Manfrotto MVH500AH, Lightweight Fluid Video Head with Flat Base, Sliding Plate for Rapid Camera Connection, Supports Multiple Tripods

This review is for the Manfrotto MVH500AH Lightweight fluid head. I have had this fluid head for about a month and have used it quite a bit. I use it strictly for photography and not video. Prior to having this fluid head I had a Manfrotto ball head. It worked fine except I never liked the quick release plate that came with it. I became intrigued with this fluid head when I saw it used and recommended by photographer, teacher and YouTuber Hudson Henry. After watching a few of his videos I decided to make a purchase. The panning and tilting motion are smooth and fluid. I actually shot my first panorama with this. There are only two knobs to use, one for panning and one for tilting. Very easy to use and handle. There is a leveling bubble when you tilt the head up so you can level the head. I use it for landscape photography, wildlife photography and astro photography. The fluid head acts as a gimbal head, very easy to use for bird photography. One of the photos I included shows a mirrorless camera and a 200-500 lens mounted on it. The fluid head carries them with ease. I doubt that I would ever go back to using a ball head. This does everything I need it to do. I absolutely love it and highly recommend it.

I'm a film student, and I've owned some pretty modest tripods over the years, generally in the $100-$150 range. For that price you can get some sturdy tripods that work well for still photography, but they don't work well for film. In particular you can't do any sort of smooth panning/tilting sorts of shots. I used some older Manfrotto tripods at school, and definitely saw the value in those, so I bought this as my first real "video tripod".I really really like it! It's not cheap, but it's so easy to do butter-smooth pans. You can even do it with one finger, just smoothly panning. On my first shoot we did two such scenes, and they both worked fabulously.For other static type of shots, the camera performs very well too. It's very sturdy, and goes up pretty high (6'), and the quick release works really well (although it takes a little getting used to). I'm using it with a Canon XA10.The one thing that annoys me about it, is trying to get it level, for a "normal" static shot. The ball-and-socket mechanism is actually a bit awkward to get perfectly straight. It does have a level bubble, but it is in a really awkward place which make it difficult to see, especially in less the bright lighting conditions.Still, this is a brilliant tripod. Some of the other filmmakers that I worked with on this really appreciated it too, and said how much they enjoyed working with it.

I have started shooting more video with my 5D and wanted something other than my ball head for video. I already have a Manfrotto 055X carbon fiber tripod and wanted something that would go onto that quickly. What a breeze! Just unscrew the ballhead, screw this one on and away you go. Probably 30 seconds to make the change. What I wanted was something very lightweight and compact. This head fit the bill perfectly. The fluid movements are really wonderful. Perfectly dampened and with springs to help return it to level. Smooth as silk! The sliding baseplate is plenty long enough to balance the camera with a long lens attached. I have the Canon 70-200 and there are no issues balancing. It is not necessary to use the lens mounting option at all. Just slide the camera back with the plate on the camera and balance is quickly achieved. The finishes are very nice and everything seems to lock down properly. It would certainly support a heavier camera. Overall I am very very happy with the purchase. The pan/tilt handle can be locked in most any position and used on the left or right side. This is really a GREAT choice for smooth pans and tilts and you really cannot beat the price for this very high quality head. Buy it and you will not be disappointed!

I rarely give out 5 star ratings because rarely do I come across a product that achieves perfection. So, my 4-star rating on this product says that I am very happy with it. And the price, though it is in the high range, was something that can be justified with the quality of the product.PROS:Very sturdy legs that slide easily in and out when collapsing and expanding them. No problems at all with the locking mechanisms for both the legs and the head. Good height for a tall guy like myself (6' 4") who doesn't like to hunch over for long periods of time while I'm shooting weddings. Excellent fluid head that provides butter-smooth pans and has a very wide range of motion (360 for panning and almost perfectly straight up and down, but not quite). The bag is excellent quality too. I read a lot about bags that barely fit the tripod when the head is on it. This is not a problem with this product, as long as you fully collapse the legs and remove the handle before storing. The hardware for this product appears to be designed well. No issues with pieces not fitting together properly that you get with cheaper products.CONS:Lots of plastic on this unit. More than I thought there would be. The locking mechanisms for the legs are plastic. The ball-head is plastic and the knobs that lock the head in place are plastic as well. Though this isn't an immediate problem, plastic is a cheap material that is suceptible to cracking and breaking after being exposed to weather and wear and tear. I just thought a $350 item wouldn't have to resort to so much plastic, but maybe it was necessary to keep the price point. Not sure. I wasn't very impressed with the bubble-level either. It's not in a very good spot on the tripod and I noticed that when I do 360-degree pans the bubble moves from center to off-center as I am moving around. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I would think that if it was an accurate measure of something being level that it would be stationary as I was panning. So, I DO use the bubble level, but I also have to resort to eye-balling it on my LCD to make sure that I am level.STORE:I do want to touch on the distributor I bought this item through, the Recording Store. For the record, their customer service (or lack thereof) has nothing to do with my 4-star rating. That is based purely on the product itself, but I did want to include them in this review.On Feb 14th I received an email stating that my tripod had shipped and I would get it as early as the 21st and no later than the 24th. The 24th came still with no sign of the product. Interestingly, there was no tracking information available on this order through Amazon. I waited until the early afternoon on the 24th and emailed the Recording Store and they said they were shipping it that afternoon. What? Really? So, I asked about the email I received stating it was being shipped on the 14th and they said that they were GOING to ship it that day, but they realized 2 parts were damaged on it. Ok, so I don't get an email letting me know that it was going to be late? I find it interesting that they were "just getting ready to ship" my item as I was emailing them on the 24th. Quite a coincidence, wouldn't you say? I'm guessing my order fell through the cracks and when I emailed them they started looking for it and found it. Kinda like when the waitress forgets to put your order in and then when you ask where your food is she runs back there and puts it in really quick. Then she makes up some BS story about how the kitchen is running slow. Anyway, I got it eventually, but they didn't seem to be very apologetic about it or even care that it was late. Good thing I didn't have an immediate need for the item. If I did, you can be sure I would have been blowing those people up demanding next day shipping for free.