First time shooting Wishes

I used the predecessor - in fact I think this is the exact replacement. ; Which means that the head is removable/upgradable. ; However I think you'll need a bushing to fit another ball head. ;

So yes, this is a good starting tripod. ; However, my complaints with it is that it does have wobbly issues if you have too much camera weight - there is a huge difference between a D40x and a 5DMk2/D700 (so much so that I wonder how it's going to be with a tiny camera in month!) esp when you add lenses.