Tripod Help!

[Bill_1856]

Get a used Tiltall, made by Leica. About $100 (ebay), and the best inventment you'll ever make in photography.

[E. von Hoegh]

Get a used Tiltall, made by Leica. About $100 (ebay), and the best inventment you'll ever make in photography.

Second the motion on the Tiltall.

[Bill_1856]

Correcton: get the TILTALL made by LEITZ in New York(they were not made by Leica in Germany).

[E. von Hoegh]

Or the ur-Tiltall made by Marchioni in Rutherford New Jersey.

[Frank Petronio]

I have and like Tiltalls a lot but they would be on the light side for a 4x5 Toyo G monorail. They are usable but you won't want to try to shoot with the camera facing down towards the ground - you need to balance it carefully.

A step up in size would be ideal for the Toyo G/210. Perhaps something like a Gitzo 3-series or a Bogen with the 1.5" Aluminum legs.

Most people abhor ball heads and cheap quick releases with view cameras - if you do like a bullhead, then get a really good $$$ one. Bogen and Gitzo make good, strong, simple 3-way pan-tilt heads matched to the tripod.

I wouldn't trust the manufacturer's weight suggestions too religiously... see what people are using in practice to know what works.

I can not vouch for the sale, just using it as an illustration, but something like this size works very nicely for 4x5:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BOGEN-Manfro...ht_9324wt_1299

Do your homework on the seller and at your own risk but the price is right and I don't see any red flags myself....

I had a similar tripod when I started in 1983. They need to get tightened up occasionally but they have the mass and stability you need.

[Leonard Evens]

For many years I used an old Tiltall Professional tripod with my Toho FC-45X camera. That tripod is still available and will work fine as long as your camera is not too heavy.

[John Koehrer]

Another + for a tiltall. Preference to the original Marchioni Brothers. The quality seems to have gone down a bit in the newer ones though.
The downside (to me) is the knurling on the handles and leg locks which are uncomfortable because of the sharp edges(knurling)
.
The Star_D is a knockoff, Plastic handles that will break if the thing is dropped.

Neither Star-D or Tiltall have removable heads so if you want something besides a pan/tilt it's not gonna work.

The Series 3 Gitzo(Studex) I think is a slightly better choice.

[Leigh]

...so if you want something besides a pan/tilt...

Why would anybody want anything other than a pan/tilt head for LF?

- Leigh

[Mister Sith]

Thanks for the recommendations for the tiltall fro everyone! I'm eying a couple on ebay right now! But I'm also eyeing those gitzos that Frank mentioned, thanks!

[Bill Koechling]

.
The Star_D is a knockoff, Plastic handles that will break if the thing is dropped.

The Star D I bought in 1972 and still use has the exact same metal handles as the Tiltall I got in 2004. Maybe subsequent models of the Star D had plastic handles but not mine which was a true clone of the Tiltall at the time.

My Star D is now used mostly to hold an iPad for digital shoots to show clients images as they are shot.

I used the Star D with my old Calumet 4x5 for years but, though it worked, was NOT ideal.