Thanks a lot. Those were the ones I was looking at on one of the camera sites, but didn't know for sure--or what I should absolutely look for. I knew I wanted a good head and quick release, but wasn't sure beyond that. Bsteph--my old one is very steady too--and has worked okay for some things (like my jaunt in the mts. Monday). However, it doesn't have a swivel head (I guess that's what I mean--it goes up and down and around, but not 'free'). The Minolta has a 'free' head, but lacks other accoutrements and I don't trust it. The 3rd is just crappy LOL. Guess I'm lucky to have 3 though and I'll try to pass them on (except the one that works for table tops) to someone else. One of the furniture companies we used to work for--did the showroom among other things--made the Ralph Lauren furniture. The part of the showroom devoted to RL was done by 'his' people and they spent thousands and thousands each market (twice a year) doing 'themes'. One year it was photography in several rooms/vignettes and they had all manner of accessories related to it. After that year, they left the accessories and they became part of 'our' inventory for use in the larger showrooms. One year that company got gulped up by one of the other companies in the group and all the 'stuff' was sold off--cheap. And some was just junked. The tripods were junked and I 'inherited' them. So--beggars can't be choosers LOL. The one I bought myself was many years ago--and I couldn't afford a good one--nor knew what I should have looked for to begin with. There I go again--long winded story. Diane