Zelda

I always wished I had an Auntie Zelda. She sounds like the sort of lady who would either make cinnamon rolls or get roaring drunk before noon. Both attractive prospects. How delightful, then, to see a Zelda in the Stirling Street accessory rack. In this case our old friends Three Legged Thing have added another L-bracket to their current line. And the name is quite significant. Put aside thoughts of the cinnamon rolls or F. Scott Fitgerald's wife - this Zelda is so named because she is a direct match for the new Nikon mirror-less Z cameras - the Nikon Z6 and Z7. As these are specific models, the bracket is specially cast for them. It is not one of the universal types that have internal rails to let it expand or contract. This is one size for the Nikon Z cameras. This specificity allows a very clever feature to be cast into the basic device - look at the post in the baseplate just behind the tripod screw. That fits into a special socket on the baseplate of the Nikon Z cameras and means that there is a positive anti-twist engagement. No need to put friction rubber pads with this grip - it is not going to walk around. This means that the rest of the under-camera casting can be opened up and there is clear access to the battery cover as well as to the left side under the camera. I have a similar space under the metal grips on my Fujifilm cameras, courtesy of castings made by iShoot and it's a heck of a good place for a left-hand finger grip to steady the rigs. One final note for those who rarely use a tripod and might consider an L-plate an unnecessary luxury. Any grip like this places a solid metal brace under your camera and allows you to place it down on a flat surface for impromptu steady shots. Many camera bases are neither so flat nor so steady and you risk movement even if you are bearing down on the camera with one hand. And no bare camera can do a portrait-orientation shot as a selfie...the L-bracketed camera does it easily