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Joby Gorillapod Magnetic is Grooviness Incarnate

May 20, 2010 By Eric Reagan

When Joby developed the Gorillatorch, which is a combination of a Gorillapod, flashlight and ordinary magnets, Joby fans immediately started asking for a similar device to hold their cameras.  Earlier this year, Joby delivered on that request with the Gorillapod Magnetic.

Every year, there are maybe a handful of products that really “wow” me.  The new Gorillapod Magnetic is officially on the list for 2010.

It’s quite simple, really.  It’s a Gorillapod with magnetic feet.

When you get your hands on one, it’s hard to resist trying to stick it to different metal objects.  It will stick to any magnetic surface with a surprising amount of stickiness.  I don’t know what king of magnets Joby stuck in this Gorillapod’s feet, but they are super strong.

Just how strong?

Well, I hung a Canon 5D Mark II with a 70-200mm lens attached on the underneath side of my desk and it held.  Rock. Freaking. Solid.

While the weight of the 5D Mark II and lens can’t be supported by the joints of the Gorillapod and allow the camera and lens to sit upright, the magnets were plenty strong enough to just let it hang.

And that’s part of the brilliance of what’s going on inside Joby R&D.  When they make a product like the Gorillapod Magnetic, they make the riskiest part of it the strongest.

That is, you’ll know when to stop because the joints won’t hold your camera upright, rather than the magnets failing to support the weight and drop your camera from the AC vent on the ceiling.  But even if you push it a little too far, the magnets are still going to hold.

And with a lighter camera, the Gorillpod Magnetic will do just fine on an AC vent.

In addition to all the cool uses you have for an ordinary Gorillapod, the Magnetic gives you options that just didn’t exist before.

Even though it’s as strong as an ox, there are some temptations that you should probably avoid.  Like mounting it on the side of your car.

Not that you would, but you could.

But, you shouldn’t.

If you’ve got a metal door, you’ve got a tripod mount.

Or, if you’ve got a wooden door, chances are that there are metal hinges on it.  In which case, you’ve got a tripod mount.

And, for you Strobist geeks out there, the Gorillapod Magnetic can handle a speedlight w/ 4 AA batteries installed as well.

If you’ve got a metallic object anywhere near your scene, then you’ve got a light stand.

This SB-26 is with batteries installed is closing in on the max weight that the joints can handle, but again, the magnets are rock solid.

I generally try to keep the Joby Gorillapod SLR Zoom with me at all times; however, given the flexibility and strength of the Gorillapod Magnetic, I’m pretty sure that it will be a frequent flyer in my camera bag now as well.

You can find the Gorillapod Magnetic at places like B&H Photo, Adorama and Amazon for about $25.

A word of caution…

When using the Gorillapod Magnetic, there’s a temptation to go wild.  Just don’t get too wild and keep it to a compact or superzoom camera (or a speedlight).  While I thought it worked ok with a Rebel-series DSLR, Joby doesn’t recommend using it on anything but a point and shoot – and neither do I.  Some of the ways I’ve demonstrated its use in this post have been for the sake of demonstrating how strong these magnets really are.  Don’t sacrifice your camera to see if it will hold it from the bumper of your car, doing 80 mph on the Interstate, in the snow . . . Instead, let guys like me sacrifice the cameras for the good of mankind . ;-)

No cameras were injured in the making of the review.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: digital cameras, gorillapod, gorillapod magnetic, joby, magnets, photography, stabilizer, tripod

 

Comments

  1. Anthony says

    May 20, 2010 at 3:55 pm

    Are the magnets possibly too strong to cause data loss, if stored next to camera body?

  2. Yavuz says

    May 21, 2010 at 7:18 am

    is not the magnet effects metal parts and electronics inside the camera?

  3. Eileen says

    May 21, 2010 at 4:56 pm

    Love the title! Thanks for writing about our products.

    As for the questions in the comments, as with all magnets, we don’t recommend prolong exposure. But there shouldn’t be a problem with the every day tossing of things into your bag.

  4. Eugene says

    July 8, 2010 at 10:38 pm

    Wow, this thing looks awesome. I want to buy it right now, but my camera’s weight is 15 oz. The specs say that it supports 11.5 oz. I think it should be able to handle the 15 oz. camera. I mean, the cameras in this review seem to be more than 11.5 oz, but I am not sure. Can it handle 15 oz?

    • Eric Reagan says

      July 8, 2010 at 11:32 pm

      @Eugene – I didn’t do a test based on the exact measurements, but I would expect that the 11.5 oz rating is pretty conservative based on what I’ve been able to do with it.

  5. Eugene says

    July 9, 2010 at 10:12 pm

    @Eric – Thank you. It seems that the FujiFilm camera used in this review is more than 11.5 oz. It is even hanging from the ceiling. Impressive.

  6. Anonymous says

    December 4, 2010 at 5:09 pm

    Has anyone had any problems with teh strong magnets interfering with digital electronics such as memory cards etc?

Trackbacks

  1. Friday Finds: Gorillatorch on the Run, Gorillapod Bike Rides, Groovy Equals Gorillapod Magnetic – Joby Blog says:
    May 21, 2010 at 4:39 pm

    […] “Joby Gorillapod Magnetic is Grooviness Incarnate” […]

  2. Gorillatorch Flare Makes the Road Safer When You Break Down, Doubles as Evil Robot — Tech Tilt says:
    June 8, 2010 at 10:34 am

    […] has the magnetic feet that were so popular with the original Gorillatorch and, most recently, the Gorillapod Magnetic.  It looks to be a handy device to keep with your car . . . or, it could be an evil robot that […]

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