I have a frankentripod made from an aluminum construction tripod and a Majestic gear head with 6x7 inch platform on top. It is an extremely sturdy tripod--I can stand on the platform easily. Yet it is actually quite portable. This tripod handled the wood 8x10 I had very well, but I no longer have any cameras bigger than 4x5, and the 6x7 inch platform is just a bit much for 4x5 cameras. I would like to trade this for a solid tripod+head for holding up my steel Calumet 4x5 monorail. Someone upgrading from 4x5 to 8x10 or larger might be interested in this trade. I live in Dallas.