Does anyone have any experience with this tripod?

I have it, love it, recommend it. Unbeatable for the money.

A few caveats:

The quick release plate is proprietary, so if you want QR compatibility across all your supports, you'll have to buy another QR adapter and leave it on the WF717.

The "fluid" inside the excellent 717 head can sometimes be too stiff for smooth motion -- you'll want to follow the procedure here to re-lube it for smooooth motion. FWIW Emm got this mod from me when I commented it on his original review of the head about a month or so ago.

The WF717 features a bowl-type head, so it's not like a photo tripod where you can unscrew the head and use something else. I prefer the bowl-type head for its quick bubble-leveling adjustment, but know going in that this isn't the usual "sticks plus head" mix and match combo. It's one unit.

All that said, I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. It's a seriously great video tripod for the money, much nicer than the >$100 tripods on BH et al, and competitive with much more expensive units. You can certainly do better but for >$150 I don't think the WF717 can be beat for a new video tripod.
 
I ordered that tripod and feels like chinese junks so I sent back and boughted libec brand. Much better and not so expensive to your money.
 
Thanks to the Internet and its open door policy for all creatures great and small, I've found a curious phenomenon on product forums such as this one. There are some people who exhibit such extreme reliability as "inverse arbiters" that whatever they say about a product, you can be quite confident that if you had the same product in hand, your experience would be the exact opposite. Rather than dismissing these people as being ignorant, however, I find great value in their presence, for despite their poor spelling/grammar and overuse of abbreviated slang, their ill-conceived condemnation is often the greatest praise a product could hope for.

There is another type I like to call "the flailer". No patience, no experience, no foundational facility. He simply buys whatever the herd online is yakking about, rips the packaging open, and after five seconds of frustration that his audio system still doesn't sound like live music/photos don't suddenly look professional/videos suddenly don't look like Hollywood or perhaps Judge Judy episodes, he rushes back online to slam the product for being cheap garbage.

The Swiss have gone on record as saying they wish they could approach the precise and infinite repeatability of these forum phenomena, as it would give them a new paradigm of perfection when producing watch movements. Apparently even the frequency of a quartz crystal isn't as reliably predictive as the inverse arbiter and the flailer, especially when they are combined in the same individual.
 
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Interesting theories abound.
I have those legs floating around somewhere and while I agree that for the money they are quite good (remember, "for the money"), they are prone to significant twist when set higher up. I chucked the head and used a libec head as well. I totally recommend Libec.
Also, the knobs to secure the legs sometimes loosen inadvertently. If you are using a little cam like any of the DSLRs, you'll be happy enough... in my opinion.
Good luck with it!
 
shaveblog said:
Thanks to the Internet and its open door policy for all creatures great and small, I've found a curious phenomenon on product forums such as this one. There are some people who exhibit such extreme reliability as "inverse arbiters" that whatever they say about a product, you can be quite confident that if you had the same product in hand, your experience would be the exact opposite. Rather than dismissing these people as being ignorant, however, I find great value in their presence, for despite their poor spelling/grammar and overuse of abbreviated slang, their ill-conceived condemnation is often the greatest praise a product could hope for.

There is another type I like to call "the flailer". No patience, no experience, no foundational facility. He simply buys whatever the herd online is yakking about, rips the packaging open, and after five seconds of frustration that his audio system still doesn't sound like live music/photos don't suddenly look professional/videos suddenly don't look like Hollywood or perhaps Judge Judy episodes, he rushes back online to slam the product for being cheap garbage.

The Swiss have gone on record as saying they wish they could approach the precise and infinite repeatability of these forum phenomena, as it would give them a new paradigm of perfection when producing watch movements. Apparently even then frequency of a quartz crystal isn't as reliably predictive as the inverse arbiter and the flailer, especially when they are combined in the same individual.
Click to expand...

hahaaaa spot on!
 
If you only need film you nephew birthday party then $150 tripod is okey. But tripod not like camera where technology make everything cheaper and better every month lol! Tripod like audio, always stay same and means it will hold value! Very bad advises to invest in junk chinese tripod if you are wanting to be serious about this business. If foudation rotten whole fish stink! Lol. You buy junks in one month it in trashcan and you will be getting libec or saxler like you do in first place. But if only for youtub the chinese junks okey. But better you be right first time and just get good one, not lousy one. Even libec not even so awsome. Sorry my english here sucks! Lol! I'm new for english but I try hard for my citizenship in 2 more year! I also have desexia so please have a patients.
 
So now the chinese junk tripod only $140? That's great! So now you will lose less money money when after 3 months you found out junk tripod have no proper counter balence and cannot make proper smoothe pan and so have to buy proper libec or saxler which you were should have done first time! Lol!
I don't don't mind to be call stupid, I already experience that when I lived to phoenix, but its okay because also you said boom operator is stupid and pro audio is only lav never shotgun! Lol!
 
I seem to have troll poop on my shoe. Sorry for the smell, folks. Hopefully it will go away soon so rational discussion can continue.
 
the great thing about the weifeng EI-717 is (out of its price , you can find it as low as $125) , the availability of cheap parts.
Absolutely buy the 2nd telescopic handle for $15 and additional quick plate (don't remember the price).
and if you can , take the717XL version that is a few inches taller, it is really great for only $30 more.
i got 4 EI717 and one 717XL. I use them on Ex-1, FX1,550D, igus rail and they are great (for the price).
Yes, the head is a bit stiff and the plate release is sometime a bit demanding, but as per today it has filled the requirement (holding steady my cams).
 
I bought the W717A fluid head and tripod. I mounted my GH2 to the quick release plate onto the tripod but it blocks the BATTERY DOOR! So, I can’t swap batteries without having to unscrew the camera off the QR plate.

What do I do to resolve this issue? Any suggestions? Much appreciated!
 
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