3 Legged Thing Levelling Base verdict
Summary
The 3 Legged Thing Levelling Base sounds like it could solve a lot of problems. It’s a way of giving yourself a level base for panning shots or panoramas using a similar system to video tripods with bowl bases. But the adjustment range is limited, the pan axis in the base seems unnecessary (and isn’t levelled) and while the 3 Legged Thing Levelling Base is beautifully made, it’s also pretty expensive.
The 3 Legged Thing Levelling Base is a great idea. It lets you level up the camera even if the tripod itself isn’t level. You can do that with a regular tripod head, of course, but the Levelling Base does something else. It can also provide a level base for your regular tripod head, so that panning or panoramic movements stay level as you turn the camera. It’s like adding a levelling base to a regular tripod to turn it into a video tripod.
Well, up to a point, but there are some issues. Firstly, the movement of the levelling bowl is fairly limited, so that you can level up the camera or head if the tripod is on a slight skew, but it doesn’t offer the range of movement of a regular half bowl video base.
Secondly, the mechanism is smooth but often needs freeing up if you haven’t used it for a while. You may have to give the camera a bit of a shove to overcome the initial resistance of the bowl. There is an adjustable grub screw deep inside the body which you can loosen or tighten with a supplied hex key, which can be used to adjust the stiffness of the movement.
There is a bubble level in the top of the unit for getting the base properly level, but it’s very small and not very precise. And then there’s the lockable pan axis in the base which will be useful if you mount the camera directly on the levelling base, but becomes redundant if you fit your own head on top. Worse, the pan movement applies at the base, not to the levelled platform at the top, so if your tripod is not completely vertical, any panning movement using this axis will start to slope.
And there is one more thing. The Levelling Base screws on to a tripod via a standard 3/8-inch thread, but the top mounting is a 1/4-inch thread for direct camera attachment. If you want to fit a regular tripod head, you’ll need the 3/8-inch sleeve adaptor supplied, but unless your head’s screw mount is recessed, it won’t screw down flat to the Levelling Base surface. It’s still perfectly secure and rigid but doesn’t seem very satisfactory.
On the upside, the 3 Legged Thing Levelling Base is beautifully made and engineered and while it is pretty expensive at around £160/£130, you can see where the money has gone.
Ultimately, though, while the idea of adding a levelling base to a regular tripod is great, the 3 Legged Thing is trying to do two jobs and not doing either especially well. You can mount your camera on it directly and use it instead of a regular head (but why?), or you can use it between your tripod and your regular head, where a 3/8-inch screw would make more sense and more movement in the base is needed.
If 3 Legged Thing had just made a simple bowl base for mounting a regular tripod head, it could have been a lot simpler, probably more effective and cheaper too. While it looks amazing, the Levelling Base is something of a disappointment.
Price:
US: $160
UK: £130
Product page: 3 Legged Thing Levelling Base