3 Legged Thing Arnie Review
The 3 Legged Thing Arnie is designed to fit a selection of full-frame Sony Alpha cameras. It’s shown here on the Sony A9 III.
Summary Verdict
Well made and affordably priced, the 3 Legged Thing Arnie is an excellent L-bracket for a range of full-frame Sony Alpha cameras, including the Sony A7R IV, A7RV, A9 III and A1. While it allows access to the ports that are usually essential for high-quality video recording, it's likely to be of more interest to photographers who want to be able to swap between shooting in landscape and portrait orientation without having to adjust the tripod head and re-level the horizon.
Score: 5/5
For
Fits the cameras well
Quick and easy to attach
Well made but lightweight
Against
The camera’s cable ports are harder to access
Not suitable for use when shooting vertical video if you need cable connections
The 3 Legged Thing Arnie is available in two colours, this is Copper, the alternative is ‘Darkness’ which is matt black.
What is the 3 Legged Thing Arnie?
The 3 Legged Thing Arnie is an L-bracket dedicated for use on Sony Alpha cameras, including the Sony A7R V, A7R IV, A7 III, A7S II, A9 II and A1. It's made from a single piece of magnesium alloy and it’s shaped to fit the contours of the camera, enabling it to be flipped between landscape and portrait orientation shooting in an Arca-Swiss compatible tripod head.
The primary purpose of an L-bracket is to allow the camera's orientation to be changed through 90 degrees without having to adjust the position of the tripod head and re-level the horizon. It brings the additional benefit of protecting the bottom and left sides of the camera.
3 Legged Thing Arnie Price and Availability
The 3 Legged Thing Arnie's price is £89.99/$99.99, it goes on sale immediately.
The 3 Legged Thing Arnie is made from aerospace-grade magnesium alloy, which means it is strong yet lightweight.
3 Legged Thing Arnie Specifications
Product type: L-bracket
Announced: 4th June 2024
Base plate length: 10.2 cm / 4 inches
Base plate width: 4.2 cm / 1.65 inches
Vertical plate length: 8.5 cm / 3.35 inches
Vertical plate width: 4.2 cm / 1.65 inches
Tripod head compatibility: Standard Arca-Swiss 38 mm / 1.5 inches
Material: Aircraft-grade magnesium alloy
Colour: Copper, Darkness (matt black)
Weight: 95 g / 3.35 oz
A lip on the base plate of the 3 Legged Thing Arnie fits perfectly around the bottom front edge of the camera, ensuring the camera won’t swivel or twist in the bracket.
Key Features
3 Legged Thing makes the Arnie from annodised aerospace-grade magnesium alloy. It's a single-piece of metal with no need for an assembly or adjustment to fit the camera. It mounts quickly and easily via the 1/4"-20 screw in the base plate using the camera's tripod mount thread.
There's also a QD (quick detach) port in the base plate for compatible straps and accessories, plus two 3/6"-16 threads and a 1/4"-20 thread for mounting accessories.
The vertical and horizontal plates of the 3 Legged Thing Arnie both feature the Arca Swiss profile which makes them compatible with Acra-Swiss type tripod heads, including those from 3 Legged Thing.
Cut outs in the Arnie's vertical plate all the rear screens of cameras to be flipped out and tilted. There's also a notch to accommodate the camera's strap lug. In addition, the horizontal or base plate only extends to the hinge of the battery door, which means the compartment can be opened without removing the L-bracket.
3 Legged Thing supplies the Arnie with a Peak Design Capture v3 adapter (and bolt), a hex key, a cable tie and fabric draw-string bag.
The cut-out in the vertical plate of 3 Legged Thing Arnie allows for most of the cable ports to be accessed but the HDMI port cover can’t be removed with the bracket fitted on the Sony A9 III.
Build and Handling
3 Legged Thing’s use of anodised aerospace-grade magnesium alloy for the Arnie’s construction ensures the bracket is both durable and lightweight. It means the bracket doesn't have a noticeable impact on the portability of the camera.
It only takes a few seconds to mount the 3 Legged Thing Arnie on a camera. I found it best to align the front lip of the bracket's base-plate with the edge of the camera, then check that the strap lug is sitting it the dedicated notch, before tightening the bolt. The alignment is spot-on.
There’s a good range of movement possible with the Sony A9 III’s scene when the 3 Legged Thing Arnie is on the camera.
Performance
I tested the 3 Legged Thing Arnie on the Sony A7R IV and Sony A9 III. In both cases, it fits the camera body perfectly, hugging the front edge of the base nicely and fitting around the left camera lug well.
The Arnie holds the camera well, keeping it still with no slipping or twisting because of the contoured shape.
With a little wiggling, I could open all three of the cable connection covers on the Sony A7R IV with the Arnie fitted. The Sony A7R V has a similar arrangement, so I would expect the same to be true of that camera's ports. However, the Sony A9 III has a fourth cover in the bottom left corner of its left side (to access the HDMI and flash-sync ports) and I couldn't open this with the Arnie in place. It is possible to fit the Arnie after the port has been opened, but it's unlikely that you'd use the Arnie in this case.
Because the vertical plate of the Arnie butts up against the left edge of the camera, you can’t connect any cables to the camera when it’s in portrait (vertical) orientation.
The Sony A9 III has a 4-axis multi-angle screen that allows it to be tilted up and flipped out to the side and then angled up or down. When the Arnie is mounted, the A9 III's screen movement isn't completely unrestricted, but thanks to the vertical plate's cut-out, there's a good range. Keeping the inner tilting panel of the screen against the camera's back replicates the movement of an articulation screen like the one on the Sony A7S III. Again, the cut-out allows a good range of movement, although you need to take care to angle the screen as you fold it out so it fits through the cutout.
Even without using the tilting plate on the Sony A9 III, the screen can be flipped and angled to a convenient viewing position when the 3 Legged Thing Arnie is fitted to the camera.
Verdict
L-brackets used to cost a fortune, especially if they were designed to fit a particular camera. It meant that they tended only to be used by professional and well-healed enthusiast photographers. 3 Legged Thing has changed all that, making L-brackets for a range of cameras, including some like the Lexie that are 'universal' and can be customised to suit a range of cameras. Because Sony has used a consistent body shape and design for many of its full-frame mirrorless cameras, the 3 Legged Thing Arnie can be used on several camera models.
The Arnie is well-made. Its contours also fit perfectly around compatible Sony camera bodies. It means you can fit it within a few seconds, screw the bolt tight and attach the camera in a tripod head in landscape or portrait orientation.
