When I bought my Kodak ZI8, the first thing I thought of was how I was going to mount it. As well as being a fun thing to take with me and film things like the Gadget Show, I am planning to do some home music videos (performance, not arty) and also do some filming in the kitchen; and although my camera tripod will do the former, it wouldn’t do the latter, where I would want a view down on a kitchen top.
So I needed a flexible mount that is compact but versatile. I was persuaded to buy a Gorillapod, which cost me upwards of 30 quid. I’ve had it a couple of months, and I am still nervous of trusting my camera to its tenuous rubbery grip. It seems to work quite well wrapped around a gnarled tree branch or fence post, but not so good on a melamine kitchen shelf.
Then when I was in Brighton, I saw one of these in Maplins. It is simply a camera screw-mount, on a flexible stalk attached to a whopping big (rubber-lined) sprung clip. When it is attached to anything – door frame, kitchen cupboard, spare mike stand – it stays attached. While not pocket sized, it is small enough to not be a problem to carry about.
And it costs £9.99.
I wonder if I kept the box of my Gorillapod?
Originally posted on my WordPress blog as http://www.filklore.com/2010/05/camera-mounts-expensive-and-cheap/.
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