mostly notably its line of small, flexible still camera tripods called Gorillapods™. They feature unique grasping legs that firmly tether "point and shoot" or digital SLR still cameras to an appropriate surface to provide stability to the shot. The Gorillapod Focus, a larger and more robust version of the original product, now offers this functionality for camcorders up to eleven (11) pounds. This is a nice accessory, but is not indicated for every shoot. I don't recommend using it with rails, 35 mm adapters, or any unbalanced configuration.

The Focus doesn't require a level surface to achieve a balanced, level shot. The three legs incorporate nine flexible, bendable machined aluminum sockets that are adjusted to level the camcorder. Three gripping soft ball feet provide a sturdy platform.