It’s a wonderful day! I got a new tripod for my birthday! It’s a Manfrotto 351MVCF with 519 Fluid Head, plus a super cool carrying bag! Definitely worth all the exclamation marks!

I actually wanted to get a tripod last year for my birthday, but decided at the last minute to get the hard-drive DV recorder (FireStore FS-4). And then again for Christmas, but opted for the gift certificate instead. Finally, after passing up several opportunities, I have a decent video tripod to call my own.

I tried it out today, and OMG, it’s so smooth. Clean starts and nice tension. It’s so easy to adjust and calibrate. Especially considering the odd weight distribution of the XL-2. Although having the FS-4 drive on the back of the XL-2 certainly helps.

So already I’m contemplating a LANC zoom/focus controller, as well as an on camera LCD like the ikan’s V8000W for sharp focusing.

It’s absolutely amazing, I love it! Thanks so much to everyone who pitched in!