You should go for the best you can afford. A tripod is not something to skimp on or you will end up buying several in attempt to get one that works, which will cost you far more in the long run than buying a good one to start with. look for one with the minimum number of leg pieces too - more leg pieces more chance of wobble.
Make sure the head is capable of carrying the weight plus some.

I have a Velbon Sherpa Pro CF 630, with a Markins ball head. I took out the centre column as soon as I got it, and have never used it, or needed it - the tripod is tall enough that I don't need it - nor does my husband who is is 6' 1".

I took my camera and Bigma to a shop and tried several tripods before opting for this one. It was without a doubt the most stable one in my price range. I tried a few Manfrotto models too but wasn't as happy with them. The combo, had I paid full price for the head, would have been the price of a new K10 kit at the time.

My only problem with it is it won't fit in a small suitcase when flying - you can't take tripods on board so it has to be checked - so I have to take a (too) big suitcase.

Isn't the E-PL1 the stripped down version of the PEN (E-P1/E-P2)? So a mirrorless camera - which is the way Olympus are going nowadays.

A new titanium watch amongst other things. No photography stuff.
It was a good Christmas though with no arguments for a change.

Hello Sai. Welcome to the forum.
Care to tell us a bit more about yourself- what camera you have, what you like to shoot, how experienced you are, where you are?

Not to mention the Pentax comes with in body shake reduction so you don't need to keep paying for it again and again with every new lens.

But have you actually held either? You may find if you do that one feels better to you than the other. Look at how easy they are to operate, whether you have to keep going into the menus to change minor things, how they feel in the hand and so on.

Definitely a big thumbs up for Chris and everyone at SRS yet again.

Now to get it set up again. It has just about warmed up now.

It's a normal working day here, no compensatory days given for weekend holidays, so yes we get post today. My newspaper was in the box at 6 as usual this morning too.

My new K-5 has just arrived.

I'm letting it warm up a bit before I use it.

If you like the size of the Ds then you need a smaller camera - definitely not a secondhand K-20D. I moved from a Ds to a K20D and found it heavy and brick like.
The K-5/K7 is smaller and nicer to hold. The K-5 is closer in feel to the Ds but like Sledger I too secretly prefer the feel of the Ds .

If you don't use the top screen, and don't mind a Pentamirror instead of a prism then a K-r, or a K-x may feel better - they are lighter certainly. There are other restrictions with those two (no weatherproofing for instance) but they are certainly worth considering.

But really any of the current range would be a good next camera. How it feels in the hand is important, as well as how much you want to pay. You can't really go wrong with any of them tbh.

The missus hasn't got her visa yet then Kris?
Hope the snow storms aren't affecting you too much over there - and if they do you have an excuse to stay in and be wicked .