I purchased a Davis & Sanford Provista 7518 Tripod and FM18 Fluid head 4 months ago. I’ve used it a lot, taking it through 10 states and filming hours of footage with it, so I figured I’d do a review.
Pros:
The price is great. $200 isn’t cheap, but compared to $600 and up for a similar tripod from high-end manufacturers like Manfrotto, this tripod is a great price.
Build quality was very good. The tripod is almost entirely metal, making this tripod very sturdy and tough. I feel much more comfortable trusting my camera to this tripod than to some $25 plastic one.
The fluid head works very well. After years of working with $30 plastic tripods with flimsy pan heads, the fluid head is like heaven on earth. Smooth pans are so much easier, especially at low speeds, which would cause non-fluid heads to jerk rather than smoothly rotate.
I love the height of this tripod. Many tripods only reach up to 58 or 60 inches, even with the central pedestal raised. The 7518 can go all the way up to 64 inches, using only the legs (the 7518 lacks a central pedestal).
This is great, as every inch counts when you want your camera to be at eye-level.
Cons:
I said earlier this tripod is all metal. This is great for stability, but not so great for weight. The 7518 tips the scales at well over 10 pounds- not that huge, but every pound adds up when you’re hiking several miles to get to a location. Over half the weight comes from the fluid head, which, while great for videographers, is little more than a heavy, useless chunk of metal for still photographers. If all you plan to do is shoot stills, a lighter tripod with a ball head would probably be a better option.
The 7518 goes relatively high compared to many other tripods, but, because of the long leg sections and central spreader, the 7518 can’t go any lower than two feet. This stinks if you’re trying to do macro work or low POV shots with a tripod.
I mentioned earlier that the 7518 doesn’t have a central column. This can be a turn-off for some, but as a general rule its good, since you don’t have the temptation to destabilize your tripod by raising the non-existant center pedestal.
This tripod is meant for video, so it only has a 2-axis pan-and-tilt head, as opposed to many still tripods, which have 3-axis heads. If you want a tripod that can shoot portrait-oriented shots, look elsewhere.
Conclusion:
The 7518 with FM18 fluid head is a great tripod and head combo, for a great price. Its not perfect, but for the price its a very good option. Still photographers would probably be better served by a lighter, simpler tripod, but for video with some stills thrown in, this tripod is great.
