If you want a really great carbon fiber tripod without breaking the bank
PHOTPRO makes a copy of the RRS carbon fiber with and without a center colum .., at a fraction of the price .., if you buy it from one of the largest camera distributors in Canada .. They quote you in Canadian Dollars ..!

The one I purchased cast $869 in the US a three leg 36 mm no center colum carbon fiber ...supports 76 lbs ..only weighs 5.2 lbs and will actually support me hanging upside down from it .., anyway .. My cost from Canada $469.00..

I have almost $3,000 in monopods and tripods .. And this PHOTO PRO has replaced all of them .. I used it exclusively in Yosemite for 8 days of hiking ..my profile pic shows it with my big lens ...

You probably don't need that heavy a model .., the point is .., you can get an outstanding carbon fiber copy of the RRS from a Canadian Dist at a fraction of the cost .., National Geographic uses them now ... My Manfrotto tripod and 400 geared head were originally $1,300 .. Now they sit unused ..

My brother and I discovered that the quotes from the Canada Photo Distributors were in Canadian dollars .., when converted to US dollars ..which you will be paying in .., the cost drops off the charts ..

I consider RRS to be some of the best stuff I have ever used ..to get an equal quality and functionality at over 1/2 the price .. Well ..

Good luck ..,

You will not be disappointed with The manfrotto 055cxpro3 or the pro4, however if your going to use a ball head get a GOOD one, while expensive it will give you all of the holding power you need, I bought an Induro DM01 its a good head but will not hold adjustments with a long lens like the Nikon 70 200 f2.8 vr.
I just purchased a used Acratech Ball head used it this morning , LOVE it holds adj. with a light turn of the knob.
a new one is a bit over $350 at B&H.
the ball is in the open , looks easy to clean and no lube needed.

As I was going to recommend that you contact MTShooter anyway, I see that he chimed in. His advice is always good along with his products and service. If you contact him directly, he might just have something used that will save you money and give you what you really need. It's not like a decent tripod has a shot limit! Or, you could go the direction that many of us have gone when "we knew it all" and buy several tripods until we stumbled on one that did the job. I've got a couple of the older, beast like, Bogen jobs, before they became Monfrotto, and a ridiculously expensive Gitzo CF that has, and always will be, my go to tripod. Along with that I have several different heads, each with their own use. A couple of Bogen ones and several RRS ones, including a BH-40 Ball head, with the screw=in clamp, which I like better than the lever clamp. Probably should have bought the BH-55, but I wanted to save some weight. Whatever you do, don't buy a tripod you can afford. Save up and buy a better one, then you'll only buy once! Best of luck!

I have 2 Gitzo tripods, a 3500 series, and a larger older one. Both are adequate for a 600mm lens. When I wanted to reduce weight for landscape photography, I bought one of the Induro 200 series. I am very happy with it. If I were buying a tripod for heavier needs now, I would not hesitate to consider an Induro. The legs on my 200 series Induro are, I feel, as good as those on my Gitzo tripods, and their larger tripods are several hundred dollars cheaper than the Induro.

All of my tripods are carbon fiber.