During the post-PMA lull in the digital camera universe, I've stumbled upon two interesting (albeit a little odd) accessories, that might just help you get that difficult shot. Both the Monster Pod and the Fat Gecko Camera Mount let you boldly go where no tripod will take you, letting you stick your camera in the most unlikely places.
During the post-PMA lull in the digital camera universe, I've stumbled upon two interesting (albeit a little odd) accessories, that might just help you get that difficult shot. Both the Monster Pod and the Fat Gecko Camera Mount let you boldly go where no tripod will take you, letting you stick your camera in the most unlikely places.
The Monster Pod isn't new (CNET's Crave ran a post on it yesterday and back in 2007), having come out a couple years back at CES. It's one of those gadgets you see in the SkyMall catalog (when you're admittedly oxygen deprived) and think, "boy, I could use one of those!" Essentially a huge glob of "patented viscoelastic polymer" (read: Silly Putty), with a tripod mount attached, the Monster Pod (which you can grab for $18 at Amazon.com) promises to let you stick your camera to any surface for those hard-to-get shots. It will hold up to a 15-ounce camera, so while you shouldn't have any trouble with a point-and-shoot, for bigger cameras like the Panasonic Lumix G1 or a real dSLR, you may want to take a look at the Fat Gecko for your camera-sticking purposes.
The award-winning Fat Gecko camera mount costs three or four times as much (at an MSRP of $89.99), but it's a much more rugged piece of equipment than the Monster Pod and supports over 5 pounds (e.g., an SLR plus standard lens). The Fat Gecko lets you mount your camera to a number of surfaces using the three attachment options: a double-suction cup mount for smooth surfaces (like planes, trains, and automobiles), a clamp-style handlebar mount (for motorcycles and the like), and a strap bicycle mount. Unlike the Monster Pod, the Fat Gecko allows for 360-degree tilt, turn, and rotation.
