As Olaf said, Miller tripods are very good. I have a DS-20 which is slightly more expensive but it can handle more weight such as a Monitor etc.

Thanks guys! I have been looking around for great heavy duty tripod with a smooth fluid head.

See I have a decent tripod with a fluid head, however when I am zoomed all the in on a subject as soon as I touch or adjust focusing, you see much jitter and shakiness.

I have the image stabilizer enabled, but it stills looks shaky when you very lightly touch the cam when zoomed all the way.

Will a much heavier more stable Tripod help eliminate this problem?

If you are looking for "extremely smooth" in all directions you may have to bump up your baseline pricing.

The recommendations have been Sachtler and Miller. They cost more than a thousand but if you buy a Manfrotto tripod/head and then use a Miller or a Sachtler you will end up kicking yourself for not saving up for something that much better. The difference is HUGE.

Go to a camera shop with your EX1 and try them out. The sales reps shouldn't mind.

Buy your tripod thinking it will outlive your camera. It affects EVERY shot. Again it affects every shot.

Another thing you can do is buy a good zoom controller (I like the Varizoom Pro EX because it has a handle and variable speed control wheel) and disconnect it from the tripod while you use it on critical shots. Set up your shot. Lock it down. Start/stop/zoom with the Pro EX. Vibration gone.

I use the Sachtler FSB 8, by the way. Smooth as butter. Even so, I still use the rubber band trick on pans and tilts.

MATHEWS makes a good light weight tripod.


Matthews | M25 Tripod System | M25 | B&H Photo Video

Ha ha ha I use the rubber band trick as well. I learned it from youtube about two years ago.
Makes it look like a real motorized pan. Rubber bands are great!