Bogen 490 Maxi Ball head +3021 tripod ?

[CountryBoy]

I've been looking at tripods and heads. I was thinking of the Bogen/Manfrotto 490 Maxi ballhead.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=140&A=details&Q=&sku=272990&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

And the Bogen 3021BPro tripod.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=2636&A=details&Q=&sku=217263&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

I will mainly be using it for birds. My lens will be the Sigma Ex 100-300, The Bigma 50-500. Next year I plan to add the Canon 500mm f/4.0L

Will this combo work? Or is there something else I should look at.

[SkipD]

The 490RC4 is one monster of a head, and the quick-release plate used with the RC4 system is HUGE. It is way too large to be used comfortably with any 35mm-sized camera.

For a ball head on the 3021, I highly recommend the 488RC2. The RC2 quick-release system is perfectly sized and plenty adequate for any DSLR, even with some fairly large lenses.

With a really long lens and especially when using them for following birds in flight, there are better head types available than a ball head. Not having used them, I cannot speak from experience, but the gimbal type is most often recommended.

[CountryBoy]

Thanks for the advice. You probably saved me some money. I'll look into the other ones.