DA* 135mm 1.8

A modern version of the old classic A* manual lens. I can't think of anything else.

I suspect you are going to have to compromise Alex. A tripod that is tall, lightweight, sturdy, folds to a compact size and is below £100 is an ambitious list requirements. Work out which of those factors are the most important to you. Or go for a monopod.

Sorry for the slow reply but I have only just logged back in.

My bag does not have Pro in the name. I tried it again since posting about it and it is useable, just a bit snug. I also tried it with the hood on in shooting position and that also fitted so I would say go for it.

I have the Toploader 55 AW. My K5 with 16-50 does fit - just. Plenty of length, in fact with the 16-50 hood reversed I can fit in a prime at the base as well. The width of the hood on the 16-50 is the issue. It does go in but it is a tight fit, another few mm on the width of the bag would be ideal. Maybe the 65 and 70 are a little wider? Worth trying in the shop.

I personally prefer twist leg locks to lever locks. This one by Giottos is very good value (I have the 4 section version but it's otherwise the same)
http://www.amazon.com/Giottos-MM5580-5-Section-Pod-Monopod/dp/B0002CTETO

Pros: tall, very sturdy, built in tilt head and QR plate, extra little legs that store in the shaft that can make it self supporting if required.

Cons: heavy for a monopod, not as compact as say a Gitzo traveller, the little legs rattle in the shaft when stored so I wrapped a bit of tape around them to keep the noise down (or just don't carry them if you don't intend to use them, saves weight too).

Thanks for the comments and the link Danny, the Wimberley is certainly a covetable piece of kit! I assume the re-balancing issue with lenses that change length is the same as with the 393?

[IMG]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/Philip_Brockbank/IMGP3191.jpg[/IMG]

Having recently purchased a Sigma 150-500 I have been playing around with it on an assortment of tripod heads to see how well they worked together. My experience of using long lenses is limited but I have accumulated a small assortment of tripods and heads (to take this photo my K5 was mounted on a 50 year old Gitzo tripod with a tiny Ising pan head that must be more than 60 years old).

Anyhoo...FWIW here are my initial impressions of using the various heads with the 150-500.

Front row left to right:
Gitzo 1780 centre ballhead
Obviously a bit smaller than ideal but actually coped quite well, useable when travelling light. Fiddly QR mechanism.

Manfrotto 468 hydrostatic head
Works as well as any centre ballhead can - smooth with fine control over friction. Only disadvantage with a long heavy lens is that it has free movement over 3 axis which requires extra care.

Gitzo 1276 off centre ballhead
Pretty useless for this weight of lens - movement is just too wild and hard to control - excellent for other applications but not for this.

Back row left to right:
Gitzo 1372 pan/tilt head
Very good indeed - the ability to isolate just the pan and tilt movements make for smooth precise control.

Manfrotto 322 pistol grip head
I have fitted this head with the adaptor that allows it to be used both vertically and horizontally. In horizontal mode the centre of gravity is lower but it feels very awkward. In verical mode it is great fun - just like a game consol joystick- but the centre of gravity is so high it feels like the whole setup could easily topple over. The other problem is that you can only move the camera by gripping the head, so I kept finding my shutter finger was not free when I wanted it. It could probably do with a shutter release on the head trigger.

Manfrotto 393 gimbal head
This is purpose designed for the job and does it well. It is big, heavy and ugly but allows for very smooth movement in 2 axis which is just what is required. The only issue I found is that because the Sigma changes length as it zooms you have to re-balance the gimbal for optimum operation every time you change focal length (or just make sure you don't let go of the camera). For some perverse reason Manfrotto advertise this as a monopod head when it works perfectly well on a tripod. In fact I found it quite tricky to set up on a monopod, although once set up it works fine.

Unfortunately I cannot comment on using a Wimberly head for the simple reason that I do not have one....it is hard to see that it would be that much different from the Manfrotto 393 though, except that it's not so big, heavy and ugly (and costs 4x the price).

FA*85mm f1.4 because I enjoy available light photography and it's the longest fast glass. Expensive though so I may have to settle for the Sigma equivalent

and

DA* 300 f4. I don't use long lenses a lot but the stunning results I have seen on the forum from this lens make me long to own it. Perhaps one day...

I'm looking forward to using Kevin - in fact I bought it largely because of your recommendation! I was going to get a Pentax 50-135 until I read a post of yours discussing the relative merits of the two lenses and went for this one instead. I also bought a Pentax 43mm recently based on your high opinion of it and have not been disappointed. Now will you kindly ease up on recommendations before I'm totally broke

Sigma 50-150 arrived this morning, well packed and in excellent condition. Thank you.