Quote Originally Posted by Neal Chaves View Post
For my Toyo Field camera I am happily using a Tiltall tripod. This design was manufactured for several suppliers, including Leitz, over the years and is still available new. Try to find a US-made one. Plenty of them on eBay. They are fitted with an excellent pan/tilt head. A ball head will not suit your purpose.
Not quite true;

In 1946 the Marchoni brothers in Rutherford, NJ invented and manufactured the tripod in Rutherford until 1973 when they sold it to Leitz USA who then transferred the production to their facility in NJ.
After Leitz US discontinued the line Tiltall rights and tools were sold to Fred Albu who owned the Camera Barn store in NYC as well as the Star D tripod line as well as a photo distribution company (he was the original Hoya filter distributor in the US). He made and sold Tiltall that he made in the US and also sold a copy made in the Far East under the Star D name.

When he went out of business he tried to sell the Tiltall name and tools to several US photo companies including Saunders Photo as well as the company that I worked for. But the tools were not in good condition and the manufacturing process was too labor intensive and outmoded to maintain a profitable and competitive selling price. So he was not able to dispose of them in a timely manner.

Eventually an interesting Chinese fellow did buy the rights and now manufacturers the Tiltall line that he makes, or has made, in the Far East.

So modern Tiltall tripods are not made here, all Marchoni and Leitz US Tiltall tripods are made in the US and some of the ones that Fred Albu sold through his Uniphot company were also made in NJ.
The rest were made off shore.