Well guys, I finally got around to getting a new tripod today!
If you recall, my good tripod was destroyed in the wreck three years ago, and since then, I've been using my old (some cases, 30 years old) backup tripods. And they've been dying one by one.
My old one was a Best Buy purchase, a house brand called "Rocketfish" and surprisingly well built for the price. It was packed with all sorts of features, like a 3-axis head on a carbon-fiber structure and was 65 inches extended. Sadly, it was discontinued about the time of my wreck, so I couldn't find a new one or even replacement parts for the damaged head.
Here you can see the head bend and broken at the base although the tripod itself is still in great shape.
And yes, my cat Momiche, was helping me.
Here's a closeup of the damaged head.
I kept holding out in the hopes of finding another Rocketfish or parts, but nothing after all these years. So after my last backup tripod died, I decided it's time for a new one.
So I picked up a Manfrotto setup, although not carbon fiber like the Rocketfish, it's sturdy aluminum at 62.9 inches and has all the features of the Rocketfish, like independent leg positions, which is great for Macro shooting, and a special headshaft that can extend sideways from the centerline for offset shooting or shots from odd settings. For the head, I selected the 3-axis type like I'm used to, the sales guy was trying to put the hardsell on the pistolgrip, but I wasn't going to go for it.
And for the technical stuff, the base is the MT190-XPRO3 and the head is the MHXPRO-3W.
So here it is! (by the way, my helper lost interest and wandered off...)