Product Description

Over the past 75 years, Davis & Sanford has built up a diverse line of well-engineered, sturdy tripods from low-priced, high value tripods for the weekend image taker to versatile, rugged tripods for around-the-clock professionals, and everything in between. Plus, Davis & Sanford provides a variety of platforms, tripod heads and accessories to meet a range of specialized applications. The Davis & Sanford CarbonLiteX10 is a tripod that features carbon fiber legs and light magnesium metal parts. Carbon fiber absorbs vibration better and is 30% lighter than aluminum counterparts. Designed as an "all purpose" tripod for photo, digital, or video, this tripod and 3-way head combination has a maximum load-capacity rating of 9 lb, and features Easy Grip foam cushioned insulated legs, a built-in bubble level, and rubber/retractable spiked feet.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53626 in Camera & Photo
• Brand: Davis & Sanford
• Model: DS-CarbonliteX10
• Dimensions: 5.40 pounds

Features

• Designed for digital SLR and digital point & shoot cameras
• 3 position, 28mm independent leg adjustments and canopy are made of ultra strong and light magnesium which provides excellent durabillity and functionality
• Tripod and head have bubble levels for accurate leveling, multi position rubber to spike ball feet add extra stability, bottom centerpost hook allows for hanging equipment or adding weight to increase stability, quick lift 2 section 12.5" 28mm centerpost has wing lock control for rapid adjustment and locking
• Maximum Height: 70", Minimum Height: 17.5", Weight: 5.4 lbs
• Padded tripod bag, Stroboframe quick release system, and 10 year warranty included

Customer Reviews

My favorite tripod.
I've owned a number of tripods in the past, with this is my favorite by far. I've also compared the CarbonLite side-by-side with several similar, much more expensive brand, tripods and could not find any difference in either quality of construction or overall function. Indeed, one or two of those tripods may actually be these tripod legs rebranded.

Regardless, the CarbonLite has carbon fiber legs, magnesium canopy & leg hardware, and what appears to be an aluminum-magnesium alloy head. While the whole thing weighs just 5.4 lbs (2.5 kg), the load rating for the legs is 14 lbs (6.5 kg) and 9 lbs (4 kg) for the head. The height of the tripod, with legs spread without centerpost raised, is 57 inches (145 cm). Maximum height with legs spread and centerpost raised is roughly 68.5 inches (173 cm). Many manufacturers list a slightly greater height by measuring without the legs spread. Don't forget to add camera height to those height measurements.

The legs lock firmly in the extended position using flip-style levers and do not rotate when either closed or extended. While the large rubber feet can slip on highly polished floors (I use a tripod dolly in the studio), they do provide a very firm grip elsewhere. The 3-way pan/tilt head with quick release mounting plate provides reasonably solid support in all positions and, unlike the previous reviewer, movement on mine was relatively smooth. That said, I'm just not a huge fan of pan/tilt heads, so I replaced that with a Giottos MH-7001 ballhead weighing just one pound (.5 kg) with a load capacity of 13 lb (6 kg).

The tripod comes with a black canvas bag with Davis & Sanford nicely embroidered in white on the side pocket, a black lightweight canvas utility apron to hold small items (three straps attach to legs using velcro), and a metal hook for a rock bag (to stabilize tripod in windy conditions). There is also a strap to use when the tripod is carried without the canvas bag, secured with a wraparound loop held at one end with velcro while the other end screws into the base of the centerpost.

The Davis & Sanford CarbonLite X10 has served me very well (for several months now) in the studio while still being lightweight enough to lug around outside. At the same time, it's strong enough, with the original head or Giottos head, to support a full-size DSLR (such as my Pentax K10D) with everything (grip, larger zoom lens, flash, etc) attached.

Fabulous Tripod
I am a professor at Pratt Institute of Industrial Design and
this tripod is fabulous! Because many different students with
different abilities use the tripod, I was concerned about it's
durability . The CARBONLITEX10 is definitely up to the
challenge. We are using the latest 10 megapixel Samsung
Digital SLR and the tripod works flawlessly.
Because the students are in industrial design they have
inspected the tripod carefully. Functionally it has been well
thought out and the quality of the styling and aesthetics,
attention to detail and workmanship is really high. In other
words my students think that it is a beautifully designed
product and I agree.

Nice Carbon Tripod
This is a nice tripod. The Stroboframe quick release feature on the head is definitely well designed and implemented on the unit. The carbon fiber legs are really good and strong, and the tripod is very light. The gray carbon fiber legs have a distinct look as the carbon material has a cool spiral design to it. This is a very good design. The legs have 3 angle positions so you can shoot close to the ground or at 70 inches. The centerpost can be unscrewed in two pieces for low angle shots. Most other manufactures charge extra for this. The rubber feet have a ball design so the legs can hug the ground at any angle. The feet can also spin out to a spike when shooting outside. The hook under the centerpost comes in handy to hang my gear or a sand bag if it is really windy. I have had other Tiffen products and have had very good luck with them and the customer service at Tiffen is excellent.