For a while I’ve been lusting over a new tripod (accidentally left the mount on when I sold my old camera. Whoops. It was a crappy tripod anyway.) I needed one for doing ebay shots (indoor photography at night without a flash! I couldn’t even get good daytime indoor shots without a flash.) and wanted one I could do low-angle shots with as well (i.e. reversable shaft) (hehe I said shaft) but these are usually you-could-buy-a-nice-lens expensive. I called up the local shop and he was having a sale, and happened to have some relatively inexpensive Manfrottos in stock. He also just happened to have the one with not only the reversible shaft but the perpendicular-mounting design (so you can mount the camera facing downwards, upwards etc). It’s great for taking straight-down shots of anything. This tripod also has obtuse-angle capable legs, so it can really spread it’s legs wide and get down close to the ground for macro-y goodness.
You have to buy the head separately. If yer in the market for a tripod you probably can’t go wrong with this. It’s got my seal of approval, and you know I have a low tolerance for fuckuppery. When the weather isn’t trying to turn my fingers into blocks of ice, I’ll get some good out-of-doors shots.