Tripod Heads - which is best?

[Hollz]

Help! I want to get a tripod, lightweight for carting around - any tips, and which is the best sort of head?

[beejaybee]

which is the best sort of head?

for what sort of work?

Ball heads are compact, reasonably cheap and tend to work well enough *but* can be a total pain if you're trying to get level horizons for landscape work. 3-way pan-and-tilt, jack of all trade but master of none, again cheap & functional but the levers sticking out can make it awkward to carry with the 'pod attached. Macro work IMO benefits a lot from a geared head (and a geared platform for focusing) these carry a price premium; very long lenses require a gimball type head of some sort but these are difficult to impossible for other uses.

[Straightarm]

look at the Manfrotto tripod range, especially the carbon fibre range if you can afford one. A lot of people go for either the 055 or 190 series.

[Hollz]

Thanks - now I know more than I did yesterday. I enjoy landscape, but want to explore macro, so I may have to put my hand in my pocket. Ebay here I come!