Vanguard Alta Pro 3VRL 303CV 18 review: A sturdy video tripod kit and more besides

Vanguard has been building a suitably ‘solid’ reputation for making quality tripods for about 40 years. For most of us in the ‘digital camera world’, myself included, when we think of a tripod, we think about a set of legs and a head that holds a camera firmly in place for shooting stills. 

A video tripod is a different kind of beast. Apart from when it’s locked off for static use, it’s all about freedom of movement, so you can pan and tilt with an intuitive, fluid feel and follow the action. I’ve recently been very impressed with the super-solid, feature-rich and innovative Vanguard VEO 3+ 303CBS for stills photography. It’s certainly one of the best tripods for photographers on the market today. 

This Vanguard Alta Pro 3VRL 303CV 18 video tripod takes many features and styling queues from its stills sibling, while adding video-centric functions, in a bid to be among the best video tripods.

Vanguard Alta Pro 3VRL 303CV 18: What's changed?

The Vanguard Alta Pro 3VRL 303CV 18 aims to build on the success of the Vanguard VEO 3+ 303CBS, the latter essentially being a full-height, top-performance carbon fiber tripod that can accommodate one or even two cameras, with stills shooting predominantly in mind. The newcomer comes complete with a VEO PV-18 fluid head for smooth movements when shooting video, but the kit also includes a lightweight flat platform, which you can swap over with the removable leveling base, then add the likes of a ball head or 3-way head (sold separately, if you don’t have one already) when you want to shoot stills.

Vanguard Alta Pro 3VRL 303CV 18: Specifications

Vanguard Alta Pro 3VRL 303CV 18: Price & Availability

At around $500/£500 the Vanguard Alta Pro 3VRL 303CV 18 certainly isn’t a cheap tripod. You get what you pay for though, as it’s really well-engineered and immaculately turned out, complete with a high-quality padded soft case. Sure, it lacks some of the fanciest features of top-end video tripods, like a counterbalance system and adjustable drag for panning, but you’ll generally only find these kinds of extras on top-flight video tripods like the Manfrotto 504X 635 Fast Single Leg Carbon kit, which has a list price of around $1,315/£1,325, getting on for three times the price.

Vanguard Alta Pro 3VRL 303CV 18: Design & Handling

I do like a bit of luxury. As soon as I got the Vanguard Alta Pro 3VRL 303CV 18 out of its padded soft case, I knew I was onto a winner. Carbon fiber comes in various different grades of quality but in this case, the leg sections definitely look ‘the right stuff’. The top sections have a large 30mm diameter to ensure maximum stability.

Metal parts are made from aviation-grade aluminum and engineered with a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) manufacturing process to ensure the utmost precision. They’re polished off with high-quality anodizing so they look as good as they feel. Speaking of which, if I’m investing in a high-quality tripod, I like to feel that it’s built to last, so it’s good to know that this kit is backed up by Vanguard’s 10-year extended warranty.

I’m a pretty tall guy, at 6ft 5in. This kit is billed by Vanguard as ‘ultra-tall’ and I like that, when shooting video, I can be eye-to-screen with my camera without stooping. Indeed, it has a 181cm (71.3”) maximum operating height. The flipside is that, with only 3-section legs, it’s still pretty tall when folded down, at 86.5cm (34”). I don’t really mind that, and prefer the comparative speed and ease for setting up the tripod, compared with 4-section or 5-section legs, or legs that swing up over an extending center column to save size. This tripod doesn’t actually have a center column anyway. Instead, it has a circular aperture for accommodating the leveling base.

The leveling base operates in the time-honored tradition. You twist the grip at the bottom to clamp or release its movement. It has a full 360-degree lateral rotation and +/-15 degrees of vertical tilt. Two large spirit levels on the video head make short work of making sure that everything’s on the level. That’s essential for keeping your verticals vertical when panning in video shots, or taking a sequence of stills to stitch into a panorama. A weight hook is featured just below the grip, for adding ballast – ideal when shooting in breezy conditions outdoors.

The maximum load rating is a hefty 25kg for the legs, 15kg for the Veo PV-18 fluid head. This makes the kit ideal not only for video, but also for tracking the action in sports and wildlife photography, when using long telephoto lenses, as well as for using a spotting scope for birdwatching. To add versatility, there’s a 3/8” socket with a ¼” adapter for adding accessories via a ‘magic arm’ like the Veo TSA DLX.

For locked-off or action shots, the head features locking knobs for vertical tilt and panning, and there’s an adjustable drag damper for tilt. There’s technically no drag adjuster for lateral panning drag but you can replicate this to some extent by adjusting the length of the telescopic pan handle. Indeed, where most video heads have a removable pan handle that can attach to the left or right side, this one comes with two detachable handles so you can fit them to one or both sides.

Even the most fervent videographers might like to shoot stills from time to time. The tripod accommodates this with its quick-release leveling head, which you can replace by a flat platform that comes as part of the kit. This makes it easy to fit a high-quality ball head or 3-way head in no time at all. For me, it’s a bit reminiscent of using the Manfrotto MOVE Quick-Release System.

Vanguard Alta Pro 3VRL 303CV 18: Photo Performance

The legs of this tripod kit are really sturdy and give excellent resistance to flexing and vibration. The twist-action clamps for each leg section work with smooth efficiency, as do the extension and contraction of each section. There’s a neat push-button mechanism for selecting any of three leg angles, ideal for working around obstacles or on uneven terrain. I like that the feet have rubber pads that screw in to reveal metal spikes, the latter being better suited to soft ground.

Leveling the head is quick and easy, with two large spirit levels to help out. These are easily visible on camera mounting platform and aren’t obscured with the large Arca-Swiss compatible quick-release plate in place.

There’s no counterbalance system but with fairly lightweight mirrorless cameras, like a Nikon Z 6II and 24-70mm f/4 lens, I found that the tilt angle remained fixed at up to around 30 degrees when letting go of the pan handle, even without resorting to using the locking knob. At least, that’s the case when tightening the adjustable damper for tilt drag.

As I’ve mentioned, there’s no adjustment for panning drag but lengthening or shortening the pan handles is a useful substitute. I also very much like having dual handles, as it offers right-handed or left-handed use on the fly. Ultimately, both tilt and pan feel very smooth and fluid, which is exactly what I want from a video head.

Vanguard Alta Pro 3VRL 303CV 18: Verdict

The Vanguard Alta Pro 3VRL 303CV 18  is an excellent video tripod kit. It’s cleverly designed to deliver great versatility, especially with its removable leveling base and alternative flat platform, making it eminently suitable for stills as well as video, if you have an additional head. The quality of the carbon fiber construction is top-notch and the standard of engineering and finish is superb in all respects. It’s pretty pricey to buy but this Vanguard is well worth the price, making it very good value.

Alternatives

The Manfrotto 504X 635 Fast Single Leg Carbon is a fully pro-grade video tripod kit with supremely quick set-up and all the bells and whistles you could wish for, but it’s much more expensive at nearly three times the price.

The SmallRig FreeBlazer Heavy-Duty Carbon Fiber Tripod Kit AD-100 3989 looks pretty conventional but packs some useful features and is very quick to set up. It’s also a less expensive to buy than the Vanguard.