Can you pair a Miller Compass 20 with Flowtechs?

Hi all, has anyone successfully paired a Miller Compass 20 with the Sachtler 75 Flowtechs?

Have had the C20 for years and my old Miller legs for this tripod broke just before Miller announced they were closing down. Was going to upgrade to Miller's 75mm Sprinters but missed out on their closing down sale so now looking at other options.

One store said should be fine to pair the C20 with Flowtech as they're 75mm and they'd heard of people using some Miller heads with Flowtechs with no issues but then another retailer said it probably won't work as they thought the mount is slightly difernet even though 75mm.

So just looking at whether anyone has achieved this or if it's a lost cause and better to look to upgrade to a Flowtech Activ8 etc setup.

Local places I asked also don't have any Flowtech available to demo so thought I'd see if anyone here has any experience with this.

shonproductions said:

Hi all, has anyone successfully paired a Miller Compass 20 with the Sachtler 75 Flowtechs?

Have had the C20 for years and my old Miller legs for this tripod broke just before Miller announced they were closing down. Was going to upgrade to Miller's 75mm Sprinters but missed out on their closing down sale so now looking at other options.

One store said should be fine to pair the C20 with Flowtech as they're 75mm and they'd heard of people using some Miller heads with Flowtechs with no issues but then another retailer said it probably won't work as they thought the mount is slightly difernet even though 75mm.

So just looking at whether anyone has achieved this or if it's a lost cause and better to look to upgrade to a Flowtech Activ8 etc setup.

Local places I asked also don't have any Flowtech available to demo so thought I'd see if anyone here has any experience with this.

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As long as the bowl size is the same it really shouldn't be a problem, I'd think.

I don't specifically have the exact items you're listing, but I've gone the other way and put Sachtler heads on Miller sticks.

As Dustin has said. I don't think there should be too much of a problem. I've mixed various 100mm bowls from different manufacturers with various 100mm heads without issues. I currently have two 75mm sets of sticks. A 75mm Miller Solo with a Miller 20 head and a Manfrotto 502 and legs. I've tried the 502 on the Miller Solo legs and the Miller 20 on the Manfrotto legs and no issues. I've also used both those heads on both Manfrotto and Vinten 100mm bowls with the 75-100mm Mnfrotto bowl adapter also without any issues. I think you would be very unlucky if you couldn't use a Miller head on the Sachtler 75 Flowtechs.

The only slight issue I've come across on one combo, and I can't even recall what that was. The clearance between the under bowl clamp to lock the ball in place and the top of the legs was a bit close so a bit fiddly. You couldn't just grab a big handful of the locknut and give it a big 'undo'. I had to have about two or three short twists because of knuckle clearance to the back of the legs.

Good luck with it!

Chris Young

Hey guys so this is what one retailer replied with - which totally agree with both of you that my logic was that the bowls were all interchangeables:

Miller 75mm heads on Flowtech 75mm legs doesn't as well as you would like because the angle of the ball and bowl are different, ony allowing it to contact on the lip. If you clamp it up and do a whip pan, it can shift. If you were to put some strips of tape on the ball it solves the issue but it isn't elegant. 100mm Miller head on 100mm Flowtech is fine.

Hey guys so this is what one retailer replied with - which totally agree with both of you that my logic was that the bowls were all interchangeables:

Miller 75mm heads on Flowtech 75mm legs doesn't as well as you would like because the angle of the ball and bowl are different, ony allowing it to contact on the lip. If you clamp it up and do a whip pan, it can shift. If you were to put some strips of tape on the ball it solves the issue but it isn't elegant. 100mm Miller head on 100mm Flowtech is fine.

Funny, I have been using this exact combination for years (Compass 25 and Flowtech 75). I haven't had any such issue, and haven't had to use tape.

I don't recall the details, but I do recall Sachtler made some changes to the flowtech75 bowl when they brought out the aktiv heads (I have a flowtech75 with an aktiv8 head...five years on it's still fine). I don't recall the changes and can't find details online right now.

You can see a little bit of info (or at least confirmation of a change) here: How to upgrade your flowtech75

And there's a bit of info on the two different bowl connectors (for tripod heads) halfway down this aktiv8 product page.

I'd presume a good dealer or Sachtler (or maybe more searching on the internet) will reveal details of the change. And maybe that has something to do with what your heard.