MINI TESTS
3 LEGGED THING MONTY 1, 2 AND 3 £25/$30, £35/$38, £40/$45 3leggedthing.com
SPECIFICATIONS
Material: Aluminium Monty 1: Dimensions (wxh): 53x50mm/2.1x2in Weight: 78g/2.5oz Monty 2: Dimensions (wxh): 70x53mm/2.8x2.1in Weight: 100g/3.5oz Monty 3: Dimensions (wxh):
to stop your monitor twisting. A lever clamp base attaches to 20mm Picatinny rails. It also has 360˚ panning and tilt clamped down with a lever. The Lava colour has orange details to jazz it up. Top of the range is the Monty 3 kit, which also has a 1/4in-20 and spring- loaded locator pin on the top. The lever clamp base attaches to any 20mm Picatinny rails, and it comes supplied with a 20x70mm rail. The base can be removed to reveal a coldshoe mount, and acts like a quick release so you can quickly remove the bracket and leave it attached to your monitor – it adds a bit of extra height as well. The mount has ratchet-controlled tilt and we tested it in the Darkness colour. All three are available in every choice of colour. A Picatinny rail is similar to a Nato rail, but where this has metric measurements, the Picatinny is a US military spec system – and they have distinct differences in their designs. With the Picatinny, V-angles are used for accessory alignment, while the Nato accessory rail uses the top
It might be a bit too obvious to say that by testing all three versions of 3 Legged Thing’s Monty monitor mounts, we’ve done the full Monty. But that’s exactly what we have done. It’s the first move into mounting kit by the British firm that usually focuses on cool tripods and supports, but following a recent move into audio, it’s branching out more. Like everything the Bedford-based company does, the Monty units are stylish, well-built from machined aluminium and do what they’re meant to. It’s top-quality kit, made to last. The range is made of three small pan-and-tilt mounts; the kind often used for monitors, but that also work with more – like small LEDs or mics. The Monty 1 is the most basic, but offers what many filmmakers want. It has a coldshoe mount and 1/4in-20 thread on the base, another 1/4in-20 thread on top and 360˚ panning and tilt that can be tightened with a lever. Ours came in Moss: a stealthy green colour. The Monty 2 has a 1/4in-20 and spring-loaded locator pin on the top
60x58mm/2.3x2.2in Weight: 102g/3.6oz
surface. In use, we noticed no real difference, managing to fit the Monty 2 and 3 to a standard Nato rail that many filmmakers have. However, the screws to mount the Picatinny rail that comes with the Monty 3 aren’t typical screws from Nato rails, so you may well have to source your own. As always, 3 Legged Thing nails the details, such as drilled holes in the thumbwheels to tighten the clamps so you can use an allen wrench. While we like the thumbscrew to tighten down the tilt adjustment in Monty 1 and 2, we wish the 3 had it too, instead of the ratchet-only system. But that’s a personal choice, as it still held our monitor well. PRO MOVIEMAKER RATING: 9/10 Cool and trendy mounts that work well and are affordable Pros: 3 Legged Thing always gets the details right Cons: Picatinny rails aren’t common
THE FULL MONTY Each version offers different features, but they can all do the job for filmmakers
“The Monty mounts are stylish, well-built from machined aluminium and do what they’re meant to”
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