3 Legged Thing Monty Review
Summary Verdict
Small but mighty, the 3 Legged Thing Monty 1 is a pocket-sized accessory that offers solid mounting with smooth panning and reliable tilt control. It’s ideal for attaching a light, mic or monitor to your camera or rig. During testing, I found it a nice step up from the usual coldshoe adaptors and mini ball heads. For photographers who like to travel light yet need dependable, versatile gear, the Monty is a useful little gadget.
Score: 4.5/5
For
Compact and lightweight
Reliable coldshoe and ¼-20 base mounting
Smooth panning and stable tilt with a lock
Against
No panning lock
You'll need the Monty 2 or Monty 3 if you want a locator pin
The 3 Legged Thing Monty 1 is small and light, but well made.
What is the 3 Legged Thing Monty?
The 3 Legged Thing Monty is a compact mounting accessory designed for photographers and videographers who need to attach accessories such as microphones, monitors, LED panels, action cameras or even smartphones to their camera or a rig. The Monty 1 is the simplest model in the range, combining a coldshoe mount with a ¼-20 thread on both top and base, along with 360-degree panning and lockable tilt. Monty 2 adds a pop-up locator pin to the top and lever clamp to the base for use with 20mm Picatinny rails, while Monty 3 includes a pop-up pin and both mounting systems plus a detachable rail for extra versatility.
I mounted the 3 Legged Thing Monty 1 on a Nikon Z8 and attached a 3 Legged Thing Phil to enable me to mount my iPhone on top of the camera. That could be useful for shooting upright images while the camera is in landscape orientation, or recording video on the phone and shooting stills on the camera.
3 Legged Thing Monty Price and Availability
All three 3 Legged Thing Monty models are available immediately from 3 Legged Thing’s website and selected retailers. Prices start at £24.99 for the Monty 1, £34.99 for the Monty 2 and £39.99 for the hybrid Monty 3.
Key Features
Each Monty model features 360-degree panning and tilt adjustment, with the latter using a lockable mechanism. Monty 1 has a hotshoe/coldshoe base and ¼-20 top thread, offering simple yet flexible accessory mounting. Monty 2 includes a spring-loaded locator pin and lever clamp base that attaches securely to standard 20mm Picatinny rails. Monty 3 combines the two systems and ships with a 70mm Picatinny rail for extra flexibility.
3 Legged Thing Monty Specifications
Monty 1
Height: 5 cm / 2 inches
Width: 5.3 cm / 2.1 inches
Weight: 78 g / 2.5 oz
Threads: ¼-20
Shoe: Coldshoe / Hotshoe
Camera Mount: ¼-20
Monty 2
Height: 5.3 cm / 2.1 inches
Width: 7 cm / 2.8 inches
Weight: 100 g / 3.5 oz
Threads: ¼-20
Shoe: 20mm Picatinny
Camera Mount: ¼-20
Monty 3
Height: 5.8 cm / 2.2 inches
Width: 6 cm / 2.3 inches
Weight: 102 g / 3.6 oz
Threads: ¼-20
Shoe: Coldshoe / Hotshoe and 20mm Picatinny via removable clamp
Camera Mount: ¼-20
The tilting mechanism allows whatever is mounted in the Monty 1 to be angled up or down.
Build and Handling
All three versions of the 3 Legged Thing Monty have a tough metal alloy body that means they feel solidly made. As we have come to expect from 3 Legged Thing, the build quality also feels great.
I tested the Monty 1, and at just 78 g / 2.5 oz, it doesn’t weigh you down and slips easily into a small pocket.
Its coldshoe mount is snug and reassuringly firm without catching or sticking, unlike lesser ones I’ve come across in the past. The tilt mechanism operates smoothly and, once locked, doesn’t creep even with a monitor like an Atomos Ninja attached.
Naturally, if you loosen the tilt mechanism to adjust the angle when an accessory is mounted, you need to keep one hand on the lock and the other on your accessory, but that's not a problem. Conveniently, the lock mechanism has a ratchet, so while it can be rotated through 360 degrees when engaged, you can also pull the lever away from the unit to disengage the ratchet and shift the orientation of the lever before releasing it to loosen or tighten the lock.
While the tilt mechanism has a lever for the lock, the Monty is tightened into the camera hot shoe (or rig cold shoe) by turning a knurled wheel. S
There's a similar wheel at the top of the Monty to lock a mounted accessory into place. I found I could get both of these as tight as I need by using my fingers, but the wheels both have wheels into which you can insert the supplied Allen key for extra leverage.
Like most similar mounts I have seen, the 360-degree panning mechanism doesn’t have a lock, but it's reasonably tight so it tends to stay in place. It would be nice to have an additional knuckled wheel to lock the panning.
The tilting mechanism can be locked and unlocked using the lever on the side.
Performance
I tested the Monty 1 with a range of accessories, including a Rotolight Neo 3 Pro, an Atomos Ninja external monitor (with battery and SSD) and an Apple iPhone mounted via a 3 Legged Thing. Each one stayed firmly in place, with no sagging or wobble. The tilt mechanism held securely at all angles, and the pan function allowed for fine adjustments without disturbing the tilt. A panning lock would be reassuring with heavier items like the external monitor, but it's not a major issue.
I compared the Monty 1 with an Atomos AtomX adapter that costs over 2.7x the price of the Monty 1. Although the AtomX has great build quality and a useful quick release plate for speedy mounting and unmounting of accessories, there's no panning mechanism, which is especially useful for a monitor, light or microphone where the direction they are pointing in is important.
The two knurled wheels allow the Monty 1 to be tightened into a camera hot shoe (or a cold shoe), and the accessory held firmly.
Verdict
Whether you’re filming a piece to camera, lighting a still life or recording audio on the go, the 3 Legged Thing Monty 1 provides a neat and reliable solution for mounting your accessories on a camera, rail or rig. It’s more robust and easier to use than many basic adaptors and mini ball heads and impressively stable. If you work with a more complex rig setup, the Monty 2 and Monty 3 give even more options. But the, Monty 1 hits the sweet spot between size, versatility and value, especially if you only need it occasionally.
