| Brand: | Davis & Sanford | ||
| Average Rating |
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The Explorer Tripod is perfect for digital, video and still cameras up to 4 pounds. Featuring quick release leg locks and 3 way pan head, this tripod is a breeze to set up. Utilizing a geared center post, this extends from 22 to 60 giving great range. Extra leg support offers better stability. Tripod bag included. more info
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Lite Tripod 60″
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Exactly as was advertised-easy to set up and to carry-If using a large camera or a spotting scope there will be some shake-especially in the wind. Overall an excellent buy for the beginner/who has no idea how advanced they will become–great price!
Amateur photo/mixed use
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
First let me see I am an amateur photographer and this is my first tri-pod. For taking pictures it works fine for me. Also I use it when calibrating my Home Theater setup. My Onkyo receiver has a mic which you position around your listening area and it takes readings to adjust to the output from the speakers. To position the mic around my room I attach it to the tripod. The mic mounts to the tripod the same way a camera does. The tripod does a good job of keeping the mic balanced and level around my room as I position it on and around chairs, the couch and coffee table….
For my uses I find that it works great and it’s very easy to position on and around any place you need it.
just as described
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
good product, just the quality you would expect from vista. not too light, so thing won’t go flying at the top of a fjord. its not too heavy either and so carrying it around isn’t too bad.
mechanical parts were not as smooth when i got it, but i smoothed off the edges and the excess plastic and it is a lot better now
good value for the price
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I use it with a point and shoot and a slr camera, fairly sturdy and light, easy to maneuver and carry around, good value for the price
Great Product
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I haven’t used this tripod yet but it looks like a great product. It is built well and feels very sturdy. Geat price for this tripod.
wooddoctor
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
was purchased for a gift but kept it for my self,this is one nice tripod
Excellent tripod, lots of good features, lightweight, tall, and solid
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This successfully replaces two other tripods: an old one that is very solid and tall, but weighs about 8 pounds and lacks a quick-disconnect; and a very inexpensive 25-ounce one that is solid enough and has a quick-disconnect, but is not tall enough and doesn’t always pivot smoothly.
The Vista largely combines the best features of the two old ones: it’s tall enough to place my camera at eye-level, has an excellent quick-disconnect, is solid and steady, and weighs 43 ounces (without the nice carrying case).
The vertical pivoting is better than the 25-ounce tripod’s, but still not perfectly smooth for making small, fine adjustments.
The Vista has a built-in handle, which is a nice feature. The hook at the bottom of the extension tube is small and made of lightweight plastic, so I’m not sure how useful it’ll be. My heavy old tripd had a 1/4″ threaded bolt in that spot, so the camera could be attached to it there as well as on the head at the top.
It has two rotating collar-locks: one at the bottom to keep the legs spread, and one at the top to secure the extension tube. Together, they make the tripd very steady and solid.
The quick-disconnect plate is well-made and suitable for use with a video as well as a still camera. My little camcorder weighs less than my DSLR, so if I ever need a tripod for video, this will do just fine.
In summary, it more than meets my expectations and needs, and is reasonably priced.
Awesome Tripod!!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This Tripod is PERFECT for my Samsung mini digital recorder. Its pretty sturdy, easy to set up and just what I was looking for and for an excellent price. I was not disappointed. I love the carrying case it came with. GREAT buy. LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!
Great for the price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am by no means a professional photographer, but do use a tripod quite often. I bought this one to replace one that was falling apart. This one was the same price I had paid for the old one, but is MUCH better quality and easier to use.
Great Tripod for Beginers to Intermediate level photographers
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this product after reading several reviews about it on Amazon and was kind of concerned about it’s performance until I received it.
I am now using it for last 1.5 months and I truely love it.
Pros:
- Fit into pocket, there are several other ones available which are too costly
- Sturdy, I can confidently put my Canon XSi, Sony SR65 with kids running around in house
- Multi features, can rotate 360, variable heights, easy to use
- Light weight, easy to carry, comes with a bag(which is a +)
- It has fluid leveler as well, which will guide you whether camera is balanced or not.
- Easy to take panoramic shots
Cons:
- In first look body looks like a thin Aluminum, but I hope it last for long time.
Let me know if you have any questions about this prodouct.
Ordered new but got used.
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I ordered this product from Amazon(sold from Amazon as new), but received a used product. Bag is dusty and tripod rubber feet were worn, washer was broken and product looked as if it was used a lot. I used to buy always from Amazon, but with this I don’t buy anything from Amazon.
Nice for the Price!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Bought this tripod for my daughter’s video camera. She wanted something inexpensive , compact and light weight. This fit the bill perfectly. Her only comment was that it might be just a bit to lightweight and unstable fully extended. I told her that’s to be expected.
Nice product.
P
Lightweight / cheaply made / functional
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Have not used it that much at all. And all indoors. But it’s obvious that if you do much outdoor use at all with it, it will not stand up to much wear. If I had the decision to make all over again, I would have not taken advantage of the extra discount by buying this tripod along with other camera items and just waited and spent a bit more for a more rugged one. But I guess if you compare price to quality, then it fares okay. I just normally am willing to pay a bit extra to get something a LOT better and for whatever reason, this time I did not.
Perfect for the everyday videographer
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Wanted an easy to use stable tripod without the professional price tag…This is it!!! Great product for the occasional user!!!
WONDERFUL
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I HAVEN’T USED THIS PRODUCT VERY MUCH YET, BUT SO FAR, I THINK IT IS GREAT! IT IS WELL CONSTRUCTED, DURABLE, EASY TO SET UP, STABLE, LIGHT WEIGHT, EASY TO USE, AND EVERYTHING IT IS ADVERTIZED TO BE. I WOULD RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE. I HAVE SEEN LESS VERSITILE TRIPODS AT MORE THAN TWICE THE PRICE. AND THE TOTE BAG IS A GREAT PLUS.
Awesome Tripod
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This tripod is lightweight, great for moving around with camera attached. The camera snaps in very easy and it holds great. Great product for the price. Love it!
Just works.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Tripod is nice. I like it. I have used it about a month now. It works. It is light. Easy to use. I miss just one option – scale to know what angle you turn your camera on.
Very nice tripod for the price
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I am a beginner photographer and I must say that I like this tripod very much. It has plenty of points of articulation and a 2 levels to make sure you are nice and level. It comes with a nice carry bag and while I wouldn’t want to carry it around all day, it is fairly lightweight.
Good Product
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This a good, lightweight tripod. I would recommend this to anyone looking for something very portable and easy to use.
Reasonable Starter Tripod
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
This is my first tripod purchase and my biggest priority was portability because I know that if my tripod weighed too much, I just wouldn’t bother carrying it. I shoot with a Nikon D80 and a 18-200 VR lens so stability was also important. I’m in the midst of a 365 project (1 self portrait every day for a year) so the freedom of a tripod has greatly expanded my photo possibilities. I was concerned that my camera body and lens are heavy enough that I wouldn’t be able to use it in a portrait orientation without tipping over. Honestly, cranked up high, its a bit rocky but doable, at least on a flat surface in my house. I’m not sure I’d trust it on a rocky slope. I sort of wish I’d gone with a ball-mount tripod rather than the 3 way adjuster but most ball mounts were beyond my desired price range. The adjustments achieve all the same motions of a ball, it just takes a little more effort to perfect it. So far so good though. I have yet to encounter a shot I couldn’t get.
PROS:
-very lightweight and portable
-bag is a great bonus even though its minimal
-possible to use in portrait orientation with a Nikon D80 and zoom lens (just be careful!)
CONS:
-less stable than I was hoping for
-3 way adjuster takes some getting used to
Overall, I am fairly satisfied with the tripod. It’s a nice starting point. However, down the road I’m sure I’ll desire a more substantial pro-style one.
Low price implies poor head
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
A good lightweight tripod for its price, well designed for convient universal use. If you don’t know exactly what tripod you need, buy this one.
Its major drawback is the cheap plastic head: panning and tilting are not smooth (the steps are less than 1 degree); after you tighten the tilting axis and take your hand off the tilting angle drifts a bit (1 degree at moderate load). However you will not find a good head in this price range.
Additional tips:
- because of light weight the tripod is continuously vibrating even at moderate wind (10 km/h);
- 20x (at wide-field) is the maximum usable magnification for scopes mounted onto this tripod.
good for what it is worth
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This tripod is fairly light weight so it is good for carrying around. It comes with a bag which makes carrying even easier.
However, it is not steady as a rock, so you’d best hang something heavy to its hook. The plastic parts are cheaply made so I don’t expect them to last very long. The tilt panel is a bit rough and it takes some effort to position the camera into a portrait position. The rubber feet have different tension in them, and the looser ones may not work well when the ground is not level.
It is best to use this tripod in a windless condition, using bulb or self-timed shutter.
But then again, this is only a $30 tripod, and the product is quite good for its worth. That’s why there are other tripods cost more than my camera.
Great starter tripod
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I got this as a starter tripod to use with my Nikon D40. It serves its purpose well for taking longer exposures of still objects, for group portraits that I’m supposed to be in, and for self-portraits.
What it doesn’t work so well for is HDR photography, something I’d been hoping to do. t’s just not quite stable enough, so the photos come out at slightly different angles. No big loss, but something to consider.
I also tried a bit of video with my family’s point and shoot, and the tripod moved very smoothly. I don’t know how well it would work with a true video camera, but I can’t imagine it being terrible.
Overall, I’m quite happy with my purchase. It’s fairly sturdy, it looks good, and it comes with a nice little bag so I can carry it around. I’m happy with my purchase, but I’d probably buy a more expensive (and better) one if I could do it over.
Excellent Tripod
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is an excellent tripod for beginners and starters.
Not really professional type of tripod, but for the price is totally worth it. The tripod can extend heights even taller than 60″ than what the description says.
Pro: Excellent Price, Great heights up to 5’10″.
Con: Material is kinda suckish, looks like if you rough use it, it can break anytime.
Excellent value tripod – using it with the Rebel XSi
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is my second tripod. My first was a Vanguard traveler that I bought for my Canon S1000 Point-and-shoot. It was a very compact tripod (16″-54″) that worked out great for the P&S but was completely unusable when I got a Canon Digital Rebel XSi DSLR. That’s when I got the Vista Explorer, for around the same price as the Vanguard. Its been about 6 months now with the Vista.
Pros:
1. Very inexpensive given features and weight rating. Was genuinely surprised with its build quality and features when I received it, given the price.
2. Holds the Xsi very securely at most of the orientations, heights and tilt angles. I have only the starter lens (18-55mm) on it and no attachments. I’m not sure how it would handle with heavier lenses, but I suspect it should do fine with most of the standard ones.
3. Has relatively smooth rotation, tilting and height adjustment, with locks abound.
4. The feet extensions have held very securely so far, which is more than I can say for the umbrella type extensions on the Vanguard.
5. 60″ is a very good height for most purposes, and makes a world of difference from the 54″ on my previous tripod.
6. Has built-in spirit levels which have proved very useful for ensuring level placement.
7. All of the adjustments and locks are quick and easy. Takes less than 2 minutes on average from bag to fully set-up.
8. Very light-weight, though sturdy.
9. Has a very convenient carrying handle built in.
10. Has a hook for weight attachment. I was planning to tie a bag filled with sand to it when taking pictures at the beach, but ended up not having to since it seemed to hold up to the breeze quite well even without it.
11. Comes with a bag. The Vanguard’s bag was much better quality, but this one does just fine.
Cons:
1. The Vanguard easily fit into my backpack while flying. This is too tall to fit into a cabin bag.
2. The screw clamp for the sideways tilt doesn’t quite lock the tilt however tight I screw it.
3. Rotation and tilt adjustments are smooth enough for adjustment purposes, but not quite smooth enough for video panning. But I hardly ever shoot videos anyway.
Overall, excellent value starter tripod for your starter DSLR.