Davis & Sanford EXPLORERV Vista Explorer 60” Tripod with Tripod Bag, BONUS Smartphone Adapter and 10 Year Warranty

I was nervous when I ordered this tripod, but very pleased when it arrived. This is not a rugged professional-grade piece of equipment, but it tries to be, and that's good for people like me who are on a tight budget and still want something that will get the job done without a hassle. It's made of hollow aluminum and plastic parts, so I wouldn't recommend using this regularly on outdoor excursions or in high-traffic situations where you may get knocked around or when you have to be ready to pick up and go. It's just not made to handle a lot of abuse. That being said, it doesn't feel "cheap"; it's just more of a setup and leave it alone kind of tripod.I bought this tripod specifically to use indoors for a personal stop-motion animation project, and I got a little more than I expected for that purpose. This tripod allows surprisingly smooth operation. Sometimes moving plastic parts can be "sticky", but these are not at all. You can perform some pretty smooth pans and tilts, and, If you turn the camera base 90 degrees, you can even get about a 180 degree roll if you want that sort of shot. The vertical track is operated by a little plastic crank on the side of the tripod. It has a very slight stall in the gear rotation, which is absolutely perfect for me, but may not be ideal for someone shooting live video as it creates a very subtle vibration. Of all the plastic parts on this tripod, the crank actually does feel a little cheap. I foresee it breaking and needing to jimmy-rig it somewhere down the line, but that's just an early assumption.BREAKDOWN:PROS: extends to a decent height (5ft 2in from floor to camera base), lightweight, relatively sturdy (especially for indoor use), doesn't feel "cheap", smooth movement for pan and tilt, 2 bubble levels to ensure your shooting on a level plane, latches and knobs secure tightly to ensure your tilt and pan is locked firmly in pace, a little loosening allows the camera to stay where you put it and still allow freedom to make subtle adjustments, a handle to easily move the tripod around, folds up nice and compact for travel or storage.CONS: very lightweight (too light to use outdoors, especially in high winds). Some parts feel "cheap" (vertical crank and weight hook especially). The rest seems pretty durable, but if I were to tip it over at full extended height something would probably break (then again, a high quality camera would probably break too. So it's really a personal judgement call as to whether or not that should count against it). While it is relatively sturdy, I wouldn't want to bump into it during a long stop-motion shoot; the feet have little to no traction on a hardwood floor. I plan to hang a weight on it and tape the feet down for safety. I imagine I'd be doing that anyway, regardless of the tripod, but I feel like I absolutely have to with this one.OVERALL: It's worth the price, and you get what you pay for. I feel I got more than what I was expecting from this tripod. Is it the best you can buy? Probably not. Is it the worst you can buy? Definitely not. Is it worth the price? YES. It doesn't feel "cheap", but it doesn't feel strong enough to take many chances with it either. That's something I'll have to consciously be aware of while using it. However, if I take good care of it, use it mostly in the studio, and I'm cautious of it's limitations, then it should last me quite a while. I'll be counting on it to last through a series of shoots over the course of this year, and it's limits will surely be tested with all the crazy shots I hope to pull off. If anything happens that changes my opinion, I'll update my review. Until then, I can say that I'm happy with this purchase, and I think it will be exactly what I need for my purposes.

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.