This clever stand doubles as a mic boom — and it’s changed how I shoot

The 3-Legged Thing Luna is a portable carbon fibre light stand and boom arm, which is an interesting combination—but absolutely makes sense, especially with the way that we work with equipment today. The first thing you notice is that it is designed like a traditional lighting stand-up to a point. Fully packed down, it is only 56cm in length, making it far smaller and lighter than the studio lighting stands many of us are accustomed to using. This offers far more flexibility, and there are two major points here.

The first is that at the top, it features a ¼-inch thread as well as a ⅜-inch thread—you simply push down the outer thread to reveal the inner, and below that is the more traditional lighting stand spigot. It’s a very clever design and something we’ve seen on other 3 Legged Thing products.

The other point is that if you undo the nut at the base of the column and then release the twist lock around the vertical, you can remove the whole centre column—then you can use the column as a mic boom, which is very handy.

The first Thing that strikes you about this lighting stand is that it is very much a 3 Legged Thing. So, gone are the usual black metal poles and metal structural supports that we’re used to with most lighting stands—and the ones I have to look at around the studio almost every day. In their place is a very compact, lightweight carbon and magnesium alloy lighting stand that, first and foremost, looks far more attractive than any lighting stand I’ve ever used or seen.

Those carbon tubes and the metal that’s been used make for a very nice, lightweight stand. The full Thing weighs in at 944g—just under a kilo—which is welcome if you’re working out in the field and want to travel light. The other Thing is, it’s far less bulky than most other lighting stands, so if you want to strap it to the side of your backpack, then it fits nice and neatly—especially alongside a couple of tripods.

The build quality here is exceptionally good, and 3 Legged Thing’s iconic branding is once again apparent, as you’ll see in the images, and really does make this look exceptionally nice. The carbon fibre tubes are true carbon fibre, and again, with the matte dark grey finish, they really do look fantastic.

At the foot of the legs are rubber feet, and these can be removed and replaced with spiked ends that can be placed into rougher terrain. So, if you do need a little bit of extra grip, then that is available—again, another nice touch that you wouldn’t get with standard lighting stands.

Of course, being 3 Legged Thing, there’s a little bit more to it. This is a lighting stand and mic boom in one. So, once you use the twist lock to fold down the legs, then you can use the centre column twist lock to extend the centre up to height—which is all good and very nice. But if you then undo the nut underneath the centre and release the centre column’s main twist lock, you can lift the whole column-free. You can then use the whole column as a mic boom.

Taking a quick look at the main features of the 3-Legged Thing Luna light stand and mic boom, the first thing to take note of is the construction. That carbon fibre tubing looks amazing, and it all comes together really nicely alongside the aerospace-grade magnesium alloy support, again ensuring that everything feels lightweight and strong without adding any additional weight.

What really makes this lighting stand out from many of the more traditional lighting stands is the length and weight. It folds down to just 56cm, and the weight is 944 g. When it comes to height, again, 3-legged Thing are very conscious that height is important. Here, whilst compact, it will extend up to 2m, which gives you plenty of flexibility over lighting and enables some really good lighting setups for both stills and video.

That centre column, as I’ve mentioned in the build section, is removable, so you can utilise it as a boom arm that extends to 165cm—which again is perfect for mics, lights, or even small cameras if you want to use it for some monogram work.

There is the spring-loaded dual-threaded mount with the ⅜-inch and ¼-inch thread. Again, that gives you great versatility, as many mics and lights will use the larger thread with the lighting spigot, and many cameras and smaller, more modern accessories will use the ¼-inch thread. It gives good compatibility with a range of new and old accessories.

3 Legged Thing has also looked at the design of the lighting stand, and unlike more traditional options, they’ve gone for a design tried and tested with their tripods. So they’ve got the reverse folding legs that fold down around the centre column—this again helps to save space and is more in line with the other designs that they already create.

Also, unlike many lighting stands, is the fact that it has swappable feet. So, use the rubber feet for indoor use, and you can add metal spikes for outdoor stability—which is a really nice feature, especially when you’re working on grass.

So, really, that’s it for features. It is just a really nice lightweight lighting stand with dual use as a mic boom, also available in either Luna or Dark colour schemes.

It’s obvious as soon as the Luna box arrives that this is going to be a far lighter-weight lighting stand than the ones I’m used to using. After removing the legs from the box and folding them down, I could feel the strength of the carbon fibre construction and the quality of finish that is now very much a trademark of 3-Legged Thing products.

The product itself is extremely simple—after all, it is just a lighting stand with the added feature of also being a mic boom. Starting with the lighting stand features, I really like the fact that it’s so compact and lightweight, yet it manages to retain a lot of the rigidity you need from a decent lighting stand.

Putting the stand-up and spreading the legs out, using the twist lock to lock the legs in place—it all felt good and secure. I raised the centre column up to full height. The first few sections felt good and tough; however, as I pulled out the last section, you could start to feel a little bit of bend and flex, which isn’t too uncommon and should be fine for most lighting. It does have a maximum 5kg weight load.

First off, I popped one of the SmallRig LED lights on top with the diffuser, and it all seemed good. I did put some weight down on the legs just to add a little more stability, but to be honest, it felt good quality and nice and rigid. As I went through the test, I was really impressed with the quality of the stand. Although it is solid and extremely strong, with those carbon fibre tubes, I did find there was quite a bit of flex—which could be a bit of an issue with larger lights.

Throughout the test, I used a variety of different options on top of the stand—everything from mic booms, which I found absolutely fine (especially with the spigot that let me pop the mic directly onto the stand), to all the LED lights and my portable studio flash units like the Profoto B10.

All of these were exceptionally good when used. As always, I weighed down the base of the lighting stand just to make sure everything was stable.

Just to give the lighting stand a good test, I checked how much the top section would flex, and while there is quite a bit more flexibility than with my steel lighting stands, it proved to be good and strong. You can actually bend it through a surprising angle without it breaking.

So, as a lighting stand and mic stand, I actually have to say it’s superb. The fact that it’s so small and lightweight makes it a brilliant accessory that you can easily carry with you. Carrying around two of these lighting stands—though I only had one for this test—is far easier than lugging around the larger lighting stands I would usually use, but I used it with almost all of my LED lighting.

What was surprising is how quickly you can hit that 5kg limit for the stands, and even with the B10s and the large light modifiers, I was looking at 5.5kg, but then the D3s and B10s are not really the intended accessories for this type of stand and the likes of the SmallRig and Zhiyun lights it’s actually an ideal match.

The other factor is that the Luna doesn’t have a cushioning system like some of my other lighting stands. So when you release the centre column section, it does quickly move down—there’s no cushioning to counteract the gravitational pull. It’s not a big issue, but something I’m used to with the lighting stands I use in the studio.

Of course, alongside its use as a lighting stand, it can also be used as a mic boom. I used it with a RØDE NTG4+, and again, the quality of the carbon tubes was excellent. Again, I got a little more flexibility than I would expect from a standalone mic boom—especially in that last section—but there’s no doubt about how good and useful such a versatile tool is. Especially when you consider the price, the fact that you have both a very competent lighting stand and a very decent-length mic boom all in one does make it a perfect solution for content creators who want to travel light.

After testing the Luna for well over a month, I have to say I am really impressed with the design. First and foremost, it looks great, and the fact that I can easily strap it to the side of a backpack alongside a tripod and travel relatively light makes it an accessory that I’ll always keep with me.

When it comes to use as a lighting stand, it’s quick to set up, and I really am a big fan of the twist lock over the usual levers that are needed on traditional lighting stands—it just makes it very quick and easy to set up.
I also like all the added extras, such as the ability to swap the feet out if you need to and the ability to remove the centre column so it can be used as a mic boom. It’s just a great feature, as is the fact that you can get it in both Dark and Lava colour schemes. So, if you are working somewhere where that bright orange might be an issue, the black version will easily blend into any reflections.

As a lighting stand, I’d put this in the light to midweight use category. So, if you’re working with the latest LEDs, microphones, or anything like that for the new wave of content creators, then this is a perfectly weighted lighting stand that will complement your workflow. If you’re using something a little bit older and heavier, like the Profoto D3, then that is going to push it just a little over the edge—even the B10, especially when lighting modifiers are attached.

Overall, if you’re looking for a really lightweight lighting stand and mic boom that is exceptionally high quality, then the Luna portable light and mic arm are a great option.