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
Price
£24.95 inc VAT
Rating
2 out of 6
Good
Solidly made,
Bad
Needs a level surface; wider than many compact cameras; ridiculously expensive
Verdict
The Modo Pocket is a neat idea, but this is one problem that's already been solved much more effectively by other gadgets
Apple powerbook g4 laptp battery, the replacement one, is high quality, low price, brand new, fast delivery and safety in using. It fits for our apple powerbook g4 laptops well, and substitute the apple powerbook g4 laptop battery well, too. So it can prove our life quality exactly.
Orange may have been the first to launch the BlackBerry Bold here in the UK, but eager RIM fans may have got less than they bargained for when they...
Read more...
Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 laid bare
What's this? Someone's done a strip down of the Mini 9 - aka Dell E - already? Actually, turns out it's Dell itself, with its handy Service Manual rev...
Read more...
BBC iPlayer will be on Nokia N96
Don’t tell anyone until tomorrow but the BBC and Nokia have teamed up to ensure that Auntie’s catch-up-TV service, iPlayer, will be avai...
Read more...
HP's buy-in-a-bag laptop reduces packaging by 97%
Every now and then you come across an idea so brilliantly simple you wonder why no one's thought of it before. In response to a challenge from Wal-M...
Read more...
BlackBerry Bold now available on Vodafone
Following on from Orange and T-Mobile, Vodafone has now launched its own version of the RIM BlackBerry Bold. As on Orange and T-Mobile, it's availab...
Read more...
Sony recalls Vaio TZ models
Sony is recalling hundreds of thousands of Vaio notebooks for fear they might overheat. The issue relates to a wiring problem identified by Sony in...
Read more...
Behold the naptop bag
We've all been there, long day in the office, crazy delays at the airport, eyelids start getting heavy and all you want is a spot to rest your weary...
Read more...
New Apple multi-touch patent filing revealed
We’re glad we’re not patent lawyers because Apple’s most recent filing with the US Patents and Trademark Office is making our head...
Read more...
OFFICIAL: Dell's 8.9in Inspiron Mini 9
It's here! Yes, after months of rumours, leaks and elastic launch dates, the Inspiron Mini 9 - let us use its correct title with certainty for the f...
Read more...
Palm Treo Pro unboxing video
Palm formally launched its new Treo Pro smartphone (£399 contract-free) on Tuesday and we received our review unit last night. We’ll po...
Read more...
Latest reviews
Is the Palm Treo Pro really a BlackBerry Bold killer?
We’ve had the Palm Treo Pro in the Mobile Computer office for a couple of days now and to tide you over until we publish our full review, we...
Read more...
HTC Touch Pro
HTC may not have named it as such, but its new Touch Pro smartphone is really nothing more than a Touch Diamond with a keyboard. Well, we say &ldqu...
Read more...
Hands-on with the HTC Touch Pro
We have the HTC Touch Pro in the office at the moment, but we thought we’d give you taster of this new Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone before ...
Read more...
RIM BlackBerry Bold
BlackBerry devices may be the de facto standard in the world of corporate messaging, but RIM’s share of the smartphone market is actually on ...
Read more...
Celio Redfly Mobile Companion C8
If you’re on the lookout for a small, light, inexpensive laptop and are happy to sacrifice a few non-essential features for the sake of port...
Read more...
Hands-on with the Asus U6 bamboo laptop
Asus first unveiled its ‘Ecobook’ laptop over a year ago, but while the idea for a bamboo-clad portable made from recyclable plastic an...
Read more...
Asus Xonar U1 USB Audio Station
If a review of the Asus Xonar U1 USB Audio Station isn’t quite what you expected to see after searching for “big knobs for laptops&rdqu...
Read more...
Asus Eee PC 904
Well, this is it – the last Eee PC-branded ultra-portable that Asus will be launching. Well, for the time being, at least. As with the Eee P...
Read more...
Nokia E71
Although the Microsoft Exchange support that’s part of Apple's new 2.0 firmware now makes the iPhone and iPhone 3G a more plausible choice for...
Read more...
Hands-on with the Asus Eee PC 904
Asus has delivered what it says will be its last Eee PC portable for a while (other Eee-branded products are on the way, though) – the Eee PC ...
Read more...
How to prevent US Customs from peeking at your private data
Not so long ago, the simple way to ensure that private data stored on your laptop stayed that way was to encrypt it. Not any more. Now that that U...
Read more...
Underclock your Asus Eee PC for better battery life
If you own an Eee PC with a Celeron-M processor, here’s a useful tip. The Super-Hybrid Engine utility that’s designed for Asus’ I...
Read more...
How to flash your BIOS without a floppy drive
As explained in our review, a problem with the way in which some MSI Wind U100 retail units respond to a fully depleted battery means that they nee...
Read more...
How to recover lost photos from a digital camera memory card
Accidentally reformatting or deleting photos from a memory card full of digital snaps is one way to end a holiday on a low note, but it do...
Read more...
Optimise Firefox for the Asus Eee PC
Asus may have upped the screen resolution on the Eee PC 900, but 1024 x 600 can still be a little cramped for web browsing – and the 800 x...
Read more...
Create a mobile website in seconds with Wirenode
With web publishing now easier and cheaper than ever, virtually every company in existence has its own web site. Creating a mere website is...
Read more...
Connect to Xbox Live with a USB 3G modem
Judging by the number of emails we receive asking how to do it, lots of people are trying – and failing – to get their Xbox 360 games ...
Read more...
Use a Windows Mobile smartphone as a Wi-Fi router
Getting your laptop online via 3G is no big deal these days, thanks to the wide range of mobile broadband deals that are available. If you just wa...
Read more...
Sync your Firefox bookmarks with the iPhone
As much as we love the Apple iPhone, we’re the first to admit that its iTunes synchronisation options are pretty inadequate. The problem is th...
Read more...
Eject your laptop CD or DVD-ROM drive with a key-press using AutoHotKey
David Walliams (no, not him - we asked) writes:
I have an old Panasonic Toughbook and after years of good service, the CD eject bu...
Read more...
Latest features
Lock down your laptop
Tap tap. That’s how long it takes for a hacker to steal data from your laptop computer. As you're reading this sentence, in fact, a snarly b...
Read more...
Is Intel's Atomic project more about low-cost than high-power portability?
Intel launched its low-power Atom processor at Computex earlier this week, but the device's true raison d'être is a source of confusion for m...
Read more...
Which mobile broadband deal is best for you?
The novelty of video calling may have done little to entice customers to the 3G networks that mobile operators paid so much for back ...
Read more...
The Nokia N810 and The Doctrine of Insufficient Adulation
A few weeks ago I was handed Nokia’s new N810 to review. “Great,” I thought, “I quite liked the N800 – the previous v...
Read more...
How hot laptops can damage your health
Anyone who’s ever used a laptop computer will know that they can get
a little warm after just a few minutes. If you always work at a desk or
...
Read more...