Weifeng 7060????

N

notharrylume

Active member
Tripod for my new GH2? I know, I know, I know tht I should buy Sachtler, Vinten, Miller, Cartoni, last 20 years (that I should live so long), etc. but for $300 plus shipping I can get a EI/Weifeng 7060 head & sticks, and I'm sorry but that is about 1/5 or less than (S, V, M, C above), and it seems to be a better alternative than the ubiquitous and cheap EI/WF717 that appears to have a 60mm ball and legs that tend to break. It seems as if the 75mm ball, 15kg capacity, makes it a bit more sturdy and possibly more long lasting, and Lumieretech actually answers its phone, albeit a cell and with a bit of a Chinese accent.

So, have any of you actually bought and used an EI 7060? And what do you think? (And I am aware that the camera is a bit light for the counter balance unless I add a Nikor lens, rails, FF, MB, and maybe my thumb and then it might balance.)

Can I get a smooth pan out of it and will it last a year or two?

(I'm not in the business, just want to make some films; need 80 or 180 hours of service, not 6800).

As always, thanks much for your thoughts and comments. I really appreciate the value of these forums.
 
I have honestly heard decent things about their tripods and heads. For what it cost, you cant go wrong. if it only lasts two years, you would still have got your moneys worth. I'm betting if you take good care of it, it will last for a long time.
 
I don't have one, but I've played with one in a retail store along side some Vinten's and Miller's (can't remember which ones) and it felt good. I do have the cheaper WF717 and the WF7060 feels more solid and smooth than the WF717.
 
notharrylume said:
Tripod for my new GH2? I know, I know, I know tht I should buy Sachtler, Vinten, Miller, Cartoni, last 20 years (that I should live so long), etc. but for $300 plus shipping I can get a EI/Weifeng 7060 head & sticks, and I'm sorry but that is about 1/5 or less than (S, V, M, C above), and it seems to be a better alternative than the ubiquitous and cheap EI/WF717 that appears to have a 60mm ball and legs that tend to break. It seems as if the 75mm ball, 15kg capacity, makes it a bit more sturdy and possibly more long lasting, and Lumieretech actually answers its phone, albeit a cell and with a bit of a Chinese accent.

So, have any of you actually bought and used an EI 7060? And what do you think? (And I am aware that the camera is a bit light for the counter balance unless I add a Nikor lens, rails, FF, MB, and maybe my thumb and then it might balance.)

Can I get a smooth pan out of it and will it last a year or two?

(I'm not in the business, just want to make some films; need 80 or 180 hours of service, not 6800).

As always, thanks much for your thoughts and comments. I really appreciate the value of these forums.
Click to expand...

Hi, could you post a link to where you have seen the 7060? I can´t find anything on it on the web but I´m also looking into buying a weifeng.

Thanks!
 
Well, I received my 7060 tripod yesterday from Lumieretech by way of Ebay. I am pleased with their service. It was fast and responsive. (I put a wrong address on my original order, and I actually telephoned them to clear up my mistake.)

My initial feelings are that it is a decent product - perhaps not equal to equivalent tripods costing 4 to 7 times as much, but having tried out those tipods at B&H last week, certainly not a piece of garbage either by any means.

My choice of the $300 7060 over the $150 717 include the following:
1. Height; I believe that the 717 comes with a 4'-2" tripod and the 7060 is over 5'-3" which could be important to someone 6' tall as I am.
2. Ball: the 7060 appears to have a 75mm leveling ball; the Lumieretech fellow told me that the 717 has a non-standard 60mm bowl. So I am able to use either head or sticks with other 75mm equipment.
3. Capacity: other reviews have implied that the lighter capacity 717 legs might be an issue. the 7060 legs have a quoted capacity of 15kg/22 lbs. and although that is just talk they seem very sturdy to me.

So maybe someday I will want to spend the extra $1000 or $1500 for a tripod, but for now I am satisfied.
 
notharrylume said:
Well, I received my 7060 tripod yesterday from Lumieretech by way of Ebay. I am pleased with their service. It was fast and responsive. (I put a wrong address on my original order, and I actually telephoned them to clear up my mistake.)

My initial feelings are that it is a decent product - perhaps not equal to equivalent tripods costing 4 to 7 times as much, but having tried out those tipods at B&H last week, certainly not a piece of garbage either by any means.

My choice of the $300 7060 over the $150 717 include the following:
1. Height; I believe that the 717 comes with a 4'-2" tripod and the 7060 is over 5'-3" which could be important to someone 6' tall as I am.
2. Ball: the 7060 appears to have a 75mm leveling ball; the Lumieretech fellow told me that the 717 has a non-standard 60mm bowl. So I am able to use either head or sticks with other 75mm equipment.
3. Capacity: other reviews have implied that the lighter capacity 717 legs might be an issue. the 7060 legs have a quoted capacity of 15kg/22 lbs. and although that is just talk they seem very sturdy to me.

So maybe someday I will want to spend the extra $1000 or $1500 for a tripod, but for now I am satisfied.
Click to expand...

Forgive me for being dense, but I'm not 100% sure I understand you. I am trying to understand why you bought the 7060 for $300. I bought the 717X for $178 in March of this year. I bought it through an eBay store -here is the link. At the time, I don't think the 7060 was available (at least I didn't see it), but I wonder what the differences are. Taking your points:

1)Height. You have 5' 3" on the 7060. I get 6' 2" on the 717X.

2) I don't understand the ball comment. Perhaps the 717 has a non-standard size leveling ball, but it is supposed to accept all 75mm equipment. Here's how they describe it - see the link above: "75mm bowl type mount"

3) Capacity - yes, that is correct. The capacity of the 717X is only 6kg/13.2lbs. I was aware of this limitation, but I also considered my needs. The AF100 is 2.64lbs, add more batteries, rails, lenses, monitors, mics etc., and you should still not go much over 7lbs or so. Of course, the question is what happens with leverage on a slider, but I figure I still got another 6lbs margin of safety. The FS100 is 6.1lbs including their 18-200 zoom lens and a mic. Again, that's still a fair distance from the 13.2lb limit. I conclude that if this is good enough to carry an AF100 or FS100, it's good enough for my needs, because if I go to a heavier camera, I'd probably operate on a budget that would allow me for a better tripod anyway. Anyhow - it is not my intent to use an AF100 or FS100, but rather the GH2 on my project, and it's with the GH2 in mind that I bought the 717X. In which case, I figure 13.2lbs is plenty good.

Bottom line, it's too late now, as I already have the 717X and I didn't have the 7060 on the horizon at the time I bought it, so that part's moot. But. I don't immediately see that 7060 is overall much better than the 717X - I certainly wouldn't mind paying another $120, so price would not have been my deciding factor between these two. I'd still have liked to compare the two side by side if I were to make that choice today. I like the extra capacity of the 7060, but I also like the height of the 717X at 6' 2" - I have used it now several times at max height with a heavier camera/lens than the GH2, and it worked very well, was very smooth and stable. Of course, I have no idea how durable it is - maybe everything would fall apart under heavy duty usage (multi day, multi hour, 20-30 setups a day etc.), but so far I have not had the opportunity to use it that way.

Anyhow, you have had the opportunity to see both the 717X and the 7060, whereas the 7060 was not available at the time I bought the 717X, so I'm curious what your reasoning was to reject the 717X (I understand why you rejected the vanilla 717). Thanks for the feedback.
 
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