As long as you are investing in a good tripod you should get one with a ball head, only one knob to mess around with. I would say he is "serious-serious" when he starts picking up Cannon L lenses. I would want a Cannon program to replace lenses. If I dropped my camera I would hope it would break only the body and not the lens. I mean my lens, 50mm F1.2L USM, is worth more than my XTi.