When it comes to buying tripods, I buy the head separate from the legs and consider the head as the really important part of the purchase.
Forget about $300 for a quality set of CF legs and a good head. If that's your budget, you can get a decent head and a set of cheap legs. It's better to save up and spend the money on a really good tripod. A poor head, a heavy or clumsy to use set of legs, means most people waste money on a cheap one. I recommend something on the order of a set of Manfrotto 190CXpro3 legs fitted with a Markins Q3 head. All up weight: 3 lbs, 1 oz. Holds up to a 300mm f/4 lens and body stably, with no problems. Very versatile column mount, and reasonably tall when fully extended. Legs: about $250 when I bought them, head about $270. If you need taller and like the design, the 055CXpro3 do that and weigh about 3/4 lb more, with an increase in price. It's what's holding this bazooka: http://homepage.mac.com/godders/G1_w_ZD50-200.jpg I have three tripods ... this is my smallest and turns out to be the most used, and the most convenient in the field. -- Godfrey godfreydigiorgi.posterous.com -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
