New studio product: Edelkron FlexTilt Head 2

[Mike Buckley]

If this new product works as effectively as advertised, it will make photography in my makeshift studio so much easier and enjoyable when it comes to fine tuning the distance between camera and subject and fine tuning the height of the camera. That's a major part of my setup process.

I emailed the company with the following question about the product: "Is it stable enough that I can make a 30-second still exposure (not video) with absolutely no movement in the camera system?" Their written response arrived less than three hours later: "The FlexTILT Head 2 has a weight limit of 5.5lbs. As long as you do not exceed that weight capacity, The FlexTILT Head 2 will be able to hold your set up for the 30-second exposure." My equipment is about 2 lbs. less than that weight limit.

Even if I get in a disagreement with the company about that, a full refund is allowed for any return made within nine days with the customer paying the freight. That definitely limits my risk. At a total cost of $150 for the product, that's a risk I'm willing to assume.

When the company released a new product recently, the first production run sold out nearly immediately. When the product became available again, they dramatically increased the price (about 20% - 25% if I remember correctly). So, anyone seriously interested in this product might want to place an order soon rather than wait for the product to be in stock. They are advertising that it will ship in four weeks.

[Donald]

Be interested to learn of your experience with it.

[Rita]

looks interesting.

[Stagecoach]

What would concern me is that if the friction in the pivots is great enough to 'lock from movement' the 'stated' load at the 'extremes' then when you move it the loading on the camera thread is going to be pretty high. Unless you ensure you move it by only holding the head.

I have often wondered how strong the camera female thread is and this will vary with camera construction.

[Mike Buckley]

What would concern me is...

I have lots of concerns. That explains why I determined my risk and am willing to live with it if everything that could go wrong does go wrong.

[DanK]

I'll be interested to hear your experience. I suspect that if it is durable enough, it would work for fairly coarse movements, but I'm skeptical that a system based on friction would be precise enough for the small movements I need for macro work. If I'm wrong, it would be good to know, because the system I use now is cumbersome. I have a Manfrotto "junior" geared head that lets me make very precise rotations on any of the three planes. I modified that by putting on a Hejnar arca clamp, which allowed me to put a Kirk focusing rail on top. I use that for forward/back movement to position the camera, but not for fine focusing for stacking. The weak link is vertical movement, which I do with the center column of my tripod. That is friction-based, of course, and not too precise, so I end up using rotation with the geared head to fine-tune. It works fine, but it is a lot less elegant than this new product, and it might be overkill for the work you do.

[Mike Buckley]

Dan,

The concern you mentioned is also one of my concerns even for non-macro work. Even if our concern proves to be valid in the real world of using the product, I expect it to be a big improvement over my current system.

I plan to begin doing macro work soon when the concern will become an even greater issue. However, most of my macro work at least in the initial stages will not involve focus stacking. That's because I will be focusing essentially on one plane due to the fairly unique nature of the subjects I'll be photographing.

The company also sells a rail that would be helpful for making forward/backward adjustments, but of course lots of companies sell rails. This product can be used in combination with Edelkron's rail and I assume other companies' rails, but I haven't verified that.

[rpcrowe]

Good luck with the new head. Hope that it works for you as well as advertised. What, IMO, is a positive attribute is that the company replied to your email quickly.

One thing that I would be interested in is whether the unit will hold a head in other that a level configuration...

[Mike Buckley]

One thing that I would be interested in is whether the unit will hold a head in other that a level configuration...

I don't see that possibility, which is a definite limitation. If it could be attached to an L-bracket (I don't know if that's possible), the camera could then be positioned vertically.

My intended solution that would allow at least some degree of tilt is to place the device on my ball head. (I can imagine that the device would not work properly if the tilt is too extreme.) However, I have not been able to remove the quick release plate from the ball head and that would have to be done. I have a call into Manfrotto about that, as it looks as if I should be able to unscrew the plate from the head.

[Mike Buckley]

What would concern me is that if the friction in the pivots is great enough to 'lock from movement' the 'stated' load at the 'extremes' then when you move it the loading on the camera thread is going to be pretty high. Unless you ensure you move it by only holding the head.

Good point I had not thought of.

[Mike Buckley]

I have not been able to remove the quick release plate from the ball head and that would have to be done. I have a call into Manfrotto about that...

Manfrotto got back to me within an hour. They advised me about my particular model, no longer being made, that in theory it might be possible to unscrew the plate. However, it was designed to be so extraordinarily difficult for it to come loose that he doubted I would be able to remove it.

[Manfred M]

Thanks for the shot of your rig, Dan.

I've looked at the Manfrotto geared head a number of times and have always pulled back because of the proprietary quick release plate. All of my other gear is built around the Arca-Swiss plate and I don't want to get into another attachment system if I can avoid it.

On the other hand, both Arca-Swiss and Linhof build some beautiful geared heads, but the $US 1600 - $US 2000+ prices are rather off-putting.

Mike - I look forward to your review of the Edelkron mount. This short one looks a lot more rigid than the long one you had looked at previously. For the type of work you do, I would have thought something along the lines of what Dan is using would be optimal, but as you have pointed out the Edelkron solution is much less expensive than a geared head and gear drive rail.

[Mike Buckley]

This short one looks a lot more rigid than the long one you had looked at previously.

When I first looked at the long one that is designed to replace a tripod, they also had a short version designed to sit on top of the tripod. However, at that time the short version was too limited. They have redesigned it to include an additional joint, making it far more appealing because of the increased flexibility.

By the way, that long one is more than three times the price of this short one. And it hasn't even been available for a surprisingly long time.

For the type of work you do, I would have thought something along the lines of what Dan is using would be optimal, but as you have pointed out the Edelkron solution is much less expensive than a geared head and gear drive rail.

Exactly on all points. Considering the constraints I've been happily working with, it is a luxury rather than a need if the Edelkron device works as advertised; unlike Dan's device, this Edelkron device will only make the process more enjoyable rather than make it possible to capture images otherwise not possible.

[DanK]

I've looked at the Manfrotto geared head a number of times and have always pulled back because of the proprietary quick release plate. All of my other gear is built around the Arca-Swiss plate and I don't want to get into another attachment system if I can avoid it.

Manfred, I agree--I want only arca-compatible plates and clamps. The Hejnar conversion I used for the Manfrotto geared head is here: http://www.hejnarphotostore.com/product-p/m410.htm. It makes the geared head yet bulkier and more expensive than it was to start, but after a short time, I simply wasn't about to continue changing plates every time I needed the geared head.

[Mike Buckley]

I simply wasn't about to continue changing plates every time I needed the geared head.

If you have any pointers about how to explain to a spouse that that kind of thinking is reasonable, I would appreciate learning them.

[Manfred M]

Manfred, I agree--I want only arca-compatible plates and clamps. The Hejnar conversion I used for the Manfrotto geared head is here: http://www.hejnarphotostore.com/product-p/m410.htm. It makes the geared head yet bulkier and more expensive than it was to start, but after a short time, I simply wasn't about to continue changing plates every time I needed the geared head.

Thanks for that information, Dan.

That looks like the 410 head. I assume that this works just fine and you did not need to go the the more heavy duty 405?

[DanK]

Thanks for that information, Dan.

That looks like the 410 head. I assume that this works just fine and you did not need to go the the more heavy duty 405?

Manfred,

Yes, I have the 410, and it is more than adequate for my macro rig (usually just a 5DIII, a 100mm macro, and sometimes tubes, plus the weight of the rack and the Hejnar adapter). My only complain with the 410 is that after some years of use, one of the three screw adjustments binds a bit--not enough to interfere with its function, but a bit annoying.

Dan

[Manfred M]

Manfred,

Yes, I have the 410, and it is more than adequate for my macro rig (usually just a 5DIII, a 100mm macro, and sometimes tubes, plus the weight of the rack and the Hejnar adapter). My only complain with the 410 is that after some years of use, one of the three screw adjustments binds a bit--not enough to interfere with its function, but a bit annoying.

Dan

Thanks for the information Dan. Even with the adaptor, it's still a lot cheaper than the Arca-Swiss built unit.

[Mike Buckley]

For those of you who understand the manufacturing business, does it make sense to you that the first round of orders for a product could be so much larger than expected that it causes a delay in manufacturing beyond the control of the manufacturer? See the sequence of emails shown below.

Email from me to Edelkrone
It has now been five weeks since I ordered my FlexTILT Head 2. Your website continues to indicate that shipping takes place in four weeks, yet I have not seen an automated email explaining that it has shipped.

Please tell me when I can expect the unit to ship.

--Mike



Email from Edelkrone to me
Hello Mike,

Thank you for your email and we sincerely apologize for this shipment delay. We have received an exciting, yet overwhelming demand on this incredible new edelkrone product and there has been a related delay on our manufacturing end. The FlexTILT Head 2 is projected to ship by mid-December and as a little gesture and to thank you for your order, I have upgraded your shipping method to UPS Next Day Air. This way, once shipped, you will receive your edelkrone in 1 business day in Virginia (vs. 3 days via Ground).

If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to let me know. I am always happy to help.

Thank you for choosing edelkrone!

Kind regards,
Ashley | edelkrone



Email from me to Edelkrone
You are absolutely correct that it is a "little gesture" -- far too little.

I've never been in a manufacturing business, but I don't understand why an unexpectedly large amount of orders would result in a delay in manufacturing. Your company is still falsely advertising a four-week delivery for new orders. Your company should have voluntarily let me know of the delay but chose instead for me to reach out to you. And you still don't have a definitive, promised shipping date; you only say "mid-December."

As a result, the information you provided has absolutely no credibility and leads me to believe your company has encountered manufacturing problems perhaps that they haven't told you about. Either that or your company has received so few orders that they delayed the first round of manufacturing. So, stop with the marketing crap about "this incredible new edelkrone product" and show me respect.

--Mike

[Mike Buckley]

Within minutes of making my post displayed immediately above, I had a further exchange of emails shown below that, frankly, blows me away. I have never, ever received an offer remotely close to Edelkrone's offer.

Email from Edelkrone to me
Dear Mike,

Thank you for your feedback. Ashley has shared your note with me and I wanted to reach out.

You are 100% right. We have dropped the ball on your FlexTILT Head 2 order. You are especially right when you say that you should have heard from us before. With all honesty, however, please know in your heart that there has been a very unexpected delay in getting the stock on this new edelkrone product. Of course, our internal delays should never be of your concern and I know there is nothing further I can say to better apologize.

At edelkrone, we mean it when we say that our customers’ satisfaction with our products and services is our #1 priority. We respect you tremendously and cherish your business. With your permission, I would like to refund you the $149.99 in full, and gift the new FlexTILT Head 2 when we receive its stock. Furthermore, if you are in an urgent need of a camera head for a project, I can have our team ship you the original FlexTILT Head (aka FlexTILT Head 1) free of charge. You may use the FlexTILT Head 1 until your gift FlexTILT Head 2 arrives.

Please let me know of your thoughts. I hope you grant us a second chance to show you what makes edelkrone so different.

Warm regards,

Chance
Customer Satisfaction Team Lead | edelkrone


Email from me to Edelkrone
Thank you, Chance. I very much appreciate the frank honesty in your email and will accept your offer of the full refund and the gift of the Flex TILT Head 2 once it is in stock. Thank you for offering the temporary use of the first version of the product, but I already know it won't meet my needs.

Please use the same credit account I used to purchase the product. However, my credit card company recently had to cancel one of my cards due to illegal, unauthorized use and I don't remember if the canceled card is the account in question. If you have any issues, please reach out to me and I'll provide a different credit card account.

Thanks again!

--Mike