The first thing you have to do when you are buying big lenses is to choose a standard way of mounting them. Every manufacturer has is own plate to mount a lens on a tripod. I prefer to change them into Arca-Swiss, somewhat of a standard nowadays.

For big lenses you can replace the standard tripod mount by an Arca-Swiss model. On smaller lenses and on camera bodies you can attach an Arca-Swiss base plate.

In the picture above you see an Arca-Swiss replacement lens foot mounted on a Canon lens. This lens foot can be quickly attached to the Arca-Swiss ball head. The whole setup is mounted to a vehicles bull bar by a Manfrotto Super Clamp.
It is a perfect setup for game driving when you have to travel light. While driving, you de-attach your camera and store it next to you. You can mount your camera fast.

There is a drawback when shooting with a ball head if your subject moves a lot. In situations like that, maybe you are better off with a gimbal head. Once leveled, you can follow your subject very easy while staying stable. But, as always, there is no perfect solution for all. The gimbal head is quite heavy and bulky. For me it is too much while traveling. And also, the gimbal head can not be used with small lenses when you mount on the camera body. So you need to have two heads, the gimbal for tele lenses and a ball head for short lenses.

I found a solution that covers all my needs into one setup. The combination of a gimbal head and a ball head while keeping weight and volume as low as possible. It is the Flexshooter Pro head. It is a ball head that acts like a gimbal head. There are two balls combined. One that is used for leveling and the second that controls your movements. You can mount Arca Swiss plates in two directions giving you the option to mount your tele lens in one orientation and your camera in the other.

Flexshooter Pro

As for the tripods, I’m a fan of the Gitzo series 3 and 4. I use both. The GT4542LS gives me the perfect height when I want to stand straight up. It is my biggest tripod. If I want to go a little lighter, I choose my GT3542LS. Also very sturdy but a little shorter than the 4 series. Both tripods can handle all my heads. Including the video heads.

If I need to travel light, I use my Traveler Serie 1 (GT1550T).  I use a small center ballhead on it, the Gitzo G1278M.

Gitzo GT4542LS