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If you need to shoot off-axis in a hurricane, use your Gitzo. As long as you understand that it has a small footprint compared to larger tripods and that you consequently need to be more aware of the center of gravity of your camera rig, you should be fine.
Will it replace your Gitzo series 5 carbon fiber tripod and Markins ball head. No.
Within its intended niche, the GP8 is an extremely cool and useful accessory. If you hang a coat with 60 lbs of bricks in the pockets on a coat rack, it's going to tip over.
But if you're hiking in the mountains or flying across the country to visit family, this is what you should take with you. It's small, light, versatile, relatively inexpensive, and with some clever use of your surroundings, it will achieve 95% of the benefit of any other tripod.Negative comments about Gorillapod's stability are overstated, in my opinion.
If you need to shoot portrait, use an L bracket. While it's true that you probably shouldn't trust the Focus with 11 lbs of gear, I do use it regularly with a gripped Nikon d700 and 70-200mm which weighs in at about 7 lbs.Overall this is a fantastic accessory and I highly recommend it to anyone who sometimes needs extreme portability and versatility but doesn't want to sacrifice the benefits of tripod shooting.
If you shape the legs like it was a walking monster octopus (minus 4 legs)(bend (from top to bottom) at ball #5 and ball #7 on all 3 legs) the Gorillapod seems to be able to handle and maintain the weight very nicely.Absolutely no problem with my 30D mounted onto the GP8.I'm also using Joby's BH1 Ball Head which is an excellent addition to my set-up. I use the Gorillapod Focus GP8 with my Battery-Packed 5D and 17-40L Lens and 30D mounted with a 50mm 1.4 lens.First off, the Battery-Packed 5D is (sadly) a bit too heavy for the GP8 in that the legs start to sag due to the tremendous amount of weight from the 5D. It allows easy and convenient mounting and off-mounting of my cameras from the Gorillapod. Not a big deal. I've learned how to take advantage of the Gorillapod's flexibility. - Buy a second Quick Release Replacement Clip if you're using more than one camera.At first, the Gorillapod's legs are stiff and a bit hard to position/maneuver but after it loosened up with use, it seems to flex and shape very easily. It's light, compact and easy to carry around vs having to carry around my manfrotto tripod.All in all, I'm very happy with my purchase and recommend the Gorillapod Focus GP8 to anyone looking for an inexpensive, portable, durable, flexible and compact tripod.Get one when you can.
If you have ever tried to take pics with an SLR and have propped it up for that great shot with something unstable--YOU NEED THIS. I used it recently to take photos in a stream--witht he lense just above the water--this was great. No more worries about your camera falling over. Incredibly flexible. Lower than any of my tripods could ever go. We used it for the holidays and family self portraits--its alot of fun.
I use this one with a D300 and medium sized lenses. I just love these tripods. You still have to curve the legs around once to make it more stable.Arca Swiss P1 works wonderfully with this rig as well. My best advice is to buy a model that supports more than you need. I now use the SLR model on my point and shoot which is SO much better than the P&S size. I use it with my full tripod and it might be overkill for the average person. You can get buy with a one way up and down head if you need to.
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R7TVGXVD3XU3V The gorillapod is a great alternative to carrying a standard tripod and as long as you use a sturdy ballhead it can handle a full frame DSLR and a heavy lens. I've provided a video example using the gorilapod with a RRS-BH30 ballhead and L-bracket mounted to a Canon 5D Mark 11 24-70 f2.8
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