#gorilla pod

GorillaPod 3K Kit The GorillaPod 3K Kit is an absolute must-have for vloggers, content creators, and anyone who values a reliable and versatile tripod. What sets the GorillaPod 3K Kit apart is its signature flexible legs, which allow you to secure your camera or smartphone to virtually any surface—tree branches, railings, rocks, or even furniture. This makes it ideal for both indoor studio work…

We’ve all been there right? You’re in the local camera shop, sizing up a new camera bag, only to bring it home to realise all the bits and pieces you have don’t fit in there all together! If you’re anything like me, then by now you probably have a camera bag for all occasions!

Here’s a run-down of my 10 Camera Bag Essentials - things that are always in my bag, almost all the time (whatever bag i happen to be using!), whatever the mission!

1. FOTGA Professional Rocket Air Blower

A little cheaper than it’s famous competitor; i’ve also found the FOTGA to be a little more hard wearing! It’s not just the perfect accessory for getting dust off of your lenses, filters and sensors. It’s also great for people writing blogposts whilst eating toast!

2. Hama Micro II Lens Pen

Hama are pretty much the go-to choice for lens cleaning pens. I’ve had many of them down the years and i think every one of them was a Hama. Hardwearing, long lasting, and does the job. The cleaning tip is also small enough to get in the viewfinder of your camera, or clean the lens of your smartphone. Good job Hama!

3. JOBY GorillaPod

These little monkeys, sorry, Gorillas are awesome! They come in a range of size and load bearing capacities (up to 5kg), and are perfect for Vloggers as well as conventional snappers! Particularly useful for shooting time-lapses from motorway flyovers!

4. K&F Concept 77mm Variable ND Filter

Winter is coming, and snowy landscapes with low sun will soon be before our lenses! In fact, a good ND filter is perfect any time of the year when shooting in sunny conditions, especially if you’re shooting video too! The best thing about the K&F is that it’s a variable filter, which means it can be adjusted to your light requirements. A must have piece of kit for anyone shooting outdoors!

5. Anker Power Bank

If you’ve got teenagers at home, roaming the streets with their smartphones, then you know all about power banks already! The funny thing is thought, they really are an essential piece of kit - especially if you’re out shooting for a day or more. I’ve used high-capacity power banks for some time now, and in many cases when i’m away from home for just a few days - i don’t even take a phone charger with me. These things will charge anything with a powered usb connection - phones, gopros, tablets etc etc

6. Western Digital Portable Hard Drive

Backing up data on the go is becoming an essential part of any photographers day. And a portable hard drive really is a does fall in the category of camera bag essentials! Available in a variety of capacities, it’s always useful to have one with you on the road. Some models are also available with a memory card input so you can back up images for editing later, without having to worry about data loss. Now….while we’re on the subject of backing up - you’ll need some of these first…

7. Sandisk Extreme PRO Memory Card

Yeah, well, this one is a bit obvious isn’t it! But, it never hurts to have a bunch of cards in your bag (i keep one in my wallet too - just in case i forget to pack some - believe me, i’ve done it!)! These things do go kaputt, so spares are essential! SanDisk cards are however super-reliable, fairly priced, and very fast!

8. Apple Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader

If you happen to be a true on-the-fly editor, then this is for you!! No more uploading to clouds or whatever so that you can edit on your iPad in the car home - just pop this in to any iOS device and the files on the card will automatically appear for import in the iOS photos app. What you do after that is up to you!

9. Manfrotto Universal Smartphone Clamp

This handy smartphone holder is the perfect companion for your Gorilla Pod or travel tripod. This phone clamp is grippy and sturdy, and can be threaded on to almost any small tripod. Again, really useful when you need to keep your phone completely steady when shooting at night or time-lapse.

10. DJI Mavic Mini

Yeah, i know what you’re thinking! A drone isn’t really a camera bag essential, is it? But why not? The latest drone from DJI has a new sensor on board, can shoot 2.7k video, and is under the weight limit for most countries requirement for registration! You just need to fly the thing responsibly!

A great piece of kit for landscape shooters that just can’t get into the right position for the shot they want! Don’t think that’s because it’s a drone you have to go on some record breaking flight and photograph that castle you’re in front of from 10,000ft! Most things look sooo good with just a slight change of perspective - sometimes just a few meters!

We’ve bought it this morning with my friend (Kenneth) since he need this one for his trip to Baguio. Since I want to have one and it’s really cheap (300 pesos HAHA) I really don’t have money left since I also bought gifts for my family. Well, consider this as a gift for myself haha. 

Ok, let’s start the review.

This Gorilla pod is about 25 cm long. It is really light and almost made out of plastic, but I tell you it is sturdy. The only metal thing here is the screw for the camera or smartphone clip...for....selfies... hmm

See, that screw in the middle? that’s the only metal there HAHA, anyways. The top with the screw is removable, it’s called Quick release since you can remove your camera anytime from your gorilla pod without removing the screw. It is easy access.

This is the gorilla pod with a smartphone. It’s really good, it holds well, and does the job. And below is an example of the quick release for EZ access haha

SELFIE. no. yes.  if you have Go Pro’s and action cams. This gorilla pod is really nice to have. Ok, for DSLRs. it’s ok to use, but not recommended. I recommend you go for the bigger size since it can hold the DSLR’s weight better.

Doing this is a bit risky, the top of the gorilla pod is a ball joint so it can bend to any direction. so make sure you have the control over the camera and you know it’s weight. If you are using a bigger gorilla pod, then go ahead haha it is really good. GOOD FOR VLOGGING YESSS.

The main purpose or the main difference of the gorilla pod to an ordinary tripod is that it can be placed any where. like seriously. It is really flexible. with that ball jointed legs you can place your camera to anything as long as the pod can be mounted. For example, an unbalanced terrain or field, you can adjust the legs to make your camera have a stable horizontal view or just stable. You can’t do that with a tripod because it’s legs are stiff, you can only adjust it’s height. But with the gorilla pod, that is not a problem.

Ok, for final verdict. The gorilla pod is REALLY GOOD. I recommend it to be used for outdoors, adventures and exploring, that kind of stuff because it is flexible, light and can adjust to it’s surroundings. but for using for formal Photography, like portraits and the like, use the tripod. You can’t adjust the gorilla pod’s height. It is limited where you can place it, where you can hang it. For Go Pros and smartphones, it is good to use a gorilla pod like mine in 25cm of height, but for using the DSLRs I recommend you to buy a bigger one since it can handle most of the DSLR’s weight.