The Price

$50

The Verdict

It’s handy, even if we’d like to see the price drop by $10.

Taking the Gorillatorch out of the box, my immediate reaction was that it was a bit smaller than I’d expected. Especially compared to their dSLR tripod, pictured here, it’s a little guy.
But the small size isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Coupled with bright light output (that will blind you head-on) and feet that will stick firmly to metal surfaces (seriously, if you twist the light, the legs flex while the feet stayed glued), it’s incredibly multifunctional. You can wrap or stick the torch almost anywhere you need some extra light.
I also loved the six-shooter style AA battery compartment.

Of course, this is an LED light. And that means it’s more of a spotlight than a warmly diffused bulb. Reading requires creative positioning to avoid the overexposed centre. Luckily, the LED is on a dimmer, so you can tweak the output pretty aggressively.

My biggest qualm is the price. For $50, I’d prefer the LED to be removable so the tripod could be used to hold a camera as well. But if you’ve got a good job, then sure, the Gorillatorch will scratch that consumer itch. [Gorillatorch]

Magnetism in feet is quite strong

Extremely high quality, flexible Gorillapod legs

Useful, dimming LED

Removable head would be welcome

Sometimes harsh spotlight output

[Maxwell]

I’m always the kind of photo terrorist who just extends his arm to take self-portraits — often winning the Multiple Chin World Record — but this photo has convinced me that I need one of these portable tripod things for my trips. [Joby—Thanks OMGPonies!]

Sure, $US20 is pretty steep for a keychain, but if you want to be able to pop your camera down easily anywhere without carrying an extra tripod around, this looks like a pretty great solution. [Quirky]

He gutted an old Nikon point and shoot for its tripod screw mount, then glued it to one of those cup holder iPhone bases that you find in automotive accessories. The result is an iPhone tripod that requires no modification to the phone’s body itself, which is pretty handy if you’re anything less than a full-time iPhone photographer. [where art goes when it dies]

According to a team of Japanese scientists, tripods under 1.5kg can actually worsen camera shake.

Nishi Lab and Tani Electronics co-developed a new tool/method to measure the effects of camera shake. What they found is that SLR cameras lose 1/4 of their resolution to mirror shock—the vibration from the camera’s internal mirror bouncing up.

To make matters worse, the team discovered that this mirror vibration can be exacerbated by mounting the camera to a tripod under 1.5kg.

Of course, even a light tripod can thwart general human shakiness. So while a tripod may enhance mirror shake, it’s still probably helpful in eliminating human shake. And I’m guessing the human shake is a bigger problem for most amateur photographers. [Tech On! via Crave]

Using the aluminium ProPrompter Wing, an iPhone or iPod touch can be mounted to any tripod to work alongside small to midsized camcorders for a teleprompter system that’s readable from 15 feet away. The $US99 (introductory price) system is coupled a free software available in the App Store.

Of course, as the company is catering to the pro video crowd, there’s also a ProPrompter ProMag rig that features a more studio-traditional setup including an anti-reflection hood and beam splitting glass. That’ll run you $US695 (introductory). Well, not you. I mean somebody with too much money to spend on gimmicky teleprompter equipment. [gizmag]

[Maxwell]

In our original post, we speculated that using a gun stock for shooting a camera seemed like a good way for a photographer to get shot. And we wondered how common these stocks could be. Duran wrote back with a short, informed response, but I was able to twist his arm into telling us a bit more.

Pointing a long lens mounted on a stock is indeed a recipe for getting shot if you’re not careful. In fact in training at Fort McCoy, Wi., I was “shot” by Soldiers on practice missions.

I was not where they expected me to be… i.e. mixed in with the opposition who happened to be shooting at them at the time. Thus, I was “shot” at with blanks during the training even though I was in uniform. They *saw* what they assumed was a rifle in an area where bad guys were shooting at them..

This, of course, is why we train. Even as military media, we need to train in realistic conditions. It was a learning event for both myself and the Soldiers in training.

At Kajaki Dam in Afghanistan, I was there to get some on the ground coverage for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the Afghan National Army. The Afghan National Army troops there are “spot on” as the Brits say and the dam has great strategic importance. There are lots of bad guys.
I took my Bushhawk stock along for the ride out to Kajaki. The stock is of limited use as in remote regions such as this, the local population has never seen a DSLR so they limited trust when you’re pointing a long lens at them. In operations where we were going patrols or at night with night vision I’d use it a lot. However, when going where the bad guys are, there is little worry as I was with some of the best Soldiers in the world.

Okay, so why risk losing your life. Good question. Lemme see if I can figure it out.

Ok. It is an extremely stable platform to shoot pictures with (i.e. that’s why rifles are designed that way). It is very natural and comfortable which results in good images. When using long lenses, holding the camera steady is damn important.

Plus, you can sling the camera stock while walking. This is very important when trying to keep up with Soldiers that are in *much* better shape than you (lost 9 kilos during the tour). Although I’m a Reservist, there’s only one standard… so I have to keep up with Olympic-grade athletes when on Active duty.

Monopods work very well but are a pain in the arse when on the move. You have to open them, then close them when you’re going to roll out. Which happens unexpectedly at times :)

Handholding with two hands is about the only way and how most of the world gets it done. I would not advise *any* media in a war zone to use a stock. In my case, I’m a member of the armed forces and I’m with the guys with the guns. We used to joke about it in that the Taliban would wonder if we bought some some secret weapon since we were the only Americans at Kajaki. Either way, the bad guys would shoot at me anyway on any patrols with little regard if I had a camera or a rifle.

My main thing was not to make the local population feel threatened…
I have to say that there is something inherently fun about shooting a camera like a rifle. It is really more fun than I should admit. I found myself grinning every time I used the darn thing.

I guess there’s just something obsessive with me and rifle stocks for cameras. I actually designed one in drafting class in high-school but it wasn’t until this last tour that I ponied up the cheese to buy one. It’s just a lot of fun.

- Jeff Duran

or Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Duran one weekend a month, two weeks a year (unless called to go to far away places and meet new people… and take their picture).

A special thanks to Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Duran for writing in and sharing his experiences. You can see more of his photos here and here.