If you want to pack your tripod in your suitcase for air travel then your original choice is great because it folds very small. The Red Snappers are longer and may be a problem to pack. The Giottos has modest load capacity, probably because of having 5 leg sections. I guess you could get greater stability by not using it fully extended.

Gitzo series 1 heads sit nicely on a monopod. I use this one
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-gitzo-gh1780qr-centre-ball-head-with-quick-r...
it works very well for me, though I do not have any really heavy lenses

I took this shot with a Pentax 55-300 last April. I must have cropped it a bit but it shows that 300mm can give a reasonable shot even through London light polution
[IMG]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/Philip_Brockbank/Fullmoon0052.jpg[/IMG]

I am looking to upgrade my tripod from the one I bought at Lidl for £20 so I am interested. Problem is that I already placed bids on some Manfrotto and Gitzo kit on ebay, so I don't know yet if I need this head until bidding ends tomorrow lunchtime.I will PM you then if I need it and it's stll available.

What, some sort of flower fairy thing? My photo faking skills are rubbish, but I had some time to kill while waiting for the football on the telly so here is a mock up using another shot of the same rose bush.

Yup, I know it's not great...but it's a bit of fun
[IMG]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/Philip_Brockbank/SunQueen.jpg[/IMG]

Microglobe will not actually have the lens at that price - they only seem to update their prices on the stuff that they have in stock, the prices they quote for out of stock items are meaningless; years out of date sometimes. A good FA 31 will cost you around £650 second hand.

Why not go for the new DA 35 f2.4? Owners rate it highly.

I can't speak for gillbod but I got mine from SRS about 6 weeks ago, just before the VAT increase. They were out of stock when I ordered it but they got it for me in about a week.

The sun was shining today so I took some close focus pics in the garden using my new DFA 100 macro. Jpegs straight from the camera except for cropping.

Rice plant
[IMG]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/Philip_Brockbank/riceplant.jpg[/IMG]

Light and shade
[IMG]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/Philip_Brockbank/yellowweed.jpg[/IMG]

Here comes the sun
[IMG]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/Philip_Brockbank/roseleaf1.jpg[/IMG]

This is my first attempt at posting any photos so C&C is welcome.

I love no 2.

No 1 is impressive but I don't know whether it's mainly about the castle or the rocks.

[IMG]http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff505/Philip_Brockbank/Macro002.jpg[/IMG]

I have not managed to insert images via Flikr so here is a test via Photobucket...

Hey! It worked!