I don't know that this count as a review or not, but please be patient with me on my opinion on the tripod review.
Weifeng is a Chinese company, i.e. mainland China that makes tripod. If its your first time hearing the name, same as me when I started surveying for tripods. Yes, we all know Manfrotto and maybe Velbon or Giottos, and even Benro (another Chinese company that makes some good quality tripods)
The list price for the tripod (tripod and head) is MRSP: 388.00 (note: list price, if you get what I mean) and its considered a budget 'professional' tripod. Well, since the tripod legs are able to withstand 8kg of load, I think that it should be considered as a pro tripod.
The detachable head however has a few gripes, that I will explain later
Build quality of the tripod: (I'll let you decide based on my description)
The tripod is made out of aluminum (or aluminum alloy) with the total weight (plus head) is 1.6kg. Yeah, that's quite a lot of weight, but if you plan to get a carbon fiber tripod, be my guest if weight is such an issue.
The smallest section of the legs has a diameter of 28mm ( I ripped of the website)
But, the part that really show the quality of the tripod is the connections, that is the anchor to the joints (being in Engineering for too long to use such a term)
is made of just hard plastic .
[Update: It is made out of metal!!!] Why did they made it to look like plastic anyway??? Yeah, I would prefer it made out of metal so that a giant fall wouldn't break it off (touch wood; or if your camera is attached to the tripod, that would be the least of your worry). Well, Benro's A350EX series' are made out of metal (but then again its another price bracket and different capabilities). Oh well, I guess I hopefully won't have to find out.
Another thing about this tripod's construction is that is a 4 section leg type which reduces the folded height of the tripod to just 445mm. (again, from the site which I think didn't include the head) From an engineering stand point (boy, I
had to say that), 4 sections would mean bigger diameter of the initial leg; i.e. the first section, or the thickness aluminum would have to be increased to accommodate the following sections, especially the final or forth section. With the rated load of 8kg, its amazing how the whole tripod feels sturdy at its maximum height.
The rest are quite normal (to me at least) such as rubber feet, ah.... what else? Did I say that it's sturdy?
Function/ Capabilities of the tripod.
Well, the tripod uses the traditional screw type instead of the quick action latch lock type of locking mechanism for the legs' section. This I'm sorta impartial since I heard that the screw type is longer lasting than the latch type which is prone to failure. Then again I've used the tripod so far, the screwing mechanism seems not to be too slow when setting up. But when folding the tripod, it is however more cumbersome compared to the latch type.
It has a hook, for a plumb bob (I guess, since I've used it before for surveying) and a cover or holding area? Never seen this thing before and it is velcro'ed to the legs. Can someone tell me what's its for?
The tripod is a single column affair with no step ladder nonsense which you can increase or decrease the height fairly easily with the rubberized screw.
Its party trick is that its legs can swing a full 180 degrees which you can mount your camera upside down. The full swing action is also useful where you might need to mount 1 of the legs to the wall, since your wide angle is not wide enough (or I don't have a ultra wide angle)
So, this makes the whole tripod when folded to a very low height.
[Did I mention that it comes with a padded bag?]
The maximum height of the tripod stated on the site is 1655mm (again, I think that it's measured without the head attached). Tall, that's the word. With the head installed and my D90 attached, the viewfinder is at about eye level to my height of 175cm.
[What's that piece of fabric on the legs for anyway?]
So, now about the head.
Its metal.
Its a ball head type.
There's a pin (if that's what you call it) which pops out when the attachment plate is removed. It locks the latch too when the plate is removed. Clicks and closes the latched when the plate is reattached.
The attachment plate is made out of metal, except the part where the camera is screwed onto is made out of cork. The screw quality could be better.
There's is one important note about attaching the plate onto the head, that is to make sure that the plate and the pin really clicks or your camera would experience free fall. (Lucky I didn't have to find out) The manual would need this warning though. (Ignore the manual, its pretty much useless.)
The head would pan in the horizontal direction slowly with the small screw or your hand action (lots of pressure I presume) with would be bothersome if you are into HDR photography and would need accurate position for each exposure. (Hey, there's bracketing for that now!)
Well, that's pretty much it for a tripod of such a class. If I have extra cash, I'll probably try to mix it with a better head. Maybe have a spare pan-head?
Its sturdy, heavy, short when it needs to, and tall! What else do you want from a tripod with a ball head? A spirit level?? (its pointless to have a spirit level on the tripod with a ball head since it moves in both x and y direction at the same time when you adjust it, use a hot-shoe mounted level instead)
At last, the picture taken from the tripod.
