I have a Sirui K-30x on a set of Bogen 3021BPRO legs. The legs although not for sale anymore, I would not recommend something in that class, I will be upgrading them. They have a bad weight to support ratio.
I looked around a lot of ball heads and decided to order a Sirui K-30x knowing I could just return it if it was below my standards. Is it the best ball head? No. But its worth every penny of $140 in my opinion. Its rated for a 55lb load. Its a good practice with ball heads to divide by 3. So 18lbs, my P67 rig at most would be 8.5 lbs. The action is smooth, it holds very well. The torsion settings work exactly how they should. It's pretty much a copy of the Markins Head's. It slips a little if you don't tighten it up and set it at an extreme angle in the vertical notch, but a L bracket is a better option for going vertical anyway.
As for legs. I've narrowed it down to either Induro CT214, a very well made set of legs for $400 or taking another chance with a Sirui R3203. The Gitzo Systematic line would be a good option as well, but I think at that point I'd just go RSS.
---------- Post added 06-06-14 at 05:28 PM ----------
Originally posted by Hakusan I use a Manfrotto Carbone 440 three section tripod (I think the Manfrotto 055 series tripods replaced that) with an Arca Swiss P0 ball head. I prefer flip locks to twist locks. I find them to be faster and easier to adjust height. You can also know if they are unlocked just by looking at them. I use this tripod with focal lengths up to 300mm and for exposures in the minutes with a 645D. The Arca Swiss P0 is a great head--small, light, and flexible. I put a short column on my tripod to reduce weight. I need to be able to carry this all day over all kinds of terrain. For indoors, I have a large Gitzo tripod.
I have also used 4x5, 6x12 panorama, and 6x6 cameras on this tripod. Buy a good tripod and one that is going to suit what you need it for and it will last you a really long time.
That is a nice head ! The manfrotto flip locks just bother me.