3 Legged Thing Zelda L-bracket review
The 3 Legged Thing Zelda is a very specific bit of kit. As one of the company’s ever-growing range of dedicated L-brackets for specific cameras, this one is designed exclusively for use with Nikon Z 5, Z 6, Z 7, Z 6 II and Z 7 II mirrorless cameras. The tailored fit enables it to be engineered from a single piece of metal, so there are no joints or moving parts. This optimizes ease of use as well as performance, as any joint could be a potential weak spot where flexing might occur. The flip side is that you can’t adjust the Zelda to use with other cameras, as you can with more ‘universal’ L-brackets like the 3 Legged Thing Lexie.
Specifications
Base length: 10.6cm / 4.17”
Base width: 3.8cm / 1.5”
Vertical aspect: 8.5cm / 3.35”
Shoe compatibility: 38mm / 1.5” Arca-Swiss
Weight: 67g / 2.36oz
Key features
The Zelda’s key feature is that it’s ‘made to measure’. Like a finely tailored suit, it fits Nikon Z 5, Z 6, Z 7, Z 6 II and Z 7 II cameras perfectly, with no slack or compromise. It simply fits with ultimate precision, so all you need to do is offer it up to the camera and tighten the fixing screw using the supplied hex key. A spare coin works equally well.
The supplied hex key actually includes two sizes of driver. The larger one is for the camera fixing screw and the smaller one is for the stainless steel security screws which are featured on the base plate and the vertical aspect.
Naturally, a key feature of a dedicated L-bracket is that it’s designed to work with specific cameras. As such, there’s no restriction to any of the ports down the left hand side of the camera, nor the battery compartment access flap at the bottom. The memory card door on the right is similarly unaffected and there’s no restriction to the operating range of the tilting rear screen. Suffice it to say that when the Zelda is fitted in place, you can use any of the cameras connections or functions without any problems.
The Zelda also features a securing pin (again as part of its single-piece construction), which fits into a mounting hole just behind the camera’s tripod screw socket, and helps to avoid any potential wobble. Further features include a strap lug at the right hand end of the base plate, and a threaded mounting socket at the top of the upright, which you can use for attaching accessories like an LED light or microphone.
Build and handling
The single-piece magnesium alloy build is tough and rigid yet very lightweight at just 67g or 2.36oz. As such, you can fit it to a camera and just leave it in place, as it has practically zero affect on handling for handheld shooting.
The anodized finish is of similarly high quality. Color is a purely personal preference but, on a suitably personal note, I find the Copper finish a little garish and that the more muted Metallic Slate Grey is still less than an ideal match for my Nikon cameras. I’m glad that, following the initial launch, 3 Legged Thing also brought out a ‘Darkness’ option, the matte black finish being more to my taste.
Performance
Naturally, the main benefit of the Zelda is when using a tripod or monopod. As with any L-bracket, it enables a consistent center of gravity for both landscape and portrait orientation shooting. With the latter, it cuts out any sag caused by the camera being off-center to the tripod head, as well as maintaining a consistent composition when switching between the two.
The Arca-Swiss profile of both the base plate and the vertical aspect enables quick and easy swapping between landscape and portrait orientation shooting, which is exactly what you want from an L-bracket. The camera feels rock-solid in both orientations. In short, performance is everything you could wish for in a dedicated L-bracket. The only potential problem is that you’ll need a tripod head that’s Arca-Swiss compatible, which isn’t universally the case.
Verdict
Engineered from a single piece of aerospace grade magnesium alloy, the 3 Legged Thing Zelda is a purpose-built L-bracket for Nikon Z 5, Z 6, Z 7, Z 6 II and Z 7 II cameras. As such, it’s designed to be an exact fit without the need to adjust any moving parts. We love that it works so simply but with such precision, giving unrestricted access to all the camera’s ports, tilting rear screen, battery compartment and memory card slot. It delivers rock-solid performance and poised balance for both landscape and portrait orientation shooting with a tripod or monopod, at a very competitive price and in Copper, Metallic Slate Grey and Darkness color options.
