3 legged thing Monty 1 review

Let’s not complicate things. The 3 Legged Thing Monty 1, 2 and 3 are all monitor mounts. One of the reasons so many of us own them is they’re incredibly useful for mounting all kinds of accessories, not just monitors. If you’re mounting a monitor onto your camera for shooting video, then the use is obvious, simply slip it onto your camera hot shoe or cage, add the monitor, and you’re good to go.

The main feature that makes these mounts stand out is that they’re beautifully designed CNC-machined pieces, available in accent colours,, include rotation and offer a small range of mount options.

All three are small and lightweight, and from the outset, there’s no mistaking the 3 Legged Thing’s signature design. Looking at each of the three to differentiate the main differences, and really it’s down to the mounting option which will appeal to different users. For me, the Monty 1 really stands out, while I also like the Monty 3 for its mounting flexibility.

It’s also worth noting that 3 Legged Thing has really embraced new mounting systems. We’ve seen them adopt the excellent QD socket on their Arnie brackets, and now they’re utilising the 20 mm Picatinny rail—originating in the firearms industry but now finding good crossover into photography gear.

The Monty 1 is probably the most universal of the three. It features a cold shoe mount with a quarter-inch thread at the base. This not only enables direct mounting onto a hot or cold shoe but also lets you screw it into any standard tripod head for greater flexibility. The standout feature is a full 360° pan, allowing better viewing angles if the monitor is off-centre. You can also completely lock off the tilt once it’s set.

Monty 2 is a little more involved. It features a quarter-inch thread on top with a pan and tilt that can be locked using a rotary knob. It also offers 360° rotation. The mounting mechanism here is the new 20 mm Picatinny clamp, allowing you to mount it to a 20 mm rail. While not many accessories currently feature this mount, 3 Legged Thing is clearly working to expand that.

The Monty 3 Kit blends the features of Monty One and Two. It also includes a quarter-inch thread with a spring-loaded locator. Instead of a friction knob for tilt, it uses a ratchet system, which I actually prefer. You simply adjust the monitor by hand to the desired angle, and it holds firm. The base has the 20 mm Picatinny clamp and a quick-release button to detach the mount from its base and reveal a cold shoe for hot shoe or cage mounting, offering two distinct options and making it the most flexible of the three.

Following the usual lines of 3 Legged Thing’s love for all things beautifully CNC’d, the Monty range is once again made of high-quality metal and shows a high level of design and manufacturing quality. Taking the Monty 1 as an example, the designers have gone above and beyond to ensure the mount is not only functional but also looks great. Attention has been paid to every single area of the design, with beautifully bevelled edges and a high-quality, tactile feel. When it’s not in use on your camera as a monitor mount, it can also be a pretty good fidget toy.

What marks out 3 Legged Thing products is the quality of the materials they use, and sure enough, the full-metal build here highlights the company’s ethos. Checking over the knurling, overall machining, and the smoothness of the rotation and locking mechanisms, this small mount clearly shows the lengths the company has gone to in order to ensure top quality.

As ever with this style of accessory, it is incredibly compact, with rough measurements giving it a height of 56 mm, maximum width of 55 mm, and depth of 27 mm, weighing in at 80 g for the Monty One. As accessories go, it’s incredibly small and lightweight.

The Monty 2 is a little more industrial, featuring the leaver-lock 20 mm Picatinny clamp at the base, but again, it matches the same level of design and quality as the rest of the unit.

The Monty 3 is really a mash-up of the Monty 1 and 2. Again, the quality is exceptional, with the key difference being the ratchet tilt adjustment instead of the friction lock used by the other two, and the fact that the Picatinny clamp can be removed to reveal a standard cold shoe.

When it comes to design and quality, while seemingly simple, a lot has gone into making them appear as straightforward as they are. The overall build quality really stands out, especially once you start putting them to use practically when shooting video.

When it comes to features, these are monitor mounts with the basic function of holding a monitor to your camera securely, with the flexibility to adjust as needed. However, with three distinct models, they actually take things a step further, offering more options than you’ll find with most accessories of this type.

The Monty 1 is your standard photography and video monitor mount. It features a cold shoe, so you can mount it onto your camera’s hot shoe or cage easily. It also includes a quarter-inch thread on the base, allowing tripod mounting as well. You can mount anything from a monitor (as designed) to microphones and lights without issue. The design looks simple, but a lot of thought has gone into the mechanics, which makes it extremely flexible, especially with the addition of rotation.

The Monty 2 takes things a little further. While very clever, it’s unlikely to have the mass appeal of the Monty 1 or possibly even the Monty 3. The top is much the same as the Monty 1, with a quarter-inch thread and a friction lever lock for tilt adjustment. It also features a smooth pan, a little stiffer than the Monty 1, which I really like. On the base is the 20 mm Picatinny clamp, enabling quick attachment to any 20 mm Picatinny-equipped accessory, ideal for quick-release mounting on compatible cages.

The Monty 3, which I really like because it offers flexibility in mounting. Once again, you’ve got a quarter-inch thread on the top for your monitor, and on the base, there’s a 20 mm Picatinny clamp. However, it also features a cold shoe, push down the button on the base clamp, and it slides off to reveal a cold shoe mount for hot shoe or cage use. Since this is a kit, it also includes a 20 mm Picatinny rail that you can screw or bolt onto almost anything. If you want to attach it to a post, just grab a couple of screws and a screwdriver, then attach your light, monitor or whatever else, very quick and easy. Out in the field, it gives you mounting options you wouldn’t normally have. You can also attach it directly to a compatible camera cage for extra flexibility.

All three share a similar design, with small differences that make a big impact on the type of use and the user they’re aimed at.

In this review, I’m really focusing on the Monty 1. The Monty 2 and 3 are a little more specialist, and you need a 20 mm Picatinny rail to make the most of them. Essentially, though, the basic principle of all three is the same. One Thing I’ll say from the outset is that the Monty 3 uses a ratchet-style tilt, which doesn’t have the usual friction-style lever knob to release and lock the tilt. It’s a little more direct, as you have to physically force it into position. I really liked it, when you’re out and about and need to adjust your monitor quickly, it saves time versus stopping to unlock and re-lock a lever, even if just for a couple of seconds.

The Monty 1 is the monitor mount that I think will appeal to most photographers and videographers. The build quality is exceptionally high and continues 3 legged Thing’s love of CNC machining. It’s very tactile, and my sample arrived in a beautiful, hard-wearing matte black finish, with locking wheels finished in copper (orange).

In use, the cold shoe clamp works as you’d hope. Being full metal, it clamps onto your camera’s hot shoe and tightens securely. I particularly liked that 3 Legged Thing added a rubber ring around the base of the locking wheel. It gives a softer contact with your camera’s hot shoe. Once in place, it feels solid. You can then mount your monitor using the quarter-inch thread, adjust the tilt, and everything stays nicely locked down. One thing I appreciated here was how secure the tilt felt. With other mounts I’ve used, the tilt often slips underweight, but this one locks down firmly and holds a position.

As it’s a standard cold shoe mount, it also fits into any cold shoe on any camera or camera cage, which adds flexibility. When I used it with the Sony Alpha 7 IV, I could pair it with the Arnie bracket for a nice, lightweight rig.

If you use it with a larger cage, it works just as well. The mechanism is simple, and there’s very little here to go wrong.

One Thing I’ll mention: if you’re using a professional-level monitor like an Atomos Ninja V with a Sony NP-F970 battery, you may find the weight slightly too much and notice some rotation. With a more standard NP-F750 battery (often recommended for this type of monitor), this isn’t a problem. That rotation feature is excellent. While it can’t be fully locked off, there’s enough friction to hold it in place, even when moving around with a run-and-gun setup.

The Monty 2 and 3 essentially work the same way but use a different mounting system. To use them properly, you’ll need an accessory with a 20 mm Picatinny rail. I don’t have any cages with this system, but 3 Legged Thing included a rail in the Monty 3 kit. I screwed it into a post and could easily mount a lamp. It does require screws and a screwdriver, but the setup is quick enough and adds flexibility. If you’re filming at home and need lights or microphones mounted in fixed positions, the system works incredibly well. It’s easy to use and makes it clear how much potential these mounts have.

Ultimately, for me, it’s the Monty 1 that’s going to see the most use. Its compact size and design, along with the exceptional build quality, really do make it stand out. As ever, I’ll highlight that while I really like the accent colours 3 Legged Thing offers, if you’re using it professionally, I’d recommend the all-black version. The reason is that those accent colours can reflect during filming, if you’re filming cars or anything with reflective surfaces, that bright copper-orange always seems to catch the light, which can be a little irritating. The black version blends in better.

In use, the Monty 1 was exceptionally good, enabling easy mounting of monitors, lights and microphones with absolute ease. The fact that it has both a cold shoe and a quarter-inch thread on the base gives you more mounting options. The approach taken with the Monty 1, and with the two other options, takes one of the most useful and underrated camera accessories and simply adds more to it, but without overcomplicating anything. It still feels like an extremely simple device. You just pop it onto your kit to mount whatever accessory you need.

The main benefit of the 3 Legged Thing version is that you have the ability to rotate as well as tilt whatever you’ve mounted, which gives you that little bit of extra flexibility when it comes to positioning.
Considering the usefulness of these small accessories, 3 Legged Thing has priced the Monty range very competitively, and for my money, a few of these would be very welcome in my kit bag.