Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-06-21)

50 15 June 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

Testbench ACCESSORIES

Ataglance

●137cmmaxheight

●40cmfoldedlength

●0.96kgweight

● 8kg rated load

SOMEreadersmaywellbefamiliarwiththeTiltall

nameasanAmericanmanufacturerof distinctively

designedtripodsfeaturingtubularmetallegsand

two-handledtiltingheads.Butwithhigh-quality

camerakitgettinglighter,demandforthisstyleof

sturdy-but-weightysupporthaswaned.Sothe

brandhasbranchedoutto encompassmuchmore

modern-lookingdesigns,of whichthefour-section

carbon-fibreTC-224is a typicalexample.They’re

highlyregardedin theGermanmarket,wherethey

aresoldundertheKaiserFototechniklabel,andthe

distributoris hopingto repeatthesuccessin theUK.

In manyrespects,theTC-224looksmuchlike

anyotherof thewiderangeof multi-functional

traveltripodscurrentlyonthemarket.It

employsa designwherethelegsfoldup

aroundtheheadtogivea morecompact

foldedlength,andoneof themcanbe

removedforuseasa monopod.The

four-sectionlegsextendviaquick-to-operate

twist-typelocks,andcanbeindependentlyset

tothreeanglesusingslidinglockinglevers.For

low-angleshooting,thecentrecolumncaneither

beinvertedorremovedentirely,whichplacesthe

headplatformjust14cmfromgroundlevel.

Thereare,however,a coupleof neatstand-out

features.Theheadplatformandweighthookboth

haveknurledmetaledges,makingthemsomewhat

easiertoremovefromthecentrecolumnand

screwtogetherintothelow-angleconfiguration.

In addition,twistingthelargerubberfeetextends

integratedstainless-steelgroundspikesfor

landscapephotography.Constructionqualityis

veryhigh,withthelegsandcolumnmadefrom

eight-layercarbon-fibretubing,andlightweight

alloyusedforthecentralspider.

Onitsown,theremovablelegformsa monopod

of just114cmlong,whichwillbefartooshortfor

mostadults.Combinedwiththecentrecolumnit

reaches143cm,whichis stilldistinctlymarginal

forphotographersmuchover 5ft 9in tall, even

witha headattached.

Ve r d i c t
AtfirstglancetheTiltallTC-224maynot
appeartooffermuchoutof theordinary,but
cruciallyit performswellin practicalshooting:
I usedit witha full-framemirrorlessSonyAlpha
7 II anda rangeof lensesuptoa 70-300mm
telezoomwithnoproblemsat all.It alsoworked
flawlesslywiththecolumnremovedforlow-level
shootingusinga 100mmf/2.8macrolens.It’san
impressivelylightweightandwell-madepieceof kit,
anda greatchoiceif you’re not bothered about the
ALL PRICES ARE APPROXIMATE STREET PRICESrather short monopod.

TheTC-224doesn’tcomewitha head,butits

recommendedcompanionis the£125TiltallBH-10

ballhead.Thisfeaturesfrictioncontrolandan

independentlylockablepanningbase,alongwith

anArcaSwiss-typequick-releaseclamp.It adds

8.5cm to the tripod’s height and weighs 325g.

TILTALL BH-10 HEAD

Tiltall TC-224

carbon-f ibre tripod

AndyWestlaketestsalightweight, sturdy support

● £288● http://www.kaiser-fototechnik.de/en

Recommended

Grips

Allthreelegssport

foam-rubbergripsonthe

uppersectionformore

comfortablehandling.

Carrybag

Awell-paddedzippednylon

bagcomesin thebox,witha

removablestrapandan

internalpocket.

Weighthook

Alargeretractinghookcan

beusedtohanga bagfrom

thecentrecolumnfor

increasedstability.

Groundlevel

Youcanremovethecentre

columnandattachthehead

platformdirectlyto

theweighthookfor

low-levelshooting.