The apparatus described in this work is a novel tool which improves the capabilities of studying the static and dynamic features of wetting. It is composed, on the one hand, of an operational part which includes the mechanical setup for the precise deposition of drops and their correct viewing once they start evolving on a substrate. On the other hand, a specific vision system completes the instrument and is made up of different cameras and focusing optics, capable of acquiring images at variable rates (up to 200 Hz) and of a data-processing card designed to provide parameters such as contact angles, interfacial tensions, and spreading kinetics. Numerous examples of the use of this apparatus are provided in order to illustrate its merits within a wide range of static and dynamic situations related to the basic properties of interfaces. ©1997 American Institute of Physics.