Today we are taking a look at a specialized compact monitor arm made by the Canadian manufacturer Shape called the Revolt 2 axis push-button magic arm.
The unit that we are testing today is part of an extended family of push magic arms made by Shape which registered a patent for this technology. The technology itself is very simple and does exactly what the name implies – you push a button to unlock an axis, stop pushing and it is locked again.
The Revolt 2 Axis Push Button Magic Arm with a smallHD FOCUS monitor attached
The actual connection is made by a metal rosette and from our experience, it is very secure and holds nicely. It can also be applied to various other types of arms and rigs as shape demonstrated in their video. The arm itself is very flexible and moves in clicks.
The arm that we have been testing measures close to 9cm (3.5″) tall which, depending on your specific rig can be too short, too tall or just right. As its name implies the unit has dual push buttons that allow for both vertical and horizontal movements.
We got the hot shoe version of the arm (the proper name should have been cold shoe actually), but you can get a 1/4″ 20, 3/8″ 16 and even a 15mm rod attachment versions as well. We would prefer it if Shape would have made a single unit with different non-rotating connectors but it choose a different path.
Includes a D-Ring for quick mounting
The arm is very lightweight at just over 100 grams (3.5 ounces) and is made from hard anodized aluminum with stainless steel screws to prevent rusting. It has a top 1/4″ 20 connector with a D-ring which is really easy to mount monitors to as well as small lights and even mics (practically speaking monitors makes the most sense and this is how we used the arm).
Out of all the arms that we have been testing here on LensVid over the past several months for our arm review series this is the one that we keep coming back to for holding our monitor. It is super easy to use, has 360-degree horizontal movement and almost 90 degrees backward vertically.
We used it with the smallHD focus monitor (as we are still waiting for a number of other monitors to arrive for review) and one advantage over the smallHD included arm is that you can easily set the monitor for side viewing which we use from time to time when shooting B-rolls.
As for pricing, this unit cost around $150 (depending on the specific connector that you choose, there are also larger 4 axis models which cost about $100 more). This is more expensive than a lot of more conventional magic arms currently on the market, however, if we had to choose a 5″-7″ monitor specific arm we would choose this one any day.
High quality, easy to use, no-nonsense monitor arm
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Iddo Genuth 
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