Hello everyone,

I have been struggling quite a bit with a tripod selection. I've read many posts and articles, incluing Thom's on how to save $700 by buying the $1000 setup first. Since my D40 w/70-300 cost less than that, I not ready to go that route yet. I am zeroing in on a set of aluminum legs with a decent ballhead. The Vanguard tracker popped up recently on an Email and as I looked it over it seems pretty good. Vanguard is a name I've associated with mid level optics and some camera bags which I don't really know much about. They describe their tripod as a well built unit for a very good price. The SBH 200 ballhead which comes with the tripod looks good in the pics, I do see a plastic release button on the QR Plate.
The question is, Does anyone have this unit. how well is it holding up to use, and how well does it do its job of keeping the camera still while taking photos. It only costs $180 so I know it won't compare to a Gitzo with an RRS head, but I'm not ready for that yet either. Any help is appreciated, my old tripod w/ plastic pan head has been epoxied and screwed together twice and is in dire need of replacement. Thanks in advance for your inputs, Hanic