Yes, the Gorillapod is awesome as a vlogging tripod. You have to admit, though, it does have its drawbacks – it’s not easy to grip, it’s slow to set up, and it’s not always 100 percent stable, even on a flat surface. If those three things are critical to your vlogging experience, you may want to check out the SwitchPod.
Like the Gorillapod, the device can switch from tripod to a handheld monopod, allowing you to stand it on a flat surface one moment and cradle it comfortably in one hand. Unlike it, the device can go from one mode to another in very short order, going from tripod to monopod and back in a literal second.
The SwitchPod has magnets installed on each of its three legs, allowing them to quickly snap together in a neat pile as soon as you fold them. The magnets are strong enough to keep the legs together securely, without being too strong, so they also easily come apart with a flick of the wrist, transforming into a tripod very easily. That means, none of the bending, straightening, and various other actions Joby’s tripod would normally require, making the camera’s transition from the tabletop to your hand and vice versa absolutely seamless. The legs are all solid one-piece metal, by the way, so there’s no way to use this to wrap around objects like you would with a Gorillapod, all while being largely unusable on anything other than flat surfaces.
It has a standard ¼-20-inch tripod screw at the head where you can mount and secure any size of camera in seconds (they claim it can support up to 100 pounds), with a bend on the legs putting the camera at the perfect distance for handheld selfies and vlogging footage. Sadly, there’s no integrated ball head, so your camera is fixed in just one angle, requiring you to install a compatible ball head if you want to be able to tilt and pan your camera at different angles on the go.
The SwitchPod’s legs have grooves that you can hook your fingers into, making it easier to grip it near the top when your arm’s getting tired, while also serving as convenient hanging points when you need to attach it to a strap or a carabiner during transport. It has recessed non-slip feet that ensures the tripod stays in place when it’s set down on a desk, while ¼-20-inch threads on each of the two outer legs allow you to install microphones, lights, and other accessories, allowing you to rig it into a full vlogging setup.
Construction is aluminum for the tripod, so it’s sufficiently durable while being lightweight at just 11.1 ounces. When collapsed, it measures just 11 x 0.75 x 1.5 inches (length x width x depth), making it considerably easier to grip in one hand compared to many of the alternatives, all while taking up little space in your backpack, so you don’t have to carry it by hand the entire time.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for the SwitchPod. You can reserve a unit for pledges starting at $79.