3 Legged Thing’s Wes and Ridley tripods level the camera, not the legs

Anyone who has photographed on a hillside knows the routine: set the tripod down, discover the horizon is off, then start extending and retracting individual legs while the light does what it likes. 3 Legged Thing’s two new tripods take that job away. Wes and Ridley are carbon fibre models with integrated levelling bases, and they are available now — details on the Wes and Ridley product pages.

Why a levelling base earns its keep

Both tripods carry an integrated levelling base offering 10 degrees of movement in every direction, so you level the camera rather than the legs. On uneven ground that is the difference between a few seconds and a few minutes, and it matters most in exactly the situations where you have least time — a sunrise on a slope, a bird that has just landed, a match about to restart.

It matters even more for video. Panning across an unlevelled tripod produces a horizon that drifts through the shot, and no amount of care with the fluid head will fix it. Getting the base level first is the only real solution.

3 Legged Thing has added a sensible touch too: the spirit level is movable, so it stays visible with a camera mounted. Anyone who has tried to read a bubble hidden under a camera plate will appreciate that.

Wes or Ridley

Wes is the travel model, with five-section legs folding small enough for cabin baggage while still reaching a usable working height. Ridley is the stability model, with three-section legs and tube diameters up to 29mm, aimed at studio work, wildlife, field sports and long-lens videography.

That is the right way round. Five sections give you compactness at some cost in rigidity; three fatter sections give you a platform that will hold a long lens steady. Choose according to whether you are carrying it onto a plane or into a hide.

Both are made from eight-layer carbon fibre with aerospace-grade magnesium alloy components, and both retain the modularity 3 Legged Thing is known for: all three legs detach for use as monopods or boom arms, and optional Vanz footwear converts either into a tabletop support. There are quiet-action leg latches — genuinely useful for wildlife — and three selectable leg angles.

Continuing the company’s habit of naming products after notable figures, these are named for the directors Wes Anderson and Sir Ridley Scott.

The AirHed Cine CC kits

Both are offered in kits with the AirHed Cine CC fluid video head, and the pairing makes sense. The head’s standout feature is a 90-degree rotatable Arca-Swiss clamp, allowing direct use with L-brackets and cages for vertical shooting — increasingly necessary for anyone delivering social video, and usually a fiddly compromise. A retractable, detachable panning arm helps with transport, and independent pan and tilt controls handle the movement.

As Stuart Boston, Chief Operating Officer at 3 Legged Thing, puts it, creators now expect a single support system to handle horizontal video, vertical social content and wildlife work alike, which is a fair summary of why levelling bases and rotating clamps have moved from specialist features to expected ones.

We have tested plenty of 3 Legged Thing kit over the years and the build quality has been consistently good. We would want to check how much height the levelling base costs you when folded, and how the Wes holds up with a heavy telephoto, but both look well judged for the money.

3 Legged Thing Wes and Ridley: Specifications

Material: eight-layer carbon fibre with aerospace-grade magnesium alloy components.
Levelling: integrated levelling base with 10° of movement in every direction; movable spirit level remaining visible with a camera mounted.
Wes: five-section legs, travel-focused, folds small enough for cabin baggage.
Ridley: three-section legs with tube diameters up to 29mm, built for stability.
Both: all three legs detachable for use as monopods or boom arms; three selectable leg angles; quiet-action leg latches; optional Vanz tripod footwear for tabletop use.
AirHed Cine CC (kit option or sold separately): fluid video head with 90° rotatable Arca-Swiss clamp for vertical shooting, retractable and detachable panning arm, independent pan and tilt controls, supplied XP 100 Ultra Plate compatible with the 3 Legged Thing XPAND ecosystem.

3 Legged Thing Wes and Ridley: Price and availability

Both are available now from 3LeggedThing.com and authorised retailers worldwide. Wes tripod: £349.99 (US $399.99). Wes with AirHed Cine CC kit: £549.99 (US $619.99). Ridley tripod: £399.99 (US $449.99). Ridley with AirHed Cine CC kit: £599.99 (US $669.99). The AirHed Cine CC remains available separately at £229.99 (US $249.99).