Any tripod recommendations?

I currently have an ancient and very heavy Slik tripod, which is great at home but not a realistic option for taking out. And a small Jessops tripod which is ok for a compact but not dSLR.

Any thoughts on reasonably priced (say under £100) portable and lightish weight tripods that are built reasonably well, and would support the weight of the K-7 plus average lens (I'm never likely to use something as heavy as the Bigma, for example)? I'm not so bothered about being able to do clever things like holding the camera at weird angles, or millimeters from the ground, but would be keen on a tripod where I can hang a bag from it to weigh it down if necessary.

I know you can spend a fortune on really good tripods, but I will be more of an occasional user (eg for long exposures at dusk) where portability will be important to me than rock solidness.

I've read of Vanguard Alta+ tripods, which look like they might do the job well, but wondered if people have experience of them or of other brands they would recommend?

Cheers,

Jon

Look at Slik again - I have an ancient Slik 500G which I paid £8.50 for in full working order, it weighs next to nothing and I've used it with my K-m and a 730g K series zoom before now with no real problems. It's pretty stable and folds fairly small.

It doesn't have a hook for ballast, although I doubt it'd be hard to add one. The base of the central column is a hollow tube so I'm considering fixing a "plug" in there to screw a small eye hook into.

I was in the same situation with only a lightweight but massive Velbon tripod, which is both a pain to carry and likely to attract unwelcome attention. That now holds a pair of binoculars aimed at the bird table in the garden!

Look at Redsnapper tripods. Always seem to be well regarded by those who have them. Said to be well made and great value for money.

Have a look at This

My friend has just bought the Xprob version with the next head upto this one but paid £129 which to be honest i'm probably going to buy myself aswell, but if you cant stretch to the extra the one i've linked is a very good tripod for the money and a good price too.

Here Is the other one, this place is the shop i use for most my stuff and cheapest i can find this tripod and head.

Jon, have a look at this thread link if value for money coupled with quality are important I don't think you can do much better than a Redsnapper.

Go manfrotto, there is nothing better. If weight is not want you want, then there are plenty of options out there. Only problem is their heads are a little weighty.

Taken a Forum member up on what sounds like an almost as new Redsnapper. Interesting that I think they are actually made by Marumi, but sold under the Redsnapper label in this country. I already use Marumi filters quite frequently and have found them to be very convincing alternatives to Hoya, often at a much lower price. If the tripod is of similar quality, I think it will do fine.

Thanks all for the suggestions. And to add one name into the mix, Vanguard Alta tripods are also considered to be very good and good value - it's another one to consider.

I also like Manfrotto and have one of their monopods, but have had issues with the clamps on its leg. I notice that the same clamps are used on some of their other tripods (ie the ones I can afford!) and other people have posted similar feedback in their reviews eg on Amazon.

Ffordes sell used tripods, with a list & photos on the website, and although camera fairs are now harder to find, real tripod bargains show up at them..and there is fleabay of course....also Focus on imaging starts this weekend at the NEC in brum.