Tripod recommendation

[hamlet]

I have found a ball head called SIRUI K-40X capable of holding 35kg- this looks ball head looks to good to be true, what is everyones opinion on this?

 

[AustinPhotoDude]

So today i was in the garden trying to get some macro photos of flowers and i had my 70-200 + 11-16 both connected to my dslr on my tripod. Halfway into my sesion i noticed my camera sagging and slowly falling down, i ofcourse jumped to save my gear from falling down, seems that my affordable tripod finally broke down under the weight of my gear but i managed to save all my lenses and camera from any damage. Now i'm in the market for a very durable tripod, can you recommend a reliable tripod?

Okay, here's a bunch of comments...

1. The tripod is the single item of all camera gear where it doesn't make sense to buy cheap. In many cases, if you buy a cheap lens, it's still good at a lot of things but it drops off at extremes or is poor in low light or slow (so bad for sports). In other words, you can buy cheap gear and it has limitations but can still have value. But that absolutely isn't true with a tripod. A cheap tripod is weight to carry around, takes up space in your luggage or backpack yet doesn't do what it's supposed to do (provide a stable platform for shooting). I'm not arguing that you need to spend $2,000. But while I can see trying to save money on a lens (by going third party) or getting a refurbished body or a range of other budget options, buying a cheap tripod is a waste of your money. Let me be specific: I'd argue that anything under $180 is a waste of your money (unless you get a good bargain buying a used tripod from a friend).

2. It starts with what you need it for. Let me give you examples...if your tripod is going in to carry-on luggage than you need one that folds short-enough to fit into the airline length limits. If you're going to use it for on-site location shoots you hike to, than you want something that is light-weight (and thus composite). If you shoot outdoors, maybe something with spikes or provisions to hook on to a sandbag. If you're tall and don't want to stoop over, you've got size/length requirements. Sports...than likely a monopod. Food photography....then you want a center column that goes horizontal. Macro photography....then you probably want a focusing rail. You really can't get a tripod that does everything all superbly. B/c to be perfect at some things means to make sacrifices on other areas. So start by identifying what you want your tripod for. For instance, I do a lot of location shoots where I travel in order to get there...so my tripod needs to fit in carry-on and be light-weight for hiking. I sacrifice height (I have to slump over), a tilting center-column, and quick setup for my travel tripod in order to get one that works well for travel and hiking.

3. I've had a bunch of tripods. Right now I have two manfrottos. One has a manfrotto head, the other has an induro head. The head may be more important than the legs/base. Once you get over $140, most sets of legs will be fine for basic stability as long as we're not talking extremes (setting up on ice, 400mm lens). The head is going to determine if you get "creep" with your 200mm slowly slipping to the power of gravity.

Thanks for all the info.