The quality of pretty much any photograph can be improved with a tripod – once a camera is held rock-steady, you can drop the ISO setting and use a longer exposure to capture a far crisper image. The problem is that tripods are big, heavy and don’t fit into a pocket – all key considerations if your camera of choice is a compact. A mini tripod, on the other hand, will and that’s just what the Manfrotto Modo Pocket is.

Actually, the keen-eyed will have noticed that the Modo Pocket isn’t a tripod at all, but rather a ‘quadrapod’ – it sits on four legs rather than three. Once screwed to a camera’s tripod mount, the gadget folds flat when not in use – the idea is that you leave it attached to the camera at all times (it even has its own tripod mount, should you need one). With a folded width of 35mm though, it’s wider than many digital compacts and will stick out both front and back as a result – hardly ideal.

It’s also a little awkward to unfold and fold, but this is mostly due to its chunky design. The folding supports sit on sprung hinges and are stopped from spreading too far apart by a length of string. Together with the relatively crude stamped metal parts, this makes the Modo Pocket look a bit of a Heath Robinson contraption, but there’s no denying that it works. Sort of.

The big problem is that with four legs, the Modo Pocket can only be used on relatively level surfaces, whereas a tripod can hold a camera horizontally, no matter how uneven the ground. So, while it isn’t completely without merit, the Modo Pocket doesn’t really solve the portable tripod problem and if you’re looking for a pocket-size way to hold your compact camera steady, try the infinitely more versatile Gorillapod instead.

Manfrotto Modo Pocket

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