Joby Gorillapod SLR

purchased a Joby slr zoom for my Nikon D40 and kit lenses (mainly used with the 18-55mm) from Amazon approximately 18 months ago. Amazon was selling this innovative tripod the cheapest at the time so i didn't hesitate and ordered one. My camera and the Joby were inseparable most of the time and i got some excellent shots with their help. Sadly about 6 months of ownership one of the joints of one leg of the pod became loose resulting in the Joby not being able to take the weight of my D40.

I contactd Amazon and they sent me a new one after i sent the faulty one back. The new one was a joy to use again and as before handled longish night exposures of up to 10 seconds (didn't test longer than that)without introducing noticeable blur in images checked at their full size 3000 by 2008 pixels with the Nikon. Sadly and possibly inevitably the same fault described above occured again so am once more left with a tripod that won't stand up properly but could still be used wrapped around 'things' while i held it with one hand and used my remote to trigger the shutter for night shots.

I really loved using the Joby but this fault means i would not consider buying another until or if the looseness can be prevented so i am now looking to buy a light good quality compact tripod.