Tripods

I've decided to take the next step in equipment needs, and this includes the purchase of a good entry level tripod. At the local camera store today I found a this Manfrotto 290 Series priced @ $179. Any of the others I looked at were over-sized or too light weight. Thoughts.............:confused:

It looks good only for me it is too low-only 128 cm. This high is not good for your back. I have 175 cm without center column.

I really don't want to drop more then $150 at this point. If anyone has suggestions please post them...........

If you haven't done it yet, you might want to check out Marko's podcast on buying a tripod... Tripods for photography | Photography.ca

Also looking at the SLIK Pro 500DX or the PRO 340 DX

don't forget a ball head!!

Here's the problem....the more we get into photography the more we realize that certain accessories are cheaper or equal in the longrun if we pay a small fortune for them at the outset. I myself have wasted many hundreds of dollars on tripods that were cheaper and crappier than the one I have now (gitzo carbon fibre - 7 bills) ...I never use them anymore and many of them broke while in use. I'm a saver so when things are expensive I just put aside x for a while then buy what i want/need.

Anyone familiar with Benro Tripod Kits ?

Found this (and it even has a Nod to this forum and marko's podcast!!)

new camera owner and his search for a tripod

Found this brand also Giottos.com