gorillapod

I noticed the Gorillapod online a few weeks ago, but now that I have seen on in person I can endorse it as a genius invention.

Tripods are really handy. They provide the steady hand needed to take pictures in low light and the extra hand when there is no one else around to snap a shot of you and your friends. The problem is that tripods are bulky and not as convenient to carry around as your slim pocket camera. That is where the gorilla pod comes in.

It is small (6 inches long, 1 inch across), light (1.6 ounces) and adjustable in three dimensions. Better still, it is more flexible than a conventional triopd as its twisty legs cling to all kinds of objects (poles, railings, bottles, tree branches, signs – you get the idea). The original version is $21.95 from Amazon and other electronics stores; a larger version designed for heavier SLRs is $39.95.