Davis and Sanford Provista 7518: Best Entry-Level Fluid Video Tripod

The Davis & Sanford PROVISTA7518B Fluid Video Tripod is an excellent entry-level video tripod with a fluid head. This tripod is solidly built and will function for a variety of filming and photography applications.

One of the most important things to consider when choosing a tripod is the quality of the fluid head. The fluid head basically acts to provide drag so that movements are smooth when panning and tilting. That way, any small changes in pressure don’t have as much of an effect on the camera movement. Smooth camera movement is one very obvious factor that separates professional and amateur video.

The fluid head on this tripod definitely provides smooth movement. When using it, it’s a little easier to get a smooth tilt that it is to pan. This is more down to practice, since it’s easily to push the handle straight down than it is to maintain a smooth motion of your hand across your mid-line.

Even though this tripod has a fluid head, it definitely still takes some practice and technique to get smooth movements. Even so, new users will find the video very usable and any movement from an inexperienced user can easily be cleaned up during editing using something like Adobe’s Warp Stabilizer.

After a little practice with this tripod, tilting the head seems to work best with my hands placed at the end of the handle. This gives a longer range of movement and makes it really smooth. As for panning, I prefer to have one hand on the camera grip and another right near the base of the handle on the other side of the video head. Having two points of contact gives a lot more control and prevents the slightly jerky movement of each hand from affecting the camera as much.

Adjustable fluid head with bubble level.

One fantastic feature of this tripod is the adjustable head. The center handle can be loosened, which allows the head to tilt side to side, forwards and backwards. If the tripod isn’t on level ground, or the legs aren’t set to exactly the same length because you’re in a hurry, you can quickly adjust the position of the head to get it level. There’s even a small bubble level just to make sure it’s straight. This is especially important for video, since it’s very difficult to rotate a video clip during editing without losing quality and resolution.

My version of the tripod has the slightly older FM18² fluid head. The newer V18 head is very similar, but has a few improvements to some of the locks, making them a bit easier to use with a camera installed. In particular, the lock that holds the camera clip in place can’t be tightened properly when using a DSLR camera because it can’t rotate. I’ve been able to get around this issue by tightening it almost all the way, and just tightening the last part when I put the camera on. Aside from this small issue, the rest of the video head is fairly straightforward to use.

As for photography, I’ve also used this tripod for astrophotography. Even on a windy night, it’s solid construction prevents it from moving around, especially when all the clamps are properly tightened. With this tripod, you can easily shoot long exposure shots without worrying about the camera moving.

The video head construction on this tripod really surpassed expectations. The head is absolutely massive and is completely made out of metal, except for the strong plastic hand grips. It was a pleasant surprise when I noticed even the clamps and locks were all metal, unlike some cheaper tripods where they would all be plastic that could break easily.

The tripod legs are also very solid. The legs are all metal except for the clamps, feet, and a hinge assembly that connects it to the video head. All the clamps seem to be well constructed and can easily hold the tripod at whatever height it is set at with a heavy rig on top.

This tripod isn’t designed to be lightweight and portable. The tripod and bag together weigh in at right around 10 pounds, which is significantly more than some of the carbon fiber tripods available today. It’s also about 3 feet long when collapsed, so don’t expect to be carrying it around in your backpack. This tripod is intended to support heavy camera rigs and be used in larger production situations, so you’ll be disappointed if you’re looking for something to carry around everywhere.

Unlike some of the cheap knockoff brands available online, this tripod also features a very durable bag. The material, zippers, and clips are all very well built, and the logo is actually embroidered instead of being just a printed label. There’s also increased padding around the video head. This can act to protect the video head itself, but honestly I think you’d be more likely to put a dent in the floor with the weight of this head than to damage it, so the padding can protect against that as well.

Overall, the Davis & Sanford PROVISTA7518B Fluid Video Tripod is one of the best fluid video tripods available for the money. We would highly recommend this to anyone looking to make their own videos and add a sense of professionalism with smooth pan and tilt camera motion.