Customer Reviews

Ravelli AVTP Professional 55" 75mm Video Camera Tripod with Fluid Drag Head

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have always been a Bogen fan and I think Bogen makes the best tripods. Was shopping at Amazon for a Bogen 501 and saw this model at the bottom of the ad. The text said it was comparable to the 501. The 501 cost $499 and this model was $169. Given that price difference, I decided to give it a try but to be honest I wasn't expecting much. But this is actually a very good tripod.

My video setup with lens and accessories weighs about 20 lbs. That weight is not a problem for these legs - very stable. And the head is very smooth. At one point in the middle of a pan from right to left there was a slight "bump" in the panning movement. But I was able to fix this by adjusting the tensioning screws. It is true that the head is not as good as a Bogen 501, but for 1/3 the price it is more than good enough. You would really have to be a high end user to appreciate the differenece.

Comes with a decent bag too. You could get a nicer one, but this one should last for at least a couple years of road trips.

As an owner of both the AVT and AVTP (Professional) models, I can say that the Pro model (AVTP) I received has a much, much better Fluid Head. I'm not sure why. Physically, both Heads look the same and seem to be of the same construction quality. The only visible differences are cosmetic: the handles on the Pro model are longer w/ different grips which are longer as well; the level bubble color on the Pro model is white, while the non-Pro model is yellow. The obvious difference is the way the Heads are attached to the tripod. The Pro model has a bowl attachment and the non-Pro has a traditional screw-mount attachment point connecting to the top of the center shaft.

Although the differences seem obvious and minor, the quality of the pan movements are significantly different. For some reason, the AVT (non-Pro) model exhibits random "sticky" points during the pan. I've tried everything to get it to smooth out, but because of the inconsistency, it is an exercise in frustration to get a nice smooth pan for every shot - it's a gamble! The Pro model (AVTP) is a completely different story.

First impression of the AVTP was, in a word, "Stiff"... both the pan & tilt were really, really stiff. In particular, the Pan was actually difficult to move without grabbing hold of the tripod legs first. Even with the tension knob completely loose, the Head would not pan with out putting some serious force into it. I've since fixed it by loosening the large retaining bolt that runs through the pan mechanism. (Looking at the underside of the Head, you'll see hole which shows the top of a large slotted bold. I loosened this by a 1/4 turn - which was really tight and required lots of force to budge it...) This act made a significant difference. The pan action is now glass smooth! It now matches the tilt action and I'm able to pull off really consistent & smooth pan & tilt combinations with very little or no backlash at full zoom!!! (Practice, Practice... I'm not a pro at all, but I really impressed with how easy it is to pull off professional looking pan & tilt moves now with the AVTP... Wow!!!)

The non-Pro model (AVT) is probably going to be returned. I've been emailing CheetaMounts and they are trying to help resolve the "sticky" problem with the AVT Head... but I don't think it can be fixed.

Here's what's in the AVTP box:
* 1 set of Sticks/Legs (the tripod)
* 1 2-way Fluid Head
* 2 Handles/Arms (attach to the head)
* 1 Canvas Bag

Summary:
After making an adjust to the pan mechanism, the Head on this model is really, really good. I was surprised with the difference between this model (AVTP) and the non-Pro (AVT) model. Personally, I'd skip the lower-end model and avoid the spotty performance - just get this model instead.

Great features at a great price!

Pros:
*The legs alone are worth the price!
*Heavy and supports my Canon XHA1 no problem.
*Pans are nice and smooth.
*Gives off a professional look to impress clients.
*x2 sliding plates! Plus my Manfrotto 357 Plate fits the head perfectly!
*Pretty good carrying bag.

Cons:
*The head sticks when trying to tilt up and down slowly giving you the snap most cheap heads offer. I've tried all tension settings and I get the same result every time.
*Even with the screw taken off completely, panning left and right is so stiff, panning the tripod quickly can pull the entire tripod off it's legs.
*The Tripod Head and the Ball leveler are reversed, which means if you wanted to replace the head, you'd have to purchase a ball leveler as well which goes for at least $50.
*Wish I could do something to replace the cheap rubber feet.

Other Thoughs:
*Buy this tripod for the legs as they are very well worth the price alone. I plan on replacing the head as I feel it's causing more problems than solutions.
*Ravelli is very generous with their tripod accessories.
*I have to mount my XHA1 backwards because the tightening knob on the head gets in the way, but I have this same problem with my other mount as well.

----------------------------

Product Update:

After posting this review, I was contacted by Cheetah Mounts about the product. Let me just say that they offer some of THE BEST customer service a company can offer. Less than a week after I posted this review, the friendly Cheetah Mount representative immediately sent me a new head without hesitation as he feared I may have received a bad tripod head.

The new head preforms slightly better. The snap in the tilt action is caused by the weight of my camera. I'm assuming it's because the tripod head's comfort zone is less than 8 lbs. Without the camera, the snap is gone which means lighter cameras should have no problem tilting and panning.

This is an excellent tripod with an excellent company to back it up. Do not hesitate to purchase this tripod, especially if you're on a budget.

Length:: 2:55 Mins

Here's what the tripod looks like. The head is disassembled. I show how to adjust it. Cheetah Mounts customer service is great.

Bought this to hold a 4x5 calumet, weighs about 10 pounds, an SLR with large zooms and an 8x10 plate camera.

LEGS:
I find the legs to be more than adequate for my 4x5, and also the 8x10 which is a hair heavier, around 12 -14 pounds. I think it would be stable up to around 20#. If you don't extend the legs all the way - you can probably get quite a bit more. No place to hang a sandbag. When extended all the way, the legs have a slight wobble, about the same as the $200 model made by another manufacturer. Not extended all the way = totally rock solid.

HEAD:
As stated in prior reviews, the pan is stiff. Take care if you disassemble the head to adjust the slip ring, as there are steel screws into cast aluminum, which makes it easy to strip out the screw holes. The tilt is fine for still photography. The bowl - leveling knob turns easily and tightens fast and tight easily. The tilt adjustment lever was in an odd place as shipped, it takes about 45 seconds to move, so no biggy. The bubble - and - ring level is adequate. For stills, it's important that errant vibration settle down quickly and this tripod dampens vibration quite nicely. It does weigh 14 pounds.

Any gripe I have with build quality is a little picky. There are some plastic pieces I would have preferred to be metal, but nothing I'm worried will break. I generally get irritated with steel holes in threaded aluminum, but if you are careful in disassembling it, then it will not matter.

All in all, I'll buy another if this one gets stolen. I recommended it to freinds who shoot LF. I think it would work fine with an XL1. Probably overkill if you are shooting an SLR unless you are using a big telezoom (probably good for MF). Heavy, stable, tall, and a great buy.

UPDATE: been using this for about a year now, and nothing has broken, except for the little string that holds the legs together when it's collapsed, a total non-issue. I've dragged this sucker up and down hills, set it up in rivers with most of the legs under water, let it roll around the bed of a truck; in short abused the heck out of it. Still works as new. The head is still stiff as a board, which makes composition difficult, but the tightness is good when you've got the shot framed and don't want you're 100+ year old plate camera sagging (my 8x10 weighs a lot) In short, the head is stiff, and locks down like a friggin vice. If you can afford another $200 for lighter legs and a more user freindly head, by all means, spend the money, but if you are doing Large Format Photography on a budget - this is the best quality and capacity for under $130 BAR NONE. Better legs can be had for $100 - 200 with the same weight capacity, but a head that can reliably support 20 pounds is hard to come by for less than $150, so as much as I'd love to get something a little smoother, the $300 is not in the budget (I'd rather buy film)

For the videographers out there, the P&T is super stiff, no matter what you do to adjust it, even aftera year of use. If you can figure out how to sandbag the hell out of it, you can probably get pretty smooth pans out of it, but the pan is litterally so stiff that it occasionally moves the legs, even with the ~15 pounds of tripod weight and ~15 pounds of camera. Tilt is nice.

The tripod and head are large and ready to hold larger cameras... we've even mounted our full sized JVCs on it in a pinch.

It provides for some pretty good movement for the price. I've pulled off beautiful pans and tilts with all sizes of cameras. Plus having the dual arms is a plus for precise movements.

The only thing I have to complain about is the durability... we use each piece of equipment roughly twice a week or so... we always carry the tripod in its bag and try to be nice to it. But in less than a year's time, the center braces broke off the legs (the metal "bolts" just snapped) and one of the leg's tightening screw assemblies fell to pieces in the middle of a shoot. Nothing some duct tape and heavy duty replacement bolts couldn't handle though.

It's a great tripod for getting started or for the light-end user. But if you're a pro and use your stuff hard to make a living, spend the money and get the better quality one. You generally get what you pay for.

The tripod seems to be reasonably made and not too much plastic. The fluid head works like you'd expect it to. The bag holds the tripod with the head atached.Lets see how it lasts over time but so far so good.

I have had my Ravelli AVTP tripod for about 2 weeks now, and I can say that even with the head issues of grabbing for no real reason I am still more than satisfied and impressed with how sturdy and the function of it.

As stated many times the legs are more than worth buying this unit, very sturdy and well built, with easy to lock and unlock knobs. It does have some weight to it, I have lugged this around on a few photo and video shoots in my local city for half a mile to 1 mile with and without the carry bag. It does get annoying either way carrying it, I think a large backpack or something with 2 shoulder straps would be best to carry it around long distances. The carrying case is very nice, although I do not like the lack of padding on the should strap as even after a few minutes you can feel that digging into you.

Ok my take on the head, it's a lot better than what I have on my other crap tripod, but it was way to stiff out the box even when fully loosened up. I have already taken the head totally apart, that includes the large screw that some people said they could not get to back out and let me say that thing is in very tight, way tighter than is needed.. I came to the conclusion that the reason the head grabs is because parts are not as finely milled during production as they should be, leaving some areas larger than the rest. Also that large screw, the screw head it's self acts as a friction stop for the head, and is the main reason why even when the adjustment screws are loosened all the way you still cannot pan left or right well at all. And also the screw head is not as finely milled to spec as I think it should be also causing the "sticking" issue. So the tighter that screw is the harder it is to pan.

Tilt is similar, just not as finely milled when it was made causing the binding/sticking issue. I cleaned all the standard clear grease out of this and the panning area, used another type of lubricant spray way stuff from Dupont. Works better, not as difficult to get the tilt action to work and is pretty smooth now.

Overall I am very satisfied with the purchase, even with the issues it is still a superior tripod compared to my other one, and being I am not a professional I can't complain too much about performance yet.

I would be more than happy to do a video review on this thing broken down, just let me know if you don't understand what I am talking about in my review.

This tripod offers good support for mid size camcorders. It is very sturdy but this is because the tripod is heavy. It is not bad for the money and the additional docking plate is a nice addition. I would recommend this as a good studio tripod. Taking it into the field or on location will require a strong back.

I bought this to replace a lighter tripod that was not up to the task of supporting a pro video camera with DOF adapter, LCD monitor, etc. Legs are very sturdy. Head reminds me of the twenty year old miller heads we used in film school, or something from the former soviet union, but it works. Fluid action is acceptable with a heavy camera although there's sometimes a slight rebound at the conclusion of a pan. Would like it a little better if there was tilt lock knob separate from tilt friction as locking the tilt requires removing the right side pan arm. One flaw: the camera mounting plate lockdown screw on the tripod head is badly positioned and cannot turn a full revolution beneath a camera that is even an inch wider than tripod head, like my Panasonic HVX200. So, when I"m out in the field I take the lock knob off, carry it in my pocket and use it like a wrench whenever I have to mount or dismount the camera from the tripod. Not the end of the world but it's an inexplicable design choice for a tripod with this load capacity. Very portable and comes with spare plate.