PNY Universal Tripod Review

Reviewed by Rebecca Wong

A tripod is not something that was ever on my wish list a few months ago. But when the PNY Universal Tripod landed on my doorstep I was really excited about the benefits it could bring to mine and my family’s life, particularly since lockdown!  Like most people during this time, communication now is largely through my phone and especially using apps that allow for face-to-face talks with loved ones. My children are using my phone more and more to complete homework, take part in online learning games and activities and to watch YouTube as another resource for learning. Mummy school is well and truly underway here! However, holding a phone and transmitting very shaky, wobbly images to our friends and family, trying to prop it up on a home-made phone supports or trying to also be hands-free such as when following online workshops, was proving to be rather frustrating.

The PNY Universal Tripod arrived in rather sleek looking packaging and felt unbelievably light in weight and very compact, to the point where I wasn’t sure if the tiny box could contain all I needed it to! The print on the box is concise and informative and also told me that a Bluetooth wireless remote is included to help take selfies.  The parts supplied were incredibly simple to put together and they felt very sturdy and high quality. The phone or camera holder can be mounted in two different orientations and is rotational by 360 degrees. It can be locked into place with a lever really easily once you are happy with the position. This tripod is definitely for table-top use only. Its height is only approximately 15cm when the legs are straight, in this way they create a handle and so it can be used as a mini selfie stick also.

Mounting the phone into the holder is really simple to do, by stretching out the arms and allowing it to grip the phone. I then attempted to make the stand by separating the legs to create a tripod. This is where I ran into problems. I expected to be able to make full use of the height of the legs, as the picture on the packaging depicts. But the legs were far too loose to hold that position and the weight of the phone is too much, which resulted in it collapsing. The tripod must be used with all 3 legs separated flat across the table to hold the phone steady and balance the whole thing out. This, I feel is a bit of a shame as the camera angles then become a bit too skewed and its quite bottom heavy. That said it is still good for viewing and being hands free when needed.

Connecting the bluetooth remote to the phone was really easy, which I was impressed with as this is the one thing I thought I’d have difficulty with. There is no need to download extra apps, it just took a couple of minutes to do and the remote can be used to not only snap photos but also to start and stop videos when filming. This is really handy to stop you having to do the end of video ‘lean-over’ to stop recording. 

As a compact sturdy mini phone holder I would say this is great and it now has a primary place on my desk to enable me to use my phone hands-free in various ways while I work. I can’t help but feel that the packaging is misleading. The tripod is unable to stand tall on all 3 legs, its main functionality is as a phone holder with adjustable angles. For at home use and everyday communication, this is a great item which comes at a price of £39.99 and can be purchased from Amazon here. 

Rating: 4/5

RRP: £39.99