Buying myself a few goodies for Christmas.

At last, after having been told a hundred times and having read it a thousand times, i am buying a half decent tripod and head. I have a budget though so couldn't get exactly what I would like but think it should do the job.

Getting an Acratech head on a Manfrotto carbon 3 leg unit. The legs are very thick for rigidity and lightweight for carrying. It has a tilt central column and you can get pretty low with it. With the body and head on I don't have to raise the central column more than 20mm up at the most to get at eye height.

http://acratech.net/

The above link has some good stuff on "how to do" and shows how to get nodal point etc. I like the look of their gear. I am getting the GP - S which has a levelling base and gimbal built in.

The legs are going to cost as much as I paid for the camera (60D) - I am now hyperventilating at the thought of that!

http://www.manfrotto.com/055-carbon-fibre-q90-3-section-tripod

I am convinced though that in the end it will help me get better shots as I will actually use it.

I looked at older used Gitzo - my first choice but they were not much cheaper and nothing like as flexible or light.

Well I have my new Acratech head and manfrotto carbon legs. It makes for a much lighter rig and it is very solid. I may need to get leg covers as the carbon fibre looks awfully vulnerable to scratches. The head is excellnt but will take a bit of practice. I am not used to small knobs yet.

Just got a mint condition Canon 400 5.6mm. Tried it out today and it looks promising - I'll post some pics next week.