Newer Tiltall Tripods

PGG wrote:
Has anybody purchased or seen the new Tiltall tripods available for sale
from B&H and Adorama? These are 6lbs in weight and have a capacity of 13
lbs. Price is only $99.

Are they nearly the same as those manufactured 30 years ago (which I read
great things about)?

I'm looking for a tripod to hold my 10-pound 4x5 camera and this seems
like a good deal compared to the Bogen/Manfrotto offerings.

--pgg



From the small picture at Adorama, it looks exactly like my old Tiltall
from the late 60s, and the weight seems to be the same. So I suspect it
is essentially the same tripod.

But I have doubts about whether or not my Tiltall can hold a 10 pound
view camera. I use it with a Toho FC-45X, which with lens is at most 4
pounds. It is stable enough on the Tiltall, but I am not sure it would
be with more than double the weight. Keep in mind also that with the
bellows fully extended with a long lens, you have to worry about the
torque. Personally, I would want the capacity of the tripod to have a
considerable safety margin built in relative to the camera I was
mounting on it.

PGG wrote:
Has anybody purchased or seen the new Tiltall tripods available for sale
from B&H and Adorama? These are 6lbs in weight and have a capacity of 13
lbs. Price is only $99.

Are they nearly the same as those manufactured 30 years ago (which I read
great things about)?

I'm looking for a tripod to hold my 10-pound 4x5 camera and this seems
like a good deal compared to the Bogen/Manfrotto offerings.

--pgg



From the small picture at Adorama, it looks exactly like my old Tiltall
from the late 60s, and the weight seems to be the same. So I suspect it
is essentially the same tripod.

But I have doubts about whether or not my Tiltall can hold a 10 pound
view camera. I use it with a Toho FC-45X, which with lens is at most 4
pounds. It is stable enough on the Tiltall, but I am not sure it would
be with more than double the weight. Keep in mind also that with the
bellows fully extended with a long lens, you have to worry about the
torque. Personally, I would want the capacity of the tripod to have a
considerable safety margin built in relative to the camera I was
mounting on it.

PGG wrote:
Has anybody purchased or seen the new Tiltall tripods available for sale
from B&H and Adorama? These are 6lbs in weight and have a capacity of 13
lbs. Price is only $99.

Are they nearly the same as those manufactured 30 years ago (which I read
great things about)?

I'm looking for a tripod to hold my 10-pound 4x5 camera and this seems
like a good deal compared to the Bogen/Manfrotto offerings.

--pgg



From the small picture at Adorama, it looks exactly like my old Tiltall
from the late 60s, and the weight seems to be the same. So I suspect it
is essentially the same tripod.

But I have doubts about whether or not my Tiltall can hold a 10 pound
view camera. I use it with a Toho FC-45X, which with lens is at most 4
pounds. It is stable enough on the Tiltall, but I am not sure it would
be with more than double the weight. Keep in mind also that with the
bellows fully extended with a long lens, you have to worry about the
torque. Personally, I would want the capacity of the tripod to have a
considerable safety margin built in relative to the camera I was
mounting on it.

I purchased the smaller Tiltall Junior (silver) for my father as a gift last
year and was satisfied with the construction.

I have used ancient Tiltall tripods that featured brass leg-locking bushings
and owned a somewhat newer Tiltall (purchased circa 1982) that employed
plastic locking bushings. The black coating of the legs combined with
plastic lock bushings of my 1982 tripod contributed to a stick/slip problem.
In addition to the friction problem, the black powder coating was applied
unevenly with more of it near the top of the legs. It meant that the leg was
not the same diameter throughout its length and that caused extension
difficulties. You'd loosen the locking collar so the leg was free, extend it
but it would grab because the leg diameter would change. That combined with
the plastic/coating stiction, the legs were miserable to adjust.

I sanded and cross-hatched the powder coating at the top of the leg to match
the diameter of the bottom and improve the action somewhat, but it was never
as good as the old silver one I used at work. If you want to see the plastic
bushing and leg on my 1982 Tiltall, I've put a picture on my web site at:
http://www-schneider.viscom.ohiou.ed...ll_bushing.jpg

I still use my Tiltall tripod, but not for photography. I now have a Gitzo
320 for small and medium format work.

When I ordered the new Tiltall last year for my father I specifically
ordered silver. It was an improvement over mine, and it still has the clever
Tiltall pan-tilt head. I still want another Tiltall someday to put through
the paces, but it will be a silver one like the original.

Bill Schneider

"Leonard Evens" wrote in message
...
PGG wrote:
Has anybody purchased or seen the new Tiltall tripods
available for sale
from B&H and Adorama? These are 6lbs in weight and have
a capacity of 13
lbs. Price is only $99.

Are they nearly the same as those manufactured 30 years
ago (which I read
great things about)?

I'm looking for a tripod to hold my 10-pound 4x5 camera
and this seems
like a good deal compared to the Bogen/Manfrotto
offerings.

--pgg



From the small picture at Adorama, it looks exactly like
my old Tiltall
from the late 60s, and the weight seems to be the same.
So I suspect it
is essentially the same tripod.

But I have doubts about whether or not my Tiltall can hold
a 10 pound
view camera. I use it with a Toho FC-45X, which with
lens is at most 4
pounds. It is stable enough on the Tiltall, but I am not
sure it would
be with more than double the weight. Keep in mind also
that with the
bellows fully extended with a long lens, you have to worry
about the
torque. Personally, I would want the capacity of the
tripod to have a
considerable safety margin built in relative to the camera
I was
mounting on it.


I have an original Tiltall. I can use it with an
Agfa/Ansco 8x10 with pretty good stability although its not
my first choice for such a large camera. It works fine with
my old Calumet CC-400.
I have no idea how close the current incarnation is to
the original.


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA

"Leonard Evens" wrote in message
...
PGG wrote:
Has anybody purchased or seen the new Tiltall tripods
available for sale
from B&H and Adorama? These are 6lbs in weight and have
a capacity of 13
lbs. Price is only $99.

Are they nearly the same as those manufactured 30 years
ago (which I read
great things about)?

I'm looking for a tripod to hold my 10-pound 4x5 camera
and this seems
like a good deal compared to the Bogen/Manfrotto
offerings.

--pgg



From the small picture at Adorama, it looks exactly like
my old Tiltall
from the late 60s, and the weight seems to be the same.
So I suspect it
is essentially the same tripod.

But I have doubts about whether or not my Tiltall can hold
a 10 pound
view camera. I use it with a Toho FC-45X, which with
lens is at most 4
pounds. It is stable enough on the Tiltall, but I am not
sure it would
be with more than double the weight. Keep in mind also
that with the
bellows fully extended with a long lens, you have to worry
about the
torque. Personally, I would want the capacity of the
tripod to have a
considerable safety margin built in relative to the camera
I was
mounting on it.


I have an original Tiltall. I can use it with an
Agfa/Ansco 8x10 with pretty good stability although its not
my first choice for such a large camera. It works fine with
my old Calumet CC-400.
I have no idea how close the current incarnation is to
the original.


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA

"Leonard Evens" wrote in message
...
PGG wrote:
Has anybody purchased or seen the new Tiltall tripods
available for sale
from B&H and Adorama? These are 6lbs in weight and have
a capacity of 13
lbs. Price is only $99.

Are they nearly the same as those manufactured 30 years
ago (which I read
great things about)?

I'm looking for a tripod to hold my 10-pound 4x5 camera
and this seems
like a good deal compared to the Bogen/Manfrotto
offerings.

--pgg



From the small picture at Adorama, it looks exactly like
my old Tiltall
from the late 60s, and the weight seems to be the same.
So I suspect it
is essentially the same tripod.

But I have doubts about whether or not my Tiltall can hold
a 10 pound
view camera. I use it with a Toho FC-45X, which with
lens is at most 4
pounds. It is stable enough on the Tiltall, but I am not
sure it would
be with more than double the weight. Keep in mind also
that with the
bellows fully extended with a long lens, you have to worry
about the
torque. Personally, I would want the capacity of the
tripod to have a
considerable safety margin built in relative to the camera
I was
mounting on it.


I have an original Tiltall. I can use it with an
Agfa/Ansco 8x10 with pretty good stability although its not
my first choice for such a large camera. It works fine with
my old Calumet CC-400.
I have no idea how close the current incarnation is to
the original.


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA

But I have doubts about whether or not my Tiltall can hold a 10 pound
view camera. ... Keep in mind also that with the
bellows fully extended with a long lens, you have to worry about the
torque.

In another post I elaborated in detail about the differences between the old
and new Tiltalls, and forgot completely the topic of weight capacity.

When I first got my Deardorf 8x10, I didn't yet have a heavy duty
tripod/head so I used the Tiltall until I could afford one. It was quite
apparent that it was not sufficient to support the 8x10. In some situations
I'd lock the head _very_ tightly, and then watch the camera slowly tip
downward anyway. A suitably heavy tripod and head were the very next
photographic purchase I made (Zone VI wooden tripod/big Gitzo head).

Now having said that, I used a 4x5 Graphic View for years on the Tiltall and
it worked fine. My lightweight 4x5 Wista worked even better. They didn't
weigh 10-lbs though, and lens extensions were moderate compared to the 8x10.

Like Leonard says, I would have doubts about a Tiltall supporting a 10-lb
camera adequately.

Bill Schneider

One rather unheralded feature of the old Tiltall heads was a viscous
pad which damped small vibrations from tranmitting to the camera. New
Tiltalls have only the customary rubber pad.

One rather unheralded feature of the old Tiltall heads was a viscous
pad which damped small vibrations from tranmitting to the camera. New
Tiltalls have only the customary rubber pad.