In this article I take a look at this little tripod that LLANO sent me at no cost. Keep in mind that any company that I deal with has to agree to my terms, which means they have no say in the content of anything I produce and they are not allowed to preview anything before posting.
Watch the video or the live stream unboxing on YouTube:
The tripod has a noticeable amount of weight to it considering the size. The exterior feels like it is made from a plastic or a composite material. There is a standard 1/4-20" tripod thread connected to a ball head. The locking nut attached to the connection thread has a grippy rubber material to help secure whatever device you mount to it.
 |
| The tripod's box reminds me of a toothpaste container in size and shape. |
 |
| A close-up view of the top mounting plate, highlighting the standard 1/4-20 thread and the rubber surface designed to grip the bottom of your camera. |
The 1/4-20 UNC thread is the global standard for tripod mounts on consumer and professional cameras. The "1/4" refers to the diameter of the screw in inches, and "20" refers to the number of threads per inch. This standardization allows almost any modern camera to be mounted securely to almost any tripod. -The above information was generated by Gemini Pro.
The ball head mechanism is controlled by a locking dial on the side. You can loosen it to adjust the angle and then lock it down into a specific position. The legs fold out easily and feature a rubber material on the contact points. Depending on how you have these adjusted, there is rubber material on both the inside and outside of the feet. This means it will probably still grip the surface if the legs are only partially down.
 |
| A close-up look at the folding legs, showing the rubberized grip material applied to both the inside and outside edges for better traction on varying surface sizes. |
To utilize the extendable feature, you simply pull on the central column. There is definitely some tightness to it, as the tripod appears to only rely on a friction connection for the vertical shaft.
 |
| Extending the center column. |
Once extended, I checked the balance point and found that a fair amount of the weight naturally sits toward the back of the grip base.
 |
| Balancing the fully extended tripod on one finger to demonstrate where the center of mass sits. A good amount of the weight is heavily biased toward the grip base, which is the goal with a tripod. |
Testing the tripod with an actual camera started with a GoPro Hero 9 Black equipped with the Max Lens Mod. This setup adds a considerable amount of weight to the top. At the base height, the tripod handled it easily. When fully extended, the camera adds a lot of leverage for the short legs to deal with.
 |
| The GoPro Hero 9 Black with Max Lens Mod mounted to the fully extended tripod to test balance and stability. |
If you tap or push down on it from the top, it holds up well. If you push it off axis of the tripod legs where there is no direct support beneath it, the setup tips over.
 |
| Demonstrating the tipping point of the tripod when the heavy GoPro setup is pushed off axis where there is no direct leg support. |
I also tested a few larger and more unusual cameras. First was a Polaroid Now+ Generation 3 instant camera. It has a tripod mount on the bottom and is relatively lightweight for its size. The llano tripod handled it decently well at the base height. I extended the tripod to its maximum height with the Polaroid attached. While it technically worked, it is not something I would recommend doing for long periods unless absolutely necessary.
 |
| The Polaroid camera mounted on the fully extended tripod. While it holds, it is not an ideal long term setup when fully extended. |
Next was a camera from the company MaxMango, a waterproof camera that is significantly larger than a GoPro. It was a decent fit, though having more weight off to the side of the mount makes it quite a bit more likely to fall if it gets pushed from the opposite side. However, using the extended tripod as a handheld selfie stick with the Max Mango worked well. The weight feels a little heavy on the wrist, but the tripod friction joints held up without collapsing and the ball head also worked okay.
 |
| Testing the friction based extension pole by using the llano tripod as a handheld selfie stick with the larger MaxMango waterproof camera attached. |
Action cameras and compact vlogging setups often benefit from extendable mini tripods. They provide enough distance to capture a wide field of view and help deal with cameras that have fixed focus while keeping the user's arm out of the frame, serving a dual purpose as both a static desk stand and a handheld extending camera selfie stick grip. -The above information was partially generated by Gemini Pro.
I also tested the selfie mode using the GoPro. I attached a standard plastic action camera mount adapter to the 1/4-20 thread. This all worked fine.
 |
| Attaching a standard plastic action camera mount adapter to the 1/4-20 thread to test selfie and vlogging modes specifically with the GoPro setup. |
To really push the limits of this plastic composite build, I attached a Nikon Z5 full frame mirrorless camera. In a pinch, like if you left your main tripod in the car and just needed a quick static shot on a desk, this could technically work. It held the camera. Because this tripod is mostly plastic/composite, I would not trust it long term with heavy equipment. When I extended the tripod with the Nikon attached, I could visibly feel and see the pole flex under the weight. It is not something I would do in a real world scenario unless I had to.
 |
| Pushing the limits by mounting a Nikon Z5 to the fully extended tripod. The ]extension column visibly flexes under the heavy payload. |
Finally, I tested some old compact digital cameras to see how it handles digicams. I mounted an old 2-megapixel Canon PowerShot S200 ELPH. This worked decently fine despite the tripod socket being located far to one side of the camera body. Though pressing the setup fully extended from the opposite side of the weight will be more likely to fall over.
 |
| A vlogging test using a Pentax Optio point and shoot camera mounted to the extended tripod to simulate a lightweight mobile video setup. |
I also tested a Pentax Optio that I originally bought in Japan back in 2006. Both of these small cameras felt okay on the tripod, particularly in selfie or vlogging mode.
Overall, the llano Action Camera Extendable Tripod is a very compact mount. Holding the fully folded and collapsed tripod in one hand shows its overall portability. It is the kind of accessory you could easily throw into a camera bag and forget about until you need a quick vlogging grip or a simple tabletop stand.
 |
| Holding the fully folded and collapsed llano tripod in one hand to show its overall compact size and portability for traveling or tossing into a camera bag. |
We will see how the friction connection for the extension tube will hold up over time with repeated use along with the ball-head part of the tripod. For now, it seems to work as intended.
Check out the tripod through my link:
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases! Usually anything within 24 hours of the visit. It doesn't have to be the specific products I linked.