School me, NSOP.


I currently have a classic Tiltall TE-01 Pro from the '90s. It's Katie's, actually. It's silver aluminum and works very well, but the head on it is pretty rudimentary. It's a standard classic double-tilt Tiltall. It's all machined aluminum, and works pretty well for what it is.

Ours is like the one on the right, but in silver like the left one:





Now, what should I do? Should I replace the whole thing with a more modern design, or try to retrofit a higher end center tube and ballhead in place of the original Tiltall center tube?




[edit] Turns out ours is the full TE-01 Pro model, in silver.

looks to me like you should be able to take the head off the center column, no? Then just upgrade the head and keep the legs since you like the legs.

I'm not sure if it's a standard attachment or not. Is there a guide somewhere online that shows the dimensions of those sorts of things?

it should be standard. I'm now sure if it's 3/8s or 1/4 but every tripod I've ever seen always has the same thread...

I believe this one has the head mounted directly to the center column, no coaxial screw fitting. It has an attachment screw that tightens from the side and holds the assembly together.

Online, the folks that are using the Tiltall legs are using a new center column with screw attachment like the one available here: http://www.plumeltd.com/tiltall.htm


I'm wondering what the advantages are of a ballhead over the double-tilt like I have. Investing $45 in a new center column and slapping a Bogen, Manfrotto, or Acratech on there is certainly one approach to take, but I wonder ultimately what the benefit will be.

The advantages of ballheads are quick setup and quick release plates.
I doubt I could ever go back to using a pan tilt head.
they also take up less space.

What shawn said. +1 on never going back to a 3way/pan... and +2 on never going back to non acra style plates....

Apparently I can get a Gitzo center column to directly replace the one I have... it even preserves the Tiltall primary pan at the bottom and essentially makes the thing into a Gitzo Series 3. In fact, any 32mm (~1.25") column will work.

I'll have to look more into this. That would upgrade this thing to modern spec, I guess, and I could put any kind of ballhead on the top.

I just discovered that there is a removable 1/4in mounting disc in the very bottom of the center column. It's designed to convert one of the legs into a monopod. Pretty cool design.

The especially cool part is that I think I can use it to convert the column into a standard interchangeable type by removing the whole tilt/pan head and then flipping the column over and inserting it the other way. Should save some weight, too.

Wish me luck.