Gorillamobile

 

I’ve been wanting a “tripod” for my iPhone and finally decided to try the Gorillamobile by Joby. So far, so good.

The Gorillamobile is a frame and tripod combination. The two piece frame surrounds the iPhone and slides onto a clip on the adjustable tripod. The tripod is adjustable by virtue of its flexible joints and legs. The frame is easily assembled around a naked iPhone but not a dressed-up iPhone inside a case.

In a moment of humility, I have to admit that I thought the frame snapped onto the tripod clip (and it can). The frame does not, however, easily snap off the clip. In fact, as is “clearly” illustrated by the pictorial instructions, the frame is supposed to slide onto the clip. On close inspection, one corner of the frame is relieved so that the clip on the tripod can easily slide on or off at this corner. (In the above picture, this relieved corner is at top left. Yes, I snapped the clip onto the frame in the wrong location.) In addition, the frame has slightly raised support ribs in the middle of both a long side and a short side. When sliding the frame onto the clip, additional holding power is provided by sliding (push harder) the clip over these support ribs.

In use, the Gorillamobile seems study enough, especially remembering that the iPhone shutter is triggered by removing one’s finger from the shutter button. The iPhone doesn’t have a built-in shutter delay and, up to now, I’ve not installed any of the camera Apps that include a shutter delay (hey, a good blog topic!). Adjusting the iPhone and Gorillamobile for composition of a photo takes a bit of trial and error but can be done reasonably well.

The flexible legs of the Joby tripod can be used to wrap around other supports such as tree limbs, rails, fences, etc.

An adapter to be attached to the standard threaded tripod mount in most cameras is included with the Gorillamobile. The adapter does fit my G12 and the G12 can be used on the flexible tripod; however, when doing so, the G12 is easily vibrated. If I ever use the G12 on the flexible tripod, I hope to remember to use the shutter delay.