I love the Gorillapods. I own several and use them for everything from holding camcorders and compacts in place as tripods to light stands that can fit into some tight and unusual places.

The one thing I’ve always wanted Joby to make was a ballhead. Well they listened because the Joby Ballhead is here.

I saw a prototype at PMA in Vegas last March and that prototype is now in production and available for $44.95 from the Joby site.

It’s really quite cool. It has a built-in bubble level, is light weight (only 10.9 ounces) and very sturdy for its size. The Joby Ballhead offers a full 360-degree pan and a 90-degree tilt. You can leave the quick-release camera plate installed on your camera so it is easy to move the camera on and off the ballhead/tripod without taking time each session to screw and unscrew the camera onto the tripod mount.

I tested the head on a Gorillapod SLR. It gave my Panasonic LX3 full support. Joby points out that the ballhead holds up to 6.6 pounds. I should also note it works with any tripod, not just Gorillapods – but the two are a natural match.

The ballhead turns and swivels very smoothly and the huge adjustment knob makes it quick and easy to lock the head down when you need a steady shot.

You might be tempted to think the Joby Ballhead is a toy. You’d be dead wrong. It’s very well built and tougher than it looks in the photo. This is a very serious piece of gear that will absolutely find a home in my camera bag.

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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store