about to buy a tripod/head, any suggestions? (1 Viewer)

I'm about to buy a tripod and ball head that will eventually support a Canon 400mm f5.6 lens. I've added everything up and the most weight that would ever be on the legs is about 10 pounds, so I guess I'm looking for legs that have a max load in the 15 to 20 pound range, definitely carbon fiber.

I'm planning on using it mainly for bird photography, but also some landscape and macro stuff and who knows what else in the future..

Here's what I'm thinking of getting:

Manfrotto 055CXPro3 legs
Kirk BH-3 Ball Head
Kirk Quick Release Plate

Can anyone recommend cheaper or better models for any of this stuff (given my intended use)?

Thanks for any suggestions,
Matt

Hi Matt
I have a Manfrotto 055XB and use a Manfrotto 486RC head. I previously used a Velbon CX660 and the difference betwen the 2 is vast.
The Manfrotto tripod and head weigh 6 pounds together. The tripod is rated at 15 pounds if I remember rightly. I use a Canon 450d with a Canon 100-400mm zoom which also weighs 6 pounds and this combination works well for me on this set up.
I know you were set on carbon fibre but this is a cheaper option if your prepared to carry it.
Regards
Ian

Has anyone used, or even seen in real life, a Promaster tripod? If so, what do you think of the quality and what are the leg locking mechanisms?

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If you care about the details, here is why I'm asking:
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I go to the local camera store to see if they have the Manfrotto 055CxPro3 tripod and I get talking to the owner about tripods, what I'm going to use mine for, blah blah blah. This guy is crazy about a brand called Promaster. He says that Promaster is a company that contracts other well known companies to make batches of a product for them, then promaster sticks their name on the product and sells it for (sometimes) much cheaper than the big brand would. For example, the store sells many promaster filters but both the guys that work there say that the filters are just made by Hoya and then the promaster name gets slapped on them.

Now he tells me that he is about to receive a shipment of carbon fiber Promaster tripods. He says they may or may not comparable in quality to a carbon fiber manfrotto, but they WILL be much cheaper. So he tells me to wait on my tripod purchase, come in when they get these Promaster tripods in and he will let me know whether he thinks they're junk or not.

That was over a week ago and they still don't have the manfrotto model I want or the Promaster ones. In the mean time, I'm just trying to get at least one other opinion on Promaster's tripod line.

Thanks for any help.