Jon Sienkiewicz

Our maniacally creative friends in England have been at it again. Fresh on the heels of introducing their first-ever camera bags, 3 Legged Thing has updated their entry-level Punks line of tripods to version 2.0. The Punks lineup includes Corey, Travis, Brian and Billy. We found Billy 1.0 (now known as ‘plain old Billy’) to be highly reliable and easy to use. But now Billy 2.0 has joined the stable. How does this interloper compare with the incumbent, and should we care?

The L-bracket has moved from the realm of the exotic into the everyday world of real utility where it belongs, thanks in large part to the success of the QR11 L-bracket from 3 Legged Thing. After four years of unbridled success, the 3LT QR11 L-bracket has been upgraded to version 2.0, adding manifold improvements suggested by users.

British tripod maker 3 Legged Thing gives their products clever names, but I just call them awesome. In addition to some of the best tripods money can buy, they offer camera brackets, monopods and related accessories. Here’s my review of the morphable Ellie L-bracket and the DOCZ2, a combination monopod stabilizer plus heavy-duty tabletop tripod.

The Domke bag. Affordable, functional and as durable as a 30-pound slab of stainless steel. Right now Domke is offering the popular F-2 (original) model and the F-5XB (my personal favorite) in a Limited Edition camouflage pattern that looks sensational and honors our troops—emotionally and financially.