23 Comments

• PASMworkshop says:

  January 1, 2012 at 3:16 pm

  Got the Davis & Sanford tripod during B&H’s thanksgiving special and for US$169 , the tripod, the head and the free dolly is a steal and the carrying bag is pretty sturdy too to our surprise. We bought it for our video out jobs and it’s worth every penny, a true workhorse.

  Reply
• Derek says:

  January 3, 2012 at 1:03 am

  I’ve used the Davis & Sanford tripod and it is AWFUL. As a matter of fact, the head broke. Thankfully they replaced it, but it’s not at all smooth while panning or tilting, it’s heavy as all hell, and just clunky to work with altogether….and we only use it as a stationary tripod in studio.

  I’d say stay away from that if you had alternatives.

  Reply
• Derek says:

  January 3, 2012 at 1:06 am

  Come to think of it, I’ve owned the Ravelli as well. Another awful tripod. It constantly felt loose, lost the rubber feet on a few different shoots and generally felt cheap. The “fluid head” was not anything to write home about either. It’s another buyer beware situation.

  I’d say save up your money and look at the Fancier tripod (manfrotto knock off) and fluid head. It’s more expensive, but it’s still what I would consider an “on a budget” option that won’t break or provide less than optimal performance.

  Reply
• wtthif says:

  January 4, 2012 at 12:33 am

  the davis and sanford is the worst tripod I have ever used it will fall apart in months. I have had 2 of those because they are so cheap, but you are getting what you pay for with those.

  Reply
• Rich says:

  January 16, 2012 at 4:05 pm

  Oliva: great site and lots of useful reviews. Would you recommend the Ravelli AVT Video Camera Tripod with Fluid Drag Head as a support system for the four foot jib that you also reviewed?

  Thanks

  Reply
  • Olivia says:

    January 16, 2012 at 8:26 pm

    Thanks, Rich! The Ravelli AVT Video Camera Tripod with Fluid Drag Head as a support system for the 4′ jib would be solid. Based on the reviews, for this price point, the kit has proved to stand up to the customer’s expectations. If you’re not planning to exceed a 27lb. payload, you should be just fine!

    Reply
• john says:

  February 5, 2012 at 6:05 am

  Hello Olivia, I was wondering how do these tripods match up to the Fancier 717. Because I have a t3i and my heaviest lens is the canon 24mm-70mm and I want to purchase a crane jib (8 feet) along with the konova k3 or vavaron slim slider (btw which slider do u prefer ?) and wanted to know which one was better at handling the weight along with smooth panning/titlting?

  Thanx in advnc

  Reply
  • Olivia says:

    February 5, 2012 at 8:29 pm

    Hi John, you should check to see how heavy the 8 foot crane is. The Fancier 717 can support up to around 27 lbs. it’s a very sturdy set of sticks. The weight of the jib will determine whether the Fancier will be sufficient for your setup. I personally would go with the Konova K3 over the Varavon Slim Slider.

    Reply
    • john says:

      February 6, 2012 at 8:51 am

      Thanx for the reply

      Reply
• Brian kirby says:

  February 14, 2012 at 4:50 am

  do you know the part number for the ravelli. im trying to order parts for the head but cant find them any were

  Reply
  • Olivia says:

    February 14, 2012 at 6:28 am

    Hi Brian, the Ravelli AVT is simply called the Ravelli AVT. What parts are you looking for, maybe I can help you find them. =)

    Reply
    • Brian kirby says:

      February 14, 2012 at 5:01 pm

      i want the part that the qr plate attaches to. I’m trying to modify my shoulder mount so that my qr plate attaches to it.

      Reply
      • Olivia says:

        February 22, 2012 at 8:19 pm

        Brian were you able to find this part? I’ve been looking around and I only know the piece you are referring to as being part of the head that is not separate from the tripod.

        Reply
        • Daniel says:

          September 23, 2012 at 11:49 am

          Where can i get a replacement for the whole fluid head? mines broke down the tilt handle and it is stuck in the same position.

          I want to get a new head, what options do i have?

          Thanks!
        • Olivia says:

          September 23, 2012 at 12:56 pm

          @Daniel How long have you had the unit for? Check with your warranty and contact the company. I’ve found that most guys have the best success rate this way.
• Felipe says:

  May 1, 2012 at 2:40 pm

  Hi Olivia, congratulations on your great videos!. I’m a Chilean musician who’s trying to start a new iPhone 4S based video project, and i’m looking for a cheap but decent Fluid Head/Tripod system. I was down on the 717AH Head and tripod but then i found out that it was kinda short (i’m 6’0″) so then i start searching and watch some very good reviews on the Tiffen Davis & Sanford ProVista 7518 Tripod and Head, 75 Video Tripod With FM-18 Fluid Head. (Head Supports up to 18 lbs., Tripods 25 lbs.).
  My question is, are this kind of tripod/heads adequate for an iphone based project? should i worry about the little weight of the iphone?. BTW i got the GLIF system, the olloclip and the FOSTEX AR-4i audio unit, and i will also buy an LED light to mount on top of the Fostex AR-4i (hotshoe).

  Greetings from Chile

  Reply
  • Olivia says:

    May 4, 2012 at 6:28 pm

    Hi Felipe, the Davis & Sanford tripod and head you’re referring to will be just fine for iPhone videography. How are you connecting the iPhone to your QR plate? Have you seen the Shark Clip? Check Cinema and Photography out, they have some great tools for what you’ll be shooting with. The benefit of the tripod + head you’re looking at purchasing is this, in the event that you decide to get a better camera, they’ll both support a larger setup. You have room to grow.

    Reply
    • Felipe says:

      May 5, 2012 at 8:17 pm

      Hi Olivia, after doing some more research and realizing that the D&S tripod was kinda heavy (i live in Chile, South America, a friend of mine who lives in boston is gonna bring it here) i decided to get the Manfrotto 701 head with the 747b tripod (i still don’t buy it but i’m about to..), its a little more expensive ($299) but i guess its also a better head/tripod.
      I’m gonna connect the iPhone 4S to the QR plate using this http://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/products/AR-4i.shtml but i also got this http://www.studioneat.com/products/glifplus
      Also, i’ll be using a couple lavalier mics with the Fostex AR-4i to get better sound from interviews as well as the Olloclip Lenses, and after reading/watcing a lot of videos (some of them by you of course) i plan to get the Konova Skater Dolly and eventually the Konova Slider (maybe in a couple months).
      And yes, i think i’ll eventually end up getting a better camera (7D or something like that). Thanks!!

      Reply
• Jack Connors says:

  May 17, 2012 at 4:08 pm

  Hi,,Love your work!!!!!!!!!,,Iwant to sign up for your BLOG,,,,But Cant find the spot,,thanks,Jack Connors,, I think you have enough info there,,I HOPE!!!! Thanks again,,jack

  Reply
  • Olivia says:

    May 19, 2012 at 10:16 pm

    Hi Jack, thank you!! Currently, you can only sign up for the RSS feed, no news letter updates yes via email. I’ll work on that.

    Reply
• Steve V says:

  June 13, 2012 at 12:05 pm

  I was very tempted by the price, reviews here, and fed up with my personal cheap tripod so I ordered the Ravelli AVTP Professional 55″ 75mm Video Camera Tripod with Fluid Drag Head was delivered the the Ravelli AVT Professional 67″ Video Camera Tripod with Fluid Drag Head (I assume by mistake) so I am returning it for a full refund (no other option available). As a professional with hundreds of hours experience filming on tripods (none I owned), I think it may be worthwhile for a few additional comments about these products. There have been several reviews about the problem with the stiffness on both of these models, but the “problem” was not really pinned down except the suggestion to loosen a bolt.

  The bottom line – there is a problem with the definition of and no real testing/specification system what really is considered a true fluid head. Neither of these will work like true fluid heads which unfortunately cost hundreds of dollars more because they are not built for the super smooth movement under a variety of tension and load conditions as a true fluid head has been manufactured. When I shoot professionally the ability to adjust the tripod to suit the operator’s taste is expected. There is quite a variety of preferences. I like my tripod stiff and thought I could live with the stiffness of these products, but some like to adjust where there is very little friction if any. Some have suggested to combat the stiffness issue you would need sandbags. Is that even realistic? In most situations who has time or patience to unhook the sandbags move the tripod a few feet and redo?

  From Wikipedia: “Fluid heads are the dominant tripod heads used in the motion picture industry. They provide extremely smooth free movement, even with the heaviest of filmmaking and professional video cameras. The fluid reduces the risk of the camera operator introducing any jerkiness or vibration to the shot during a pan or tilt through dampening, and also reduces the friction between moving parts of the head. As the size of high quality video cameras has become greatly reduced, there are now fluid heads designed even for consumer camcorders, which are being used increasingly in television production environments.”

  Note that both of the Ravelli tripods I am referring to have video and fluid drag head in the description (which would meet the definition from Wikipedia.

  However, in comparison Vinten who make very nice but much more expensive state in one of their user manuals: http://www.fullcompass.com/common/files/14926-V4092-4980-1.pdf
  “Both pan and tilt mechanisms incorporate the patented Vinten lubricated friction (LF) system to ensure smooth movement of the camera about these axes.”

  Miller lists their products as a “true fluid” head.

  Manfrotto, Tiffen, Davis and Sandford are other manufactures which will provide higher quality. Although there may be problems with some of the models in their lines.

  The proof is in the pudding. I did not take this video but someone else posted one showing his operation of a KONIG FLUID HEAD TRIPOD (which I am sure is the exact same product).
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYmjZBX4eBU
  If you watch this video you will see the sticks are twisting when he is turning the tripod head. That should not happen. He is apologizing for his lack of smoothness when he shows what he filmed, but it is the tripod. When you don’t have the right tool for the job, the quality will suffer. Some reviewers are posting this is professional quality and it is not. It has way too many flaws to call it so. I would not even recommend either model for the primary camera making any type of indie film or much of anything with a lot of motion in it unless it is purely the only option in the budget besides hand held.

  Finally, some other problems I noticed was the bubble is not staying centered when turning. You should be able to center it once. It should not change if you spin it around. The big handle is plastic and I accidently pulled it off because it was sticking up past the top/quick release plate area. That handle was manufactured very poorly, but several of the other parts seemed to be manufactured well. Now I have to spend many more hours trying to find one which will meet my expectations. I gave this 2 out of 5 stars because I believe this product has been over-rated by other reviewers, but it is inexpensive. For someone just shooting video for personal use this product is quite a step up from the ones sold in the big box stores, but its a long ways from the professional grade others here have referred to it as.

  Reply
  • Steve V says:

    July 3, 2012 at 6:43 pm

    Edit: July 3, 2012 I was able to re-review the AVTP model and I have a variety of additional comments as well as I revised the rating. The bottom line, based in the price and if you receive a decently adjusted model you should find this to be a quality product based on price (under $150). It was shipped triple boxed with the outer box being a double corrugated box, so they are very concerned about it arriving safely to our locations.

    Overall as others have said this product appears to be made for durability. There are very few parts not made of either extruded or cast aluminum metal. The large tilt lock arm is plastic as well as its outer gears. The feet are rubber but the balls which secure the feet are plastic. The feet should not slip off the balls during normal use. The pan/tilt handle grips are also rubber. The accessory hook is also plastic on a 1/8” thick cord. I have few reservations about these parts, but hardened steel would have been a better material for the hook and the large handle. The various bolts and bearings are also hardened steel. The bubble level top is also plastic.

    On the model I first received I found the factory setting on the pan and tilt to be much too stiff. There is discussion on the reviews where loosening the bolt on the bottom would help reduce the drag on the pans. This would not work on the tilt because that function is adjusted by the large plastic handle mentioned above. In discussion with CheetahMounts they have contacted the manufacturer and requested the connections not to be as stiff as they are. I did find CheetahMounts customer service to be very good. There may be some quality control issues on the tightness of these connections as the 2nd model I received performed much better and within my personal preference for a somewhat stiff tilt/pan drag function. In measuring mine with a (not exactly precise) spring type fish scale I am reading 1lb force to pan and 1½lbs force to tilt. Remember I stated some individuals will not like this much stiffness because they want little to no drag. I like having some drag because the camera will resist a light touch and only begin moving slowly when you actually intend the camera to move. I can easily move the head with just a pinky, but tension is not like slippery like glass/ice which some tripods can be adjusted too. The pan/tilt functions are not jittery like most of the plastic headed tripods. The manual suggests a sandbag for the optimal situation for pans and tilts. As I said before this is a bit much, but if you are doing something which requires very precise motion without slight jerkiness in starting it might be noticeable on light (under 4lb) cameras. If it is noticed or you are doing fast whip/pans, then there would be a need to add inertia from a sandbag.

    Also, on the first model I received the bubble level was not installed perfectly or the bubble would have stayed inside the circle once adjusted. The bubble is small and unfortunately located dead center rear which will make it hard to see with most video camera rigs. There are some comments in the manual about this, but basically it is not true. For this design, once adjusted the bubble should stay in the center.

    The head uses a very common 75 mm mounting bowl, which makes it interchangeable for a variety of accessories.

    The handles are a few inches short from what I am used to, but will work for me. I am still able to operate the head while sitting, but short handles make the tripod legs closer than I would like and much more likely to get accidently kicked if being used for long period of time.

    Overall I am pleased with my new purchase. We used this for an independent feature film I was working on shot using a Cannon 5d Mark II. It holds this camera very well, but the quick release plate adjuster (lever) was a bit of a pain to loosen/tighten since its right under the camera body and has to pulled out and set back to lock. I do like how well the quick release plate locks. I have found quite a few tripods lacking in this area. I would recommend this product for consumers who want to upgrade from the big box store tripods as well as the ultra-low budget indies and are not concerned about its overall 14lb weight.

    Reply
• Daniel says:

  September 25, 2012 at 12:09 pm

  almost a year now, i life outside US, but i got firends comming so i ask them to bring me a replacement, but i cannot get contact with the company i don’t find email o official website anywhere.

  Reply