Best Tripod ever
Well as of Saturday, I’m back in business. I purchased a Bogen 3021B Pro tripod. I paid about $20 more than I could have online. It would be nice to think that I was helping out a local Mom and Pop store, but truthfully, temptation and the fact that I could start using the tripod on Saturday was overwhelming. Especially since I’ve been without a tripod for a while now. In that respect, what’s $20 bucks? It barely gets you into a movie theater with a coke and popcorn these days. 
Along with the tripod, I also purchased from the same store, a Bogen - Manfrotto 3265 Grip Action Ball Head with Quick Release. Both the tripod and head have bubble levels. This should make it much easier to take straight photos.
I’m very pleased with the purchase. In fact, with the quick release and the grip action ball head, I’m in heaven. I don’t know how I’ve lived without both of these, especially the quick release. The grip action makes it so simple to adjust the camera, it’s almost insane.
Needless to say, I hope to be posting some night shots soon. I got back into the swing of things over this weekend and took all sorts of night photography. None were worth posting, as they were only experimental. The night shots of Tucson weren’t horrible, but they weren’t interesting either. The problem was location, location, location. I need to scout out a better place to take night shots of the City. In Tucson, that’s probably going to be a little difficult, as it’s not a city filled with lights at night.
The bottom line is this tripod and head combo is probably more than I will ever need for the next few years for shooting night photography, wildlife, landscapes, people photos, etc. Even if/when I do get a large prime 400mm F/2.8 lens, I believe this tripod will still support it. I’ll just have to buy a head that will support the weight of the lens.
My rating for the Bogen 3021B Pro tripod and the Bogen - Manfrotto 3265 Grip Action Ball Head is TWO THUMBS UP!