So my take and experience is much like many people who are on a budget for a tripod and head. I buy an affordable but "good" set of manfrotto legs and ball head and it's heavy and maxes out with a 70-200 or 300 F4.
I end up buying another tripod and head. Essentially spending even more money. Thom Hogan wrote about this process and like most people he went through the same process not wanting to spend the $ on the higher end product only to spend 2x that buying the cheaper gear a few times until eventually having to buy the expensive stuff anyway.
I bought the high end Carbon fiber Gitzo legs the second time and an Arca Swiss Z1 ball head.
The combo will really set you back but in serious about my photography and I take a lot of long exposure nightscapes so it really matter that I have a rock solid platform.
Portland Headlight [Explored] by -mik3ymomo-
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