Well, I gotta get my 2.59362 cents worth in. I'll start off by saying that I would shop for a tripod that works for the type work I do - for me, a lot of nature, wildlife and macro stuff (with a bit of hiking about). I've got a few rules that have to be met for a tripod: 1: There is simply no such thing as a "lightweight sturdy" tripod. I want a tripod that feels like a rock once I've set it in place (hiking or not). Setting up on a flimsy surface WILL result in flimsy images. 2: I need a tripod that doesn't have additional braces for the legs extending to the center column. These are going to inhibit the tripod's versatility in the field (great for studio situations - but not for field work). 3: Reason for reason no. 2 - I need a tripod that allows me to fan the legs out to get it as low as possible to the ground for low level work. 4: I'm not concerned with a center column - too much center column extension, and you've got a monopod on a stand - not a tripod. The center column also restricts how low you can get when you fan the legs out. (I've actually cut the center column of my tripod down to the quick. I carry an extension that I can attach to it if I absolutely need to get higher. 5: Nice feature - but I've never found any use of a tripod that allows you to reverse the center column. Either you're shooting into the third leg because you're viewing through the opening of the other two, or you're fighting the opening to get a clear view through the other legs. Much better solution (for me) is to carry a Super Clamp and clamp it low on the leg and put the head on it. 6: Speaking of heads - I've had a go with both pan-tilt and ball heads...and now use almost exclusively ball heads. Although the pan-tilt head allows you to "pan" with a subject (a race car, for example), I've yet to set up a tripod where I can pan within that locked plane and get the composition I wanted - it's always a bit off one way or another, and that makes it too easy for the photographer to settle for what's in the finder. I am also not a fan of the "pistol-grip" flavors of ball heads, mainly because there's a DRASTIC shift should you want to change from horizontal to vertical. I DO , however, LOVE the LARGER ball heads (when I say "larger", I mean the Arca Swiss and large Bogen head - don't recall the number). These allow smooth motion, complete with a tension setting where you can move the camera and let go of it without it moving. All that being said, I am current;t using a Bogen 3020 with a BIG Bogen ball head (I've got a 3047 that I haven't used....well....for a while). I've filed out the leg expansion "stops" to where the tripod will go pretty much flat to the ground, and have sawed off the center post flush to the bottom of the mount. I've been wanting to go to a heavier tripod, but have only found a select few that meet my requirements (Gitzo's - and who can afford that?). For macro work, I also lug around a Benbo tripod - the most flexible (and confusing) tripod around - but it'll get you into positions that would embarrass the writers of the Kama Sutra! Just my thoughts. Wolf