While back I was going through the same thing , i ended up with a manfrotto 190CL with a manfrotto 141rc 3 way tilt/pan head through a little searching and haggling for 245AU {full price ranged from 265-311/tripod 220/head 120}.This is over your budget but in the short experience Ive had mine i reckon its worth it to spend a little bit more . Its quick to set up , versatile with positions and rigid {even use my 20x80s binos on it {pushing it though but usable}}.
http://www.dvdreamtime.com.au/catalo...cPath=30_35_57