3 Legged Thing announces new Legends Tripod range
3 Legged Thing announced Legends, a tripod series for both photo and video. Taking its inspiration from skateboarder, musician, photographer, and 3LT Pro Team member, Ray Barbee, the ethos of the Legends range is innovation, outstanding performance, and creativity, the company says.
The first two tripods in the range are Mike and Jay, 3 Legged Thing’s first leveling-base, hybrid photo/video tripods. Equally useful for video makers or landscape photographers, leveling base systems enable smooth and fast set-ups on challenging terrain. Mike is a full-size carbon fibre tripod, designed for incredible stability in any conditions, while Jay features shorter carbon-fiber legs with more sections, creating a travel-friendly video option, the first of its kind, says the company. Mike is named after one of the original Bones Brigade skateboarders, Mike McGill and Jay is named for the late Jay Adams, the Dogtown skateboarder.
“With every incarnation of tripods, we bring new and exciting technological advances, and upgrades to existing design and engineering,” says Danny Lenihan, CEO and founder, 3 Legged Thing. “Legends is a back-to-the-drawing-board look at how we use and need tripods in modern photography and videography, with ideas dating back five years that we had previously left undeveloped. With emphasis on workflow and user-friendliness, we’ve simultaneously lowered the weight, and increased the load-to-weight ratio, without compromising stability or rigidity. We’ve added advanced functionality, the likes of which have never been seen before, and made major aesthetic changes for our most incredible tripod range to date.”
With the legs removed the tripod can be used on table-tops or at ground level by joining a set of 3LT’s tripod footwear to the leg hinges. This enables both Mike and Jay to be used for macro work, bringing photographers a varied range of perspectives from which to shoot. With the addition of 3LT footwear, the leveling base can also be used as a foot stabilizer for a monopod leg, adding an extra level of versatility to the products.
The tripods are constructed from 8 layers of 100-percent pure Japanese carbon fibre, and aerospace-grade, anodised magnesium alloy, providing incredible strength, rigidity, and durability.
The new tripods have 3 Legged Thing’s new Rapid Latch, a hardwearing anodised mag-alloy latch with auto-engage lock, which is used to open and position the legs. Each of the legs can be used at three optimal angles creating different shooting heights, and can be positioned independently for use on uneven ground.
The first two tripods in the Legends range are available for pre-order starting and are expected to be in stores in early December. Mike’s suggested retail price is £499.99 / $549.99 for tripod only, with tripod kit including AirHed Cine SRP of £729.99 / $849.99. Jay’s SRP is £449.99 / $479.99 tripod only, and £679.99 / $779.99 for Jay Kit with AirHed Cine. The AirHed Cine is available separately with a suggested retail price of £299.99 / $349.99.