thank you for the replay. I have read that about 3 times lol. The manfrotto I was looking is 3.6lb which is lower than the Gitzo G1327 Mountaineerby about 1.5lbs. The only thing Im not sure about is the Manfrotto max load is the of 17.64. This Manfrotto cost from factory $445, the manfrotto ball head cost $367 from factory. So this set up from the factory is around $800 not cheap. I found it on amazon the tripod for $319, and the ball head is 280. My only feeling is that if I get a used Gitzo as your other tripods will set in the corner when I can get what I want, but I would have spent a lot more money on the Gitzo.