The Davis & Sanford PROVISTAGR18 Provista Grounder Video Tripod is a professional tripod system featuring the FM18 fluid head. This system offers ball head leveling with heads that are equipped with a 65 to 75mm ball and an 18 lb capacity.
- 18 lb Load Capacity
- Sliding Quick Release Plate
- Adjustable Pan & Tilt Drag
- Fluid Head
Davis & Sanford ProVista FM18 Tripod System Overview
Davis & Sanford ProVista FM18 Tripod System Specs
General | |
Load Capacity | |
Maximum Height | |
Minimum Height | |
Folded Length | |
Leveling Bubble/Illuminated | |
Weight |
Counter Balance System | |
Quick Release/Wedge Plate | |
Balance Plate | |
Tilt Drag | |
Tilt Range | |
Tilt Lock | |
Spring Loaded Counter Balance | |
Pan Range | |
Pan Lock |
Material | |
Head Attachment Fitting | |
Leg Stages/Sections | |
Leg Lock Type | |
Independent Leg Spread | |
Spiked/Retractable Feet | |
Center Brace |
Package Weight | |
Box Dimensions (LxWxH) |
Davis & Sanford ProVista FM18 Tripod System Reviews
Church-stream
Fits our canon camera perfect. love the height that it give us. very sturdy.
Very sturdy
Solid tripod. Also heavy. I can get smooth shots with the head although it probably isn't the best out there. Takes some practice.
That's Perfect
This tripod is just I need, robust, versatile and with the tripod dolly it's so good.
Needed a tune-up on arrival
I bought this tripod to shoot a no-budget indie movie for a local director. I just wanted a fluid head tripod as I couldn’t use my stills tripod and ball head for good results. When this one arrived, the tilt mechanism was a little gritty and would bind when tilting forward more than 45 degrees. I disassembled the head and cleaned out the grease, replaced it with high quality automotive grease and tweaked the angle of the tilt clamp by sandwiching a piece of folded paper between the camera clamp and the two tilt clamp sides. This forces the sides of the tilt clamp to be more parallel to each other and removed the weird granting at full tilt. The pan seemed fine right out of the box. The included carry bag is padded, but the zipper is on the bottom of the bag when carried. I imagine this would lead to premature wear of the zipper by rubbing against the ground, but I have yet to use the bag (and probably never will) so I’m not worried about it. I’ve seen reviews on YouTube that mention a propensity for the leg sections to separate from each other, but I imagine this may be due to rough handling. So far, I’ve had no issues. I will update this review if I encounter problems.
High Quality
A very sturdy, easy to maneuver tripod. I'm veryn pleased with this product.
The fluid head is essentially garbage
The legs of this tripod system are fantastic, however the head is completely useless. Panning left and right is fine but attempting any sort of tilting up or down is met with metal scraping on metal. Tiny plastic/metal shavings even start collecting at the base of the tripod when you try, and no matter how much you loosen the fluid system the tilting skids on itself rending any hope of smooth movement impossible. My plan is to keep the legs but buy a new fluid head to screw in.
Smooth and rugged
Bought three to use with our Canon XA55 camcorders for recording our church events. The tripods are sturdy and the fluid heads are smooth. Love the dolly for changing camera shots and that they give us an additional 5 inches to the camera height.
Tripod Plate
This is a nice tripod, very sturdy. The main issue I have with it is that it's hard to tighten the shoe on because the knob is a bit tricky to turn. I have to use a philips head screwdriver to tighten it.