Amateur Photographer verdict
The 3 Legged Thing Lexie is a versatile and L-bracket that fits onto a wide range of cameras. It’s sturdy and well-made, but will likely hinder the movement of side-hinged fully articulated screens.- Hugely adaptable to fit different cameras
- Well made and sturdy
- Vertical bracket extension can be fiddly to set
- Camera won’t sit flat on a table with bracket fitted
- Limits movement of articulated screens
L-brackets are popular with photographers who like to shoot from a tripod, as they allow easy switching between horizontal and vertical framing, while keeping your camera centred above the tripod. It’s generally best to use a bracket that’s custom-designed for your camera, but these tend to be expensive and not readily available for older models. The 3 Legged Thing Lexie is a universal Arca-Swiss type L-bracket, that’s designed to fit a wide range of cameras at a palatable price.
3 Legged Thing Lexie at a glance:
- $65 / £59
- L-bracket tripod plate
- Arca-Swiss type fitting
- Adjustable to fit a wide range of cameras
- Available in three colours; Copper, Midnight (black), and Slate Grey (shown in this review)
- 3leggedthing.com
Several design features enable this bracket to fit onto different cameras. Firstly, the camera screw fits into two slots that allow it to slide front-to-back. This it allows it to adapt to cameras whose tripod sockets are placed towards the front or back of their base plates.
Secondly, the vertical section of the bracket can be extended by up to 3cm to fit different body widths. This also allows you to move the bracket away from the camera’s side, providing access to connector ports so you can use such things as cable releases.
Thirdly, the vertical bracket has a cut-out which can be used to give easier access to connector ports, or provide some mobility for a fully articulated screen. As the bracket is otherwise symmetrical both vertically and horizontally, this slot can be placed in four different positions, depending on your needs.
3 Legged Thing Lexie key features:
- Grips: Diamond-textured rubberised grips help prevent the bracket from twisting on your camera
- Peak Design Capture compatible: A square plate is supplied that’s compatible with Peak Design’s Capture Clip camera-carrying system
- Accessory Threads: Multiple 1/4in sockets allow the attachment of accessories such as lights and microphones
- Toolz multi-tool: A carabiner-type multi-tool comes in the box, with a screwdriver, three different sized hex keys, and a bottle opener
Unlike some other designs, though, you can’t quickly extend the vertical bracket when needed, and then collapse it back against the side of the camera to take up less space. Instead, adjusting it involves undoing a small screw using a tiny hex key, resetting that screw into one of eight threads, and then doing it up again.
This really isn’t something you should contemplate doing in the field, as it’s fiddly and you risk losing a vital screw. Instead you need to set this at home before you head out shooting.
I tested Lexie’s adaptability by fitting it onto a wide range of cameras, from the compact Canon PowerShot G7X Mark II right through to the Fuji GSW690III medium-format film rangefinder. Impressively, it works on pretty much everything. Inevitably for a universal design, though, it can block battery/SD card doors or hinder access to cable release ports, particularly on smaller cameras. Things tend to be easiest with SLRs, both film and digital, on which it’ll usually fit without any complications.
If you want to get a better idea of how well Lexie might fit onto your own camera, 3 Legged Thing’s website has photographs of it on a range of popular models from Canon, Fujifilm, Hasselblad, Nikon, Olympus/OM System, Pentax, Panasonic and Sony. This includes front, back, side and underside views.
Probably the main drawback comes with cameras that have side-hinged fully articulated screens. The width and positioning of the cut-out in the vertical bracket means that you’re unlikely to be able to swing the screen out to the side and then set it angled at 45° upwards. Instead, it’ll probably only sit flat. This is a common problem with universal L-brackets, however the NiSi Universal L-Plate solves it pretty well.
One relatively minor irritation is that the adjustment screw also protrudes below the bracket, meaning the camera won’t sit flat on a table. It’s also worth noting that when shooting in portrait format, your tripod’s camera clamp should span the gap in the vertical bracket. Otherwise, there’s a risk it might flex.
3 Legged Thing Lexie: Our Verdict
I’ve been impressed by the 3 Legged Thing Lexie. Build quality is excellent, and it fits nicely onto an extraordinary range of cameras. It has a few minor niggles, but overall it’s one of the best universal L-brackets I’ve used.
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