We used to be of the opinion that crazy expensive tripods were kind of a waste of money. Sure, they were fantastic, but were they worth 10x the cost (or more)? I think "dubious" is a good word to describe our feelings on the matter. Quite frankly, we still feel that way about a lot of the top-end models. $15K+ for a tripod & head combo? What are we, George Lucas? That just smacks of a company seeing what they can squeeze out of a customer. We see you, Cartoni.

However, this product breaks that paradigm. Yes, it's much more expensive that other competitors in this size range. But this time there are some pretty amazing benefits that (color us surprised) are actually worth the extra cost. It might be one of those things that you have to experience in person before you truly become a believer, but once you use this setup, you might not rent anything else.

The main benefit is that the shape of the legs on the Flowtech 75 are a perfect combination of the traditional 3-slider video tripod design with the much more user friendly single-tube design on most photo tripods. So you get the ease of use of a single-tube design combined with the torsional rigidity of a typical video tripod. It sounds trite, but it really is the best of both worlds. This allows you to quickly adjust the leg length to exactly what you need without having to flip dozens of levers or twist locks. It is strong, secure, stable, and extremely quick to set up. Are you starting to see why that might be worth a little extra budget?

This kit also includes the Sachtler Ace XL Mark II head, which gives you 9 different counter balance settings along with a generous 17 lb load capacity. Combine that with the smooth pan/tilt motion control that you know and love Sachtler for, and it starts to make sense why you might want to upgrade to this setup. Plus, the benefit of renting it through us is that you don't have to shoulder all of that cost. We got you.

Included with your rental:

• Sachtler Flowtech 75 MS Carbon Fiber Tripod with Mid-Level Spreader and Rubber Feet
• Sachtler Ace XL Mark II Fluid Head
• Sachtler Padded Bag