Looking to buy a tripod, need advice.

[fizbin]

I am looking to buy a tripod for about $100 to $150. It will mostly be used for taking macro shots with some night shots. Any suggestions?

[shingi]

Manfrotto or Bogen (sp?) are rather expensive, from what I've seen, but they are the best of the bunch. However, on eBay there is one made by DynaTran that seems pretty good...although heavy. I bought one, and am still waiting for it to arrive. However, I have read some good reveiws about them. They seem sturdy, and well-built, but like I said before, extremely heavy. Amvona.com is selling them, so you might consider them. Also, don't buy from the website (amvona.com) buy from eBay and save some money on 'em....got mine for 32.50 shipped

However, I have not looked into the more "pro" tripods, so there may be a good tripod out there for <$150. I do however, recommend, as you most likely already know, not buying a cheap one from Wal-Mart, or K-Mart....

[TheObiJuan]

I have the Dynatran AT-12T and love it. It is very well built, and as stated, it does weigh a little bit more than the average. I am going to buy CF pod to be more travel friendly.

[fizbin]

What head did you purchase for the DynaTran?

Also the other 2 brands mentioned. I have recieved approval from accounting (the wife) that the budget has bee increased to $200 for legs and head! Does that change anything?
What do you think of the Manfrotto 728B as a kit? That is now on the low to middle end of my budget.

[ReF]

i bought the manfrotto 3021 PRO for $145. the reason the PRO is in bold is because there are two versions. for a measly $10 extra, the pro version gives you the option to convert the center column into a horizontal arm - useful for macros and shooting from all sorts of odd angles. the tip of the center column can also be detached from the rest of the column, which means you get a built in super-short column. that gets you closer to the ground than an optional short column (extra $30). head choices... that's a tough one.... i bought a ball head which is pretty useful, but 3 way heads still have their own advantages. the ball head i got was a manfrotto 488 with quick release for about $90. it's decent, but if you want a really great ball head they go for about $300-$400. if you don't need to get into position while tripod mounted very quickly then a 3 way head usually costs a lot less and should do quite well.