There have been several threads about tripods. Some cheap and some over grand. After reading here and talking to "Alf" a member here I bought a leveling base for a leofoto tripod. For the past year I have been using a Fatboy and really like it, but with the leveling head it is about 8 lbs, very stable. I had a Leofoto 364 with a lh40 ball head it is lighter but I wanted a leveling head so I got a Leofoto lb75-lrc. I just unscrewed the ball head and put the lb75lrc on my 364 tripod and it is pretty nice. It is not as stable as the Fatboy but it is less than half the price and 3 lbs lighter. I posted this for guys not wanting to spend a grand for a tripod but still wanted something nice.