Ball head 75mm etc....a little explanation?
 

I`m new to really understanding a tripod and what its got. So could someone give me a breakdown of all the things relevant to trying to find a tripod under $1k for a Canon A1 weight class camera? Tilt degrees +/-, bowl size, ball or no ball, half bowl/ball, its all pretty greek at the moment.

Bowl size refers to the bowl that the head sits in to allow rapid leveling. Typically they are 75 or 100mm. 75mm size will be fine for a camera the weight of an A1, the 100mm size would be appropriate for a heavier camera. Tilt degrees is the amount of angle up or down the head will move. Minus will be down while plus will be up, a tilt of +90 will point your camera's lens straight up in the air. Ball heads are for still photography and wont give you smooth pans with video.

I have an A1 and anguished a long time about tripods as I wanted to spend as little as possible (but willing to go to $1500) to a great set of sticks. While there are lots of Bogen fans on this site, from my still photography background, I'm not one of them so that brand was out for me.

I ended up with the Libec LS-38 ($650) and it's great. Sturdy, smooth head, easy set-up, balances nicely with the A1, everything you could want in a tripod.

I compared it to the Cartoni Focus and Sachtler DV-6 both well more than twice the price. I would admit (specifically with the Sachtler) they might be built slightly better but not enough to justify the cost.
--JL

have you had any problems with the head sticking on pans/tilts like i`ve been reading about the bogens? Is it a true fluid head?

Tripods that use 75mm or 100mm bowls have an advantage in that most kit such as dollies and cranes are designed to take such a tripod head. Not a big issue as you could always rent a head / tripod with such kit.
Also as they're more or less industry standards you can mix and match legs and heads.
All such heads include a level so you can check that the head is level. The more expensive heads even include a light for the bubble. Sounds like a bit of bling until you try levelling a head in a dark auditorium.