Mount-It! All-In-One Studio Camera Setup, Single Mount

2024-01-07T19:00:00

After the pandemic hit, I built a forest of equipment sitting on my desk, including the computer monitor, a Neewer LED lamp on a stand as a bounce light, a photo tripod for the M43 camera that I use as webcam, and finally, a mic arm mounted at a desk edge clamp. These were all on a 4'x4' corner desk that was really intended for use with the old gigantic CRT monitors, so the back corner was out of reach and useless. For the new year, I am rebuilding on a modern sit/stand desk, and the thought occurred that there must be something better than planting everything on the desktop. A few web searches later, I found the MI-481 and MI-482. I went with the MI-482 so that I could mount both a 1920x1200 monitor to use with a couple of old machines that can't properly drive a new 4K monitor. I ordered through one of Mount-It's dealers and it was promptly shipped and delivered. The assembly was not too difficult to follow. I found it helpful to have a multi-compartment parts box to sort out some of the mounting hardware. From this experience, my main caveat is some quality control issues. - I had some alignment problems with the 3rd and final screw for the pole base mount. It kept on going in a few degrees off true so that it would not sit flush. I got around this by starting over and tightening the screws in a different sequence. - Somw of the hinge screws on the arms were way overtightened. I was able to loosen all one with a 5mm hex wrench. The final hinge felt like I could not apply enough torque to loosen the screw without removing the arm from the assembly and holding it in a vise, so I left it as is. A lesser issue is the configuration of assembly. I put the mic arm below the sleeve that joins the upper and lower pole sections, following the example in the assembly directions and illustrated in the photo and video. In this position, the mic mount gets in the way of raising the monitors higher on the pole and its angle of projection is restricted between the monitors and the camera/light arms. When I get the time, I will reinstall the mic arm above the light and camera arms. Overall, I am pleased with the MI-482 after a few days of use. I hope sharing my experience will help others as they set up their desks.

romain2k

Originally posted at

2023-05-10T20:00:00

I really wanted to love this product. It seemed great and a really good deal considering all you get. However, the quality control is incredibly disappointing. Half the mounts don't fit properly with each other. One of the accessory arms doesn't even have the 3/8th screw properly exposed, rendering it completely useless. I had to duct tape my ring light to it because it doesn't screw in. I reached out about this 3 days ago and still haven't received a response, which doesn't do a very good job of representing their customer service either. Overall, I will be attempting a return.

Jake

Originally posted at

2022-02-12T06:05:25

This unit is solidly built and hefty enough to support a bunch of accessories for your monitor / video conference / studio setup. But it has some major flaws: - The joints are extremely tight and are difficult to bend/unbend, so adjusting the position of any device was extremely difficult. - The mounting plates (for cameras etc.) at the end of the arms barely fit onto their mounting points. Installing and removing these "quick release plates" was next to impossible. I was able to (partially) solve both of these by lubricating the joints and sanding down both the quick release plates and the fixtures they mounted to, but it's still not ideal. These really never should have been issues in the first place; they should have been fixed before manufacturing began.

Paul F.