Thanks very much for the advice, gents.

You need a Velbon Sherpa definitely. Make sure it has a straight removable centre pole for which you can get a hide pole clamp from eg In Focus. Only £95. I had a Swarovski which was, in fact the super sturdy and bloody heavy Manfrotto tripod mentioned by Craig rebadged. I sold this on and got a Velbon 4-stage carbon tripod which fits in a suitcase for going away but wasn't cheap. They are great though. Still have my Sherpa too..,

Are you after carbon or a aluminium type Ollie? If its the latter, you can pick up a decent one from quite few manufacturers from around the £100 mark. Velbon Sherpas have a good rep and you can pick one up for £99 for e.g. from a shop not a million miles away. Just a word of warning though. I use a Manfrotto Aluminium tripod. It's still going strong after 12 or so years, and im not inclined to change it, as stability / durability wise its superb, but by god it's heavy.

Hi, am looking to get a new tripod, as the one I've got isn't the greatest. Not looking at spending hundreds, but could anybody recommend me any good mid-range makes I can trust?

Thanks a lot!