Amateur_Photographer_-_04_October_2019

53

Ataglance

●130.5cmmaxheight

●31.5cmfoldedlength

●1.16kgweight

● 7kg rated load

ONEOFthebigadvantagesof

camerasgettingsmallerand

lighteris thatyoudon’tneed

sucha largetripodtohold

them.If youowna smallDSLR

ormirrorlesscamera,ora

high-endcompact,thena

smalltraveltripodwillprovide

youwithextrasupportwhen

youneedit, whilebeing

sufficientlycompactand

lightweightthatyoucaneasily

carryit aroundallday.The

TiltallTC-225is a fine,if pricey,

exampleof thistype.

Thisfullyfeaturedtripod

employsfive-sectioncarbon-

fibrelegs,withtwistlocksthat

canallbereleasedtogether

witha quarterturn,makingit

quickandeasytosetup.They

canbeindependentlysetto

oneof threeanglesusinglarge

semi-automaticlevers,and

reversefoldaroundthecentre

columnandheadtogivethe

smallestpossiblepackedsize.

Thecentrecolumnhastwo

sections,againwithtwistlocks,

andunlikesometraveltripodsit

dropsdownthroughthespider

togivethemoststablepossible

configuration,albeitwitha height

of just105.5cm.It canalsobe

removedentirely,andthehead

platformscrewedontotheweight

hookforground-levelshooting.

In thisconfigurationthelegswill

stillfoldneatlyaroundthehead,

whichisn’t

Another

canberem

withthece

a monopo

beingsosm

is also very

extendsto135cm,

evenwiththe

head,soasa

six-footerI didn’t

findit veryuseful.

Thematched

BH-07ballhead

acceptsArcaSwiss-type

plates,withnofewerthan

threebubblelevelstohelp

keephorizonsstraight.It

sportsanindependently

lockingpanningbase,andthe

largemainlockingknobgives

progressivelylowerfriction

asyouundoit. Thismakesit

easiertopreciselyreposition

camerasandlensesof

differentweights.

Ve r d i c t

ItestedtheTiltallTC-225with

a numberof cameras,and

foundit to bea verycreditable

pieceof kit.It’swell-engineered

andimpressivelysturdyforits

size,yetsufficientlysmalland

lightthatyoucaneasilyfit it into

a carry-onsuitcase.

Obviouslya tripodlikethis

is goingtobehappiestwith

relativelylightweightkit,but

I alsousedit successfullywith

a SonyAlpha7 II and24-

105mmf/4lens.Thebiggest

problemis theprice– you

cangetsomeverycapable

alternatives much cheaper.

ALL

PR
CES

ARE

APPROXIMATE STREET PRICES

u wanta smalland

weighttraveltripod,

iruiMyTripMT-5Ckit

milarin packedsizeand

httotheTiltallTC-225,

extendsa littletaller.It

s themonopodfeature,

s muchcheaperat£179.

u don’tneedsucha small

kage,theBenroSlim

onFibreTripodKit(right)

eat value at just £99.

LSO CONSIDER

Tiltall travel tripod

2go TC-225

AndyWestlaketriesout a fully

featuredtraveltripod

● £304● http://www.fotospeed.com

Grips

Eachleghasa foamgrip

tocarrythetripodmore

comfortably,buttheyare

rathersmall,and

unusuallyhard.

Weighthook

Hangingyourcamerabag

fromherecangivethe

tripodsomewelcome

extrastability.

ACCESSORIES Testbench

Recomm

Carrybag

Awell-paddednylonbagis

included,completewithan

internalzippocketfortools

anda good-length

shoulderstrap.

Head

Thetripoddoesn’tcomewitha

head,buttheTitallBH-07is a

goodmatch.Howeverit adds

another£100tothecost.