Wanted advice on tripod

[Sudipto Roy]

I am looking for a tripod for my camera. I use Canon 450D and lense 100-400. Together they weigh slightly less than 2kg. I might opt for a prime 400 in future.
I am looking for a good tripod/ball head combination. I don't mind the weight of aluminium if it means one third the cost of carbon. My budget is approximately 15k. May be a little stretchable if the deal is good.
Advice on brands and subbrands would be appreciated. I would like more help with choosing the best ball head than the legs.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Manfrotto is good for a lower budget. To make it future proof, you buy a tripod with atleast load bearing capacity of 10-12kg. The 468MG or 468 MGRC2 will handle more than 10kgs. 498RC2 will handle about 8kgs. You need to check various shops as they are not sold at list prices. Both the tripod and ball head should come within your budget.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Sudipto Roy]

I have frozen on 055XPROB legs and 496RC2 at a total cost of Rs 15.2 k. 498RC2 is perhaps an overkill for me. Regarding 468 MGRC2 - it costs Rs 17k and of course it would be an over-over-over kill for me.
You are very right about the need to check out prices from various shops. I got a quote of Rs 19k from the Manfrotto authorised dealer here whose name is there on their website. I cross checked the price and found smartshopper in Chennai is the cheapest at around 14.5. Camshot of Pune is marginally higher at 15. I settled for Camerana, a shop-in-shop within Shoppers' Stop, that has recently started selling camera and accessories.
They are offering it at 15.2. I have the peace of mind of actually physically checking the thing out before buying.
I gave a full account of this experience so that future readers can learn from this.

[Ronnie Jacob]

This may seem like a bit of a plug for myself. (Moderator to decide please...?)But you need to seriously consider the fact the 055XPROB may not be the most rigid platforms for a 100-400, and this will start showing as you start moving up the lens scale, i.e., bigger heavier primes... The head is okay, but the legs may not be.

Consider this, would you actually be open to buying a better tripod when you get a bigger lens, or would you rather just buy a tripod that can actually handle just about any lens on the market?

If you are located in Bangalore, and are serious about you photography, I would be happy to show you some options which you may not yet have considered.

Regards,

Ronnie

[Sudipto Roy]

Ronnie thanks for responding but a tad too late for me. I had already bought the tripod. I am okay with the performance of the 055 xprob so far. It might not suffice if I really moved up the lens ladder, but given the state of my finances I do not really foresee buying a 500/600 ever.
However, for curiosity's sake I am keen to know what options you had in mind. I live in Calcutta unfortunately.

[Ronnie Jacob]

The tad too late is a right. I actually saw the time stamp on the thread after i posted. Actually the UNI-LOC was what was on my mind.

Regards,

Ronnie