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I'm not a tandemer... (??) but I think the majority of people who like out of phase (OOP) cranks do so at 90 degrees. The benefits being that one rider will be applying power when the other rider's cranks are vertical (and therefore not producing power.) However, one has to be very careful not to strike a pedal on a turn when in this configuration. (Because if one person's inside crank is up, the other person's cranks are horizontal.)
Some people say this reduces the "togetherness" of riding a tandem, which is part of the appeal. (I'm starting to sound like I'm just repeating Sheldon's page...) As for a few degrees OOP pedals, I'm not sure why you'd want that unless you have a specific reason for it which I can't think of.