3 Legged Thing Announce New Monopods
British tripod manufacturer 3 Legged Thing has released a line of new monopods. The Alan is a rugged carbon fiber pro monopod, the Trent is an ultra tall monopod, and the Docz is a foot stabilizer accessory that is available separately and works with both monopods.
The goal of the new monopods was to give both photographers and videographers something that was professional and yet affordable, versatile and also well built. One key feature is that the Alan can handle a load capacity of 130lbs, and the Trent can handle up to 66lbs.
There’s a lot of monopods on the market, some that come in kits with little feet and fluid heads, and some that are bare bones that require additional gear to make it work. The good thing about bare bones monopods is you’re shopping for a solid monopod first and foremost, because the important thing is you get a decent monopod. Then you can worry about the fluid head later.
So what do you look for in a good monopod? Most importantly it’s dependability, height, and how quickly and how often you can adjust the height before the dependability wears out. We’ve been on remote shoots where an overly loose or tight monopod twist-lock can nearly ruin your shoot.
The 3 Legged Thing monopods look to be made well and check off the features you’d want in a monopod. But although they have maximum loads of 130 and 66 lbs, we don’t recommend placing a video camera heavier than 10-12 lbs on a monopod, to be honest, because you would need a super heavy duty fluid head to handle a lot of weight, and then your total camera and fluid head combo would become overkill for a monopod setup.
So for a camera up to about 10lbs, a monopod works really well, and in many cases becomes your go to B-roll rig, maybe even instead of a shoulder rig. We recommend a lightweight fluid head like the Manfrotto MVH500AH, or Benro S4 or the slightly larger Benro S6.
However, for photography, you could use the monopod by itself with a camera and a very large and heavy lens, without worrying about additional load capacity of a fluid head. The video below shows a typical setup for a nature photographer who relies on a monopod for much quicker shooting than from a tripod base.
All of three new products can now be pre-ordered from B&H.
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Complementing their highly-acclaimed range of tripods and accessories, and inspired by the Bletchley Codebreakers and 90s industrial metal (there’s a sentence you never thought you’d read), 3 Legged Thing has announced the release of Alan, a rugged carbon fibre professional monopod; Trent, an ultra-tall Punks monopod; and Docz; a foot stabiliser that works with both monopods, and which is also available separately.
“It’s been five years since we last had a monopod in the range, and it was really important that we made sure that anything we develop is relevant in the current market place,” commented Danny Lenihan, Founder and CEO of 3 Legged Thing. “With these two monopods, kitted with our Docz foot stabiliser, we have straddled the divide between photo and video, without compromise, and at a price point that makes them hugely competitive.”
The perfect blend of size, weight and capability, Alan is built for versatility and resilience. Ideal for action and sports photography and to add stability when creating video footage, Alan has a stored height of 45 cm / 17.5 ”, and is compact enough for transportation in hand luggage. Alan extends to a maximum height of 1.49 m / 58.7 ”.
Formed from 8 layers of 100% pure carbon fibre and aircraft grade alloys, ensuring he is both light and incredibly strong, Alan can support a maximum load of 60 kg / 132 lb – almost 100x his own weight!
Both ends of the monopod feature dual 1/4”-20 and 3/8”-16 threads allowing Alan to connect to a variety of accessories, and to be used as a camera or microphone boom. The patented Tri-Mount plate has three hollowed spurs for the attachment of accessories, and the unique Big Grip provides maximum grip for security and has deep channels designed to disperse moisture.
Punks monopod Trent’s full extended height is over 2 m (80”) making him one of the tallest monopods in the world today. Formed from aircraft-grade magnesium alloy, Trent is both strong vertically, and is capable of lateral loads making him ideal for use as a camera or microphone boom. Trent’s maximum load capability is 30 kg / 66 lb, giving him an impressive load-to-weight ratio of 50:1.
Trent features 3 Legged Thing’s unique Bubble Grip technology on the leg locks and column grip. This offers users improved leverage, and maximum grip in inclement weather conditions. Like Alan, Trent also has dual 1/4”-20 and 3/8”-16 threads at either end allowing for use with a variety of accessories.
Both Alan and Trent have a detachable rubber Boot at the bottom, which can be replaced with any of 3 Legged Thing’s footwear – Heelz, Stilettoz, and Clawz – or can be used with the new foot stabiliser Docz.
Docz is a rugged foot stabiliser with a 30 cm /12 “ base, designed specifically to add stability to monopods. With an alloy base construction, a rugged ABS top cover and rubber boot adjuster, Docz adds a stable, solid base for monopods with no flexing. The rubber adjuster controls the friction and tension settings on Docz’ ball mount, enabling an ultra-smooth motion for action and sports photography. The ball mount has a 3/8”-16 thread, and can also be locked upright for extra stability.
Docz legs can be folded upwards, creating a more compact footprint for transportation.
Alan, Trent and Docz will each be available separately, as well as in kits with the following suggested retail pricing:
Alan – £129.99 / $149.99
Alan Kit (Alan + Docz) – £169.99 / $199.99
Trent – £109.99 / $79.99
Trent Kit (Trent + Docz) – £109.99 / $129.99
Docz – £49.99 / $59.99All products are available to pre-order online now and via retailers worldwide, and will ship in time for the official release date of 1st August 2018.
More info on ALAN
More info on TRENT
More info on DOCZHeadquartered in a converted chicken shed (The Chicken Shed) on Kinsbourne Farm, in Stagsden, Bedfordshire, 3 Legged Thing is a small, British company of passionate people, creating and innovating camera support systems for photographers and videographers. 3 Legged Thing is the winner of the Lucie Technology Awards 2017 Tripod of the Year.
If you would like more information about this press release, please contact Alison Barclay at +44 (0) 1234 225005 or email alison@3leggedthing.com.