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Zen Tilt Head for Tripod?
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May 22, 2017 11:30:56   #
Orca Loc: Little Egg Harbor, NJ USA
 
Have been seeing quite a bit of ads for the Zen Tilt for tripods an the price is now under $40. Has anyone purchased this and what do they think?
The search function only showed a post awhile ago with the price much higher. No one had purchased at that time as far as I could see.
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Yosoo-Aluminum-Folding-Release-Spirit/dp/B01FD7NOMK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495466927&sr=8-1&keywords=zen+tilt

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May 22, 2017 11:37:12   #
rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin
 
Would not risk it with anything but the smallest, lightest, cheapest, oldest camera.

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May 22, 2017 11:58:25   #
cmc65
 
I did order one. My son has and interest in learning more about macro so I thought it might be useful for him. The only thing I've done with it is to take it out of the box , make sure it worked and had its pieces and then put it back into the box. However I can state a couple of things right off the bat.
It came directly from china.
Took a month to reach us.
It is sturdy metal, not tinny.
The movement of the different plates relies on small set screws and each pivot point on each plate. This will require a great deal of time for adjustment when moving the plates. If they are not tight it will move. I don't have much faith in the longevity of the set screws and without them we will be left with a couple of metal square to use as coasters.

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May 22, 2017 16:18:05   #
rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA
 
Would not trust it with a D810 and a Nikkor 16-35 lens.

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May 22, 2017 16:42:28   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
Orca wrote:
Have been seeing quite a bit of ads for the Zen Tilt for tripods an the price is now under $40. Has anyone purchased this and what do they think?
The search function only showed a post awhile ago with the price much higher. No one had purchased at that time as far as I could see.
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Yosoo-Aluminum-Folding-Release-Spirit/dp/B01FD7NOMK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495466927&sr=8-1&keywords=zen+tilt


Looks interesting. Price on Amazon is now lower, but others are selling it for even less. With Amazon, you can easily return it if you don't like it. Let us know what you think if you buy one.

A video -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPlq9pK-_ks

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May 22, 2017 18:40:08   #
Orca Loc: Little Egg Harbor, NJ USA
 
jerryc41 wrote:
Looks interesting. Price on Amazon is now lower, but others are selling it for even less. With Amazon, you can easily return it if you don't like it. Let us know what you think if you buy one.

A video -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPlq9pK-_ks


I was waiting for someone here to have actually try one out and see what they say. CMC65 has stated his first opinion but I don't think he has actually used it. Hope someone who has chimes in. Video looks good but they would never put out a poor video.
Ron

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May 22, 2017 19:38:46   #
Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
 
Orca wrote:
Have been seeing quite a bit of ads for the Zen Tilt for tripods an the price is now under $40. Has anyone purchased this and what do they think?
The search function only showed a post awhile ago with the price much higher. No one had purchased at that time as far as I could see.
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Yosoo-Aluminum-Folding-Release-Spirit/dp/B01FD7NOMK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495466927&sr=8-1&keywords=zen+tilt


Pretty flimsy. I would pass on it.

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May 22, 2017 20:49:10   #
jcboy3
 
Orca wrote:
Have been seeing quite a bit of ads for the Zen Tilt for tripods an the price is now under $40. Has anyone purchased this and what do they think?
The search function only showed a post awhile ago with the price much higher. No one had purchased at that time as far as I could see.
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Yosoo-Aluminum-Folding-Release-Spirit/dp/B01FD7NOMK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495466927&sr=8-1&keywords=zen+tilt


I have one. It's an interesting table top stand; it will support a large camera (I've used it with a D750 and 24-120 f4 lens). I put a low profile Arca clamp on mine. It only tilts, so if you put it on a tripod, you have to level the legs and loosen the center column to rotate it. Flip it out to point down (as shown in the video) and it will drift under weight of the camera. That can be fixed by tightening the screws on the upper pivot. You need to keep a hex key with you for that.

I do wish it had tightening knobs, but that would spoil the clean lines. Hex wrench works okay; would be cool if they had built in a hex wrench holder. Would also be cool if you could lock the pivoting parts at fixed angles (45 and 90 would work). But in actual use, you need to get the tripod legs out under it. I usually do that by extending one leg by several inches less, which balances the load, but then the angles you need are not 45/90. So locking the legs would not work in that case.

You can definitely live without it.

I'ts not light, so I don't take it with me unless I plan to use it.

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May 22, 2017 21:57:23   #
Orca Loc: Little Egg Harbor, NJ USA
 
Thanks for the info jcboy3. Seems like they need some improvement before it works as well as the video shows.
Ron

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May 22, 2017 22:40:54   #
jcboy3
 
Orca wrote:
Thanks for the info jcboy3. Seems like they need some improvement before it works as well as the video shows.
Ron


No, it works as well as the video shows. It's just that the video has some pretty specific uses.

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May 23, 2017 06:42:08   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
jcboy3 wrote:
I have one. It's an interesting table top stand; it will support a large camera (I've used it with a D750 and 24-120 f4 lens). I put a low profile Arca clamp on mine. It only tilts, so if you put it on a tripod, you have to level the legs and loosen the center column to rotate it. Flip it out to point down (as shown in the video) and it will drift under weight of the camera. That can be fixed by tightening the screws on the upper pivot. You need to keep a hex key with you for that.

I do wish it had tightening knobs, but that would spoil the clean lines. Hex wrench works okay; would be cool if they had built in a hex wrench holder. Would also be cool if you could lock the pivoting parts at fixed angles (45 and 90 would work). But in actual use, you need to get the tripod legs out under it. I usually do that by extending one leg by several inches less, which balances the load, but then the angles you need are not 45/90. So locking the legs would not work in that case.

You can definitely live without it.

I'ts not light, so I don't take it with me unless I plan to use it.
I have one. It's an interesting table top stand; ... (show quote)


Thanks for that.

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May 23, 2017 09:27:22   #
philo Loc: philo, ca
 
Had one and sent it back. It can do nothing that my ball head will do. Would not support my 5d on a table top by itself.

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May 23, 2017 09:33:22   #
aflundi Loc: Albuquerque, NM
 
The discussion here seems to be whether to trust it or not, but I can't for the life-of-me see what it'd be useful for.

Assuming it were completely trustworthy, what would you use it for?

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May 23, 2017 10:39:42   #
philo Loc: philo, ca
 
aflundi wrote:
The discussion here seems to be whether to trust it or not, but I can't for the life-of-me see what it'd be useful for.

Assuming it were completely trustworthy, what would you use it for?

table top work is about the only use i saw for it.

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May 23, 2017 11:02:50   #
Orca Loc: Little Egg Harbor, NJ USA
 
philo wrote:
Had one and sent it back. It can do nothing that my ball head will do. Would not support my 5d on a table top by itself.

Thanks for you input.

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