Leofoto Ranger Explorer LS-284CVL Carbon Fiber Tripod-
Leofoto Ranger Explorer LS-284CVL Carbon Fiber Tripod-
Leofoto Ranger Explorer LS-284CVL Carbon Fiber Tripod-
Leofoto Ranger Explorer LS-284CVL Carbon Fiber Tripod-
Leofoto Ranger Explorer LS-284CVL Carbon Fiber Tripod-
Leofoto Ranger Explorer LS-284CVL Carbon Fiber Tripod-
Leofoto Ranger Explorer LS-284CVL Carbon Fiber Tripod-
Leofoto Ranger Explorer LS-284CVL Carbon Fiber Tripod-
Leofoto Ranger Explorer LS-284CVL Carbon Fiber Tripod-
Leofoto Ranger Explorer LS-284CVL Carbon Fiber Tripod-
Leofoto Ranger Explorer LS-284CVL Carbon Fiber Tripod-
Leofoto Ranger Explorer LS-284CVL Carbon Fiber Tripod-
Leofoto Ranger Explorer LS-284CVL Carbon Fiber Tripod-
Leofoto Ranger Explorer LS-284CVL Carbon Fiber Tripod-
Leofoto Ranger Explorer LS-284CVL Carbon Fiber Tripod-

Leofoto Ranger Explorer LS-284CVL Carbon Fiber Tripod

Regular price R 8,499.00
/
Tax included.
1 in stock

Ranger Tripods

The Ranger series tripods offer a strong, rigid camera support system in a package that is lightweight, compact and easy to use and maintain. Read the detailed description below to find out more about this tripod range. 

The Leofoto Ranger series is at the forefront of modern tripod design. Following the success of larger systematic style column-less tripods, more and more photographers are waking up to the fact that a center-column is a major compromise in tripod functionality. Sadly, most manufacturers have been slow to adopt this change. Leofoto is one of the first brands to bring out a column-less design as their core tripod range.

When you take away the center-column, the legs can be stowed flush against each other, which trims the folded diameter of tripods by as much as 40%. Removing the center-column also makes it lighter and cheaper, while improving rigidity as there are less interconnecting parts between the legs and the camera. The only major compromise is the lack of extra height that a center-column affords. Until recently, this has posed a major issue, but the latest precision carbon tubing and joint technology means that today’s 5-section tripods are as rigid as yesterday’s 4-section tripods. Manufacturers can thus increase the extended height of tripods while keeping the folded length travel-friendly.

Apex – All ranger series tripods feature a compact apex machined from aircraft-grade aluminium. The apex is hollowed out to save weight and hard anodized for durability. On the side, you will find a UNC ¼” mounting hole for Leofoto’s AM range of magic arms for attaching accessories like smartphone holders, gopros or speedlights. Below the apex is another UNC ¼” mounting hole for attaching a weight hook – such a hook and carabiner are included with all Ranger tripods. The legs attach via stainless steel hinge shafts and brass bushings to a machined aluminium hinge chassis – premium materials you won’t see on many tripods in the market today.

Premium Japanese Carbon Fiber - Leofoto uses 10x layer cross-weave carbon fiber tubes made by Toray Inc – one of the world’s top carbon fiber manufacturers. This ensures strength and rigidity while ensuring class-leading weight specifications. The hinges feature self-returning angle-selectors, a small feature that speeds up operation. All Ranger tripods offer leg angles of 23, 55 and 85 degrees.

Joints – All tripod ranges feature fat joints with prominent ribbing to provide great grip and torque for easy loosening and tightening of the joints. One of Leofoto’s proprietary features is a single-piece joint-shim (the shim helps legs to lock together more firmly and prevents the legs from being able to rotate within each other); those who have opened up a twist-joint tripod and seen parts fly will know the frustration of disassembling and reassembling those delicate internal components. All Leofoto tripods feature a one-piece shim, which makes maintenance and cleaning of the joints much easier.

Bevelled Aluminium Core Feet – A tripod foot is just a piece of rubber, right? Think again! Most manufacturer’s tripod feet are just a steel spike encased in rubber – this makes it heavy and allows a lot of flex/vibration in the malleable rubber. Leofoto’s engineers have gone to great lengths to make the ultimate tripod foot and the result is an internal aluminium frame that minimizes the amount of flexible rubber in the construction. While this is a tiny detail, it adds to the rigidity of the tripod. All Leofoto ranges’ feet feature a multi-angled bevel, which helps it to grip on uneven terrain. All Leofoto tripods also include a set of spiked feet for shooting on ice or slippery rocks.

What is the culmination of all these features? One of the world’s best tripod ranges at a fraction of the price of the competition. As they say, the proof is in the pudding, well here is the pudding. Thecentercolumn.com is the DXO labs of tripods – they do a lot of controlled rigidity and other testing and combine it with a ton of other metrics like price, weight and extras to give tripods an overall score. On the travel tripod rankings, the Leofoto Rangers hold 3 of the top 10 spots alongside Gitzo and RRS, but if you look at the price of the competition, your jaw will drop. The Leofoto options cost between 25-50% of the other tripods on the top 10 list. 

Included

  • Padded Storage and Travel Bag
  • 75mm Bowl Adapter
  • 3x Spiked Feet
  • Multi-Tool
  • Carabiner and Attachment Screw

Specifications

  • Material - Carbon Fibre
  • Leg Sections - 4
  • Maximum Height - 154,5cm
  • Maximum Height (Column Down) - 123cm
  • Minimum Height - 14.5cm
  • Closed Length -50cm
  • Weight - 1400g
  • Load Capacity - 10kg
  • Column Tilt range: 180°
  • Column Panning: 360°

Do you have the item in stock? 

Products are either in stock, out of stock (sold out) or special order. 

  • In stock: We have stock at our local warehouse. You can see how many we have in stock, add these products to your cart and check out. 
  • Sold out: We usually carry stock of this item but it has sold out. Please get in touch to get an ETA and reserve and incoming product. Or use the "Email me when available" button to get an email when new stock arrives. 
  • Special order: We don't carry local stock of this item. Get in touch to confirm stock availability and ETA to place an order. 

Delivery options and what they cost

We pride ourselves on lightning fast shipping, FREE on all orders over R1000. For orders under R1000 a courier fee of R120 will apply. Apart from large f-stop gear orders and large tripods, most of our items ship overnight and the daily cutoff is 13:00. You can read more on the deliveries page

Can I collect my parcel? 

Yes, you can collect your order from our warehouse in Saxenburg Park, Blackheath (08:00 - 14:00). Just choose the collection option at checkout- we'll follow up with the specifics. Please note that we are very strict about payment if collecting. We will not release any goods if we are not 100% comfortable about payment. We accept the following as payment confirmation in order to release the goods. 

  • Payfast Card Payment (any customers, new or returning)
  • EFT from FNB to FNB, pending fund clearance (any customers, new or returning)
  • Normal EFT from other banks to FNB (return customers only)
  • Instant EFT from other banks to FNB, pending fund clearance (Any customers, new or returning) 
  • Cash (any customers, new or returning)

What payment options are available?  

  • EFT
  • EFT via Payfast
  • Credit card: VISA & Mastercard
  • Payflex
  • Float

What is your policy on returns and or exchanges?

We are more than happy to exchange any product for something else or a full refund* if you feel that the item you chose isn’t quite right for you. See our Return Policy page for more. 

*If paying with any card, 4.5% of the transaction value goes to the credit card payment facilitation company. "Full Refund" means that we will return the full amount we received after the credit card service fees. If you are at all unsure that what you're buying is ideal for you, rather opt for EFT payment to be safe. 

Where is my order? How can I track my order?

You will receive an email with your tracking number once your order has been collected by our couriers. You can also find tracking number for your orders under "My account" 

You can also shop NiSi Filters at the following retailers & dealers. 
Orms Cape Town
Shop 5 Roeland Square, Cnr Roeland and, Upper Canterbury St, Cape Town
0214653573
Orms Bellville
Victorian Towers, 2 Palm St, Bellville, Cape Town
Fritz, 0219101380
FilmFlow (Cinema Specialist)
Boskruin, Randburg
Deon Truter, 07823148308
Kameraz
Rosebank Mall, 50 Bath Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg
Martin Wright, 0118802885
Photoquip
28 Pearce St, Berea, East London
043 726 2200
Lime Photo
Kloof, Durban
Emil, 0844849959
 
You can also shop Leofoto Tripods at the following retailers & dealers. 
Orms Cape Town
Shop 5 Roeland Square, Cnr Roeland and, Upper Canterbury St, Cape Town
0214653573
Orms Bellville
Victorian Towers, 2 Palm St, Bellville, Cape Town
Fritz, 021 910 1380
Lime Photo
Kloof, Durban
Emil, 0844849959
3% Tactical
Durbanville
Bernard Kotze - 0727156743
Ivan Fourie - 0825290593
Pretoria Arms
1032 Silvergrass St, Montana, Pretoria, 0182
Wayne Lesch – 0798834407

Damien Bradshaw 
Eastern Cape (Hunting Products Only)
0835749134

Approved Arms
Pretoria
Dirk Pio  – 0730556726
 

We have a no-nonsense approach. If a product breaks due to a manufacturer defect, we will replace it without asking any questions. If we have any reason to believe that the product was put through unreasonably heavy usage, we will have to follow the manufacturer's standard warranty procedure. 

Find more info on proper care and use for each brand below. 

NiSi Care & Use

F-stop Care & Use

Leofoto

The manufacturer offers a 10-year limited warranty on all products and we extend that warranty to our customers. Please read the below very carefully, so you understand your position when something breaks or doesn’t work ideally anymore.

It is critical to understand that this warranty only applies to factory faults and not to standard wear and tear. Tripods are subject to a lot of gray areas in this regard as tripods used outdoors, particularly in sand and sea water, are subjected to extreme wear and tear. We will e.g. replace the affected part of your tripod if a carbon tube snaps or cracks without much pressure applied to it or if the apex breaks. We will not replace your tripod or the affected part if e.g. a joint locks up due to sand or salt build up or if a hinge becomes corroded or stiff/floppy and unserviceable due to corrosion or salt build up. 

In sum, if we see that you took good care of your tripod and something went wrong, we will go out of our way to fix or replace it for you. If we see that you dragged it through the mud (literally or metaphorically), then we are unlikely to fix/replace it for you. How you handle your tripod and take care of it, is all the difference between 3- or 20 years of service. 

The best of tripods will not last longer than 2/3 years if used regularly in the sea, INCORRECTLY, and never serviced. Always make sure to extend the lowest leg section first, so you keep the joints out of the water/sand. Always rinse with freshwater after use in the sea, wipe down with a wet cloth, leave extended to dry and ENSURE YOU KEEP THE HEAD AND APEX DRY. If your tripod’s joints start feeling sandy/gritty, open them up, give them a proper clean and lubrication and fine-tune the tension on the joints.

If travelling on dirt roads, ensure that your tripod is in its carry-bag when not in use.

Your tripod will not take care of itself – it is up to you to do so. All our tripods ship with an info-sheet on taking care of your tripod. We also offer a full tripod disassembly and service for R1000, including shipping both ways.

CHOOSING LEOFOTO

Leofoto Tripods

Take a few minutes to educate yourself on what is available, so you can make an informed decision when choosing a tripod suited to your needs.

Want to see and feel the range before buying? Visit our office in Stellenbosch by contacting us.

Model naming

Leofoto tripods come in a diverse range of styles, sizes and lengths. Understanding the naming convention for each of the models is probably the easiest way to understand what each one does.

Leofoto Tripod Range

Ranger (LS)

The Leofoto Ranger series is at the forefront of modern tripod design. Removing the center column of a tripod reduces weight, folded size and cost, while improving stifness rigidity and lifespan. 



Unless you're addicted to a center column or you need a very large tripod, the Ranger models are our #1 recommendation.

Summit (LM)

Building on the best designs in the tripod industry, Leofoto’s Summit tripods combine precision manufacturing with the very best materials to offer a large systematic style support system for large cameras and lenses.

CHOOSING LEOFOTO

Ranger (LS)

More and more consumers and manufacturers are waking up to the fact that a center-column is a major compromise in design and function. Leofoto is one of just a few manufacturers who have jumped to make column-less tripods their core range.

Leofoto Ranger

THE FUTURE

Column-Less

No-Compromise Apex

Machined aluminium, stainless steel hinge shafts, brass washers, self-returning angle selectors. Feel free to compare this with other manufacturers - there is only one other that uses this level of quality and their tripods cost about 4x times that of Leofoto.

Toray 10x Carbon Fiber

Toray Inc. is a Japanese company and one of the world's largest and most reputable carbon fiber manufacturers. 
They produce 10x layer cross-weave carbon fiber tubing for Leofoto - a critical component in premium tripods.

Premium Joints and Feet

Fat joints with deep ribbing provide excellent torque and grip, requiring less than half a turn to lock and unlock a leg. Single-piece shims make maintenance much easier. 



Leofoto's feet have a solid aluminium internal frame and a beveled face that corresponds with the leg angles.

UNBEATABLE VALUE

Ranger LS-323/324/325 kits from R7 999

These 3 models have quickly become our best-selling all-rounders. Now priced at R7 999 and R8 999 (Sept 2022), these kits offer unparalleled value for money.

*Includes LS-323, 324 or 325 tripod legs, LH-40 ballhead.

Shop Ranger LS-32 kits

Kits

Kits If you need a head, then kits offer better value than buying components individually.

Pricing starts at R4 999 for the LS-225C + LH-25. The very best value you will find is the LS-323/324/325 + LH-40 kits at R7 999 or R8 999. Our competing brands' equivalent models sell for about 2x - 2.5x times as much.

Legs Only

For those who already have a head, we offer all of the legs individually.

Pricing ranges from R3 999 for the tiny LS-225C legs to R7 499 for the massive LS-365C legs. This is on average about 40-50% of what our competing brands charge for similar models.

Levelling Legs (CEX)

The CEX models are an absolute dream for panorama and video shooters. These models have a levelling half-ball built into the apex. This option is lighter, more compact and has a lower center of gravity than any modular option. 



Click here to view levelling tripods

LS-284CVL

Ranger Explorer

Leofoto LS-284CVL

SCARED OF LIFE BEYOND THE CENTER COLUMN?

Column Included

CHOOSING LEOFOTO

Summit (LM)

Building on the best designs in the tripod industry, Leofoto’s Summit tripods combine precision manufacturing with the very best materials to offer a large systematic style support system for large cameras and lenses.

Leofoto Summit

Summit Features

Premium Apex

As with the rangers, Summit models feature a no-compromise apex machined from a single piece of aircraft grade aluminium. It features stainless steel hinge shafts, brass washers, self-returning angle selectors, weight hook, 3/8" accessory port and a bright yellow spirit level.

Modular Accessories

Large modular center columns are available for summit models in both standard and geared versions. 
We will be starting with the standard versions and adding the geared version later in 2020.

View DC-364C modular center column

SOAR/PRS

Leofoto offers a Picatinny to Arca-Swiss dovetail adapter as well as a large universal rifle clamp. These are best paired with the YB-75LC leveling base as a pseudo head or the LH-55 low profile head.

View SOAR/PRS products

In-Apex Leveling Base

This accessory is an absolute must-have for panorama addicts. It allows you to level your tripod in seconds.



*Free bowl adapter included with all Summit tripods.

View Accessories

SERIOUS SUPPORT

Invest in Quality

If you've spent R500k on cameras and lenses, the worst thing you can do is to put it on a cheap tripod. Make sure that you have the same quality product supporting your valuable camera gear.

The Summit range is designed for large telephoto systems.