Some friends and I are planning on a trip to Mexico in April of 2024 to photograph the eclipse. I recently obtained the Pentax 150-450mm lens and the 1.4x HD DA teleconverter for the trip (and the fact that Ive been lusting after those things since they were announced), so now Im saving for a new K3 mkIII as a replacement for my K-5.
After playing around with the 150-450 and TC (and being FLOORED at the wonderful IQ from that combination), Ive quickly learned that my tripod isnt really up to the task. My current unit is a Quantaray QSX-9002D (aka Sunpak 9002DX
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/610394-REG/Sunpak_620_6464CC_9002DX_T...981&), and while the legs are decently stable, the pan/tilt head (fixed to the tripod legs) is really taxed by the weight load, and is a bit of a pain to use with such a large body/lens combo.
As such, Im looking for advice on a solid tripod and ball head that can handle a K-5 w/grip (and eventually a K-3 mkII w/grip) with a 150-450 mounted. I would like to find something that is a bit more compact than my Quantary/Sunpak (about 24" folded down, and weighing 3.5lbs), so I can take it with me on my eclipse trip to Mexico. I have hiked several times with my current tripod (the pain we put ourselves through for the perfect shot), so I dont need ultralight and ultracompact, but would prefer something that is definitely shorter than 24" folded.
Budget for this is semi flexible. Id love to get one around $150-200, but am willing to go up to $300 for the right unit. Based on user feedback on here, two of the most popular units seem to be the MeFoto RoadTrip S and the Sirui T-25SK, but would love to hear from experience from other forum members on tripod solutions they use for their 150-450mm lens (or similar large Pentax/Sigma/Tamron lenses)