Looks like my review was truncated. Here's the rest of it: After 23 years, the B&S head started to become difficult to use, and I decided to replace it with a 3rd-party squeeze-and-release grip head, which better suits my needs anyway, but I had no complaints about the original head; it suited my needs more than a typical pan-tilt head would have. I have sung the praises of my Benbo on many occasions, usually to people who have never heard of it, and can't quite imagine what I'm describing. If you tend to work in water a lot, this is a good tripod, as the bottom section of the leg runs over the upper section, so the lower couple of feet is water- and sandproof. The greater weight at the bottom of the legs also adds to the stability by lowering the centre of gravity. My recommendation? Unless you only work in a studio, pointing your camera straight ahead, or you particularly value the ability to use a vertical centre column for precise panning, get yourself a Benbo.

I bought my Benbo 25 years ago, and utterly love it. I'm not a studio photographer though, and would not necessarily recommend it for such use, but for anyone who takes the camera outdoors, it is excellent. When the rubber feet starting cracking about 8 years ago and I thought the tripod had been discontinued (I'm in Australia anyway, and the Benbo seems unknown here), I was rather devastated; happily, a trip to a rubber merchant got me kitted out with 3 replacement feet, though not the same as the original pointed ones. Using the Benbo is rather like handling demented bagpipes (I imagine...) at first, but you soon get used to the required technique for opening up the legs and setting them to the position required. The ability to position the camera above or below the top of the legs; to splay the legs as much as you like and get low to the ground; to raise one leg and lean it against a wall or other near-vertical surface; to position the legs as precisely as required on rough ground, without overbalancing the whole affair ... all of these are wonderful features that explain my pleasure in using it. Mine is the original, normal sized model that puts the camera about 5 feet above ground without needing the centre column extended; the larger Benbo 2 gives quite a bit extra height, but with the legs just being in 2 sections, it becomes a large tripod even when collapsed. After 23 years, the B&S head started to become difficult to use, and I decided to replace it with