Advice needed on Manfrotto 055XPROB + 488RC4 ball head - good combo?

jasonstone

Hi everyone,

I currently have a Manfrotto 190B + 141RC - some 9years old but...

i don't like the 3 way pan head anymore and it's 116cm tall without the centre column extended and I'm 6'2" so have to extend the centre column - which means it's less sturdy

ok i know about Thom Hogan's recommendations - don't buy interim just wait and go the whole hog but... i have a mortgage and 2 kids and don't make money from my photography so...

I was thinking of replacing my current setup with a Manfrotto 055XPROB + 488RC4 ball head.

This tripod is some 30cm higher without centre column extended meaning I wno't have to extend the centre column to max height to reach my eye level.

The combo should support Nikon D80 + 70-200 f2.8 lens (although I don't have the lens yet)... and have room to be futureproof for bigger camera in future

Just wondering - does this tripod and head combo sound like the way to go? any personal experiences with such a combo?

Thanks all
Jase