For travelers and hikers who love shooting panoramas, the leveling Ranger series tripods are as good as it gets. These models have a levelling half-ball built into the apex of the tripod which allows quick and easy leveling of your shooting platform on uneven terrain. Leveling systems have traditionally only been available in very large tripod systems and manufacturers have been scratching their heads about how to offer it in more travel-friendly models. The only solution over the last few years has been to buy a modular leveling base, which is installed between the apex and the head, but these are heavy and tall, making the tripod dangerously top-heavy and just heavy, full stop.
Included
- Padded Storage and Travel Bag
- 3x Spiked Feet
- Multi-Tool
- Carabiner and Attachment Screw
Specifications
- Material - Carbon Fiber
- Leg Sections - 4
- Maximum Height - 152.6cm
- Minimum Height - 10cm
- Closed Length - 56cm
- Weight - 1610g
- Load Capacity - 15kg
Incorporating the leveling ball into the apex offers several advantages -
- The 1st is a weight saving – by using the apex as the cup for the half-ball, these tripods can be made lighter than their standard versions with a modular leveling base like the LB-60 added.
- The second is a lower camera and head position – keeping the center of gravity lower, which helps with overall stiffness and safety in windy conditions. The built-in half ball protrudes just 20mm above the apex, compared to the 50mm height of the LB-60.
- The 3rd is improved stiffness due to a simpler design – as the leveling half-ball connects directly to the apex, instead of being screwed on via more connections and layers.
So, if you are a panorama addict and you don’t want to lug a 2.5kg systematic tripod and modular in-apex leveling base around, then these tripods are the ultimate support system. These models weigh almost exactly as much as their Summit range counterparts before adding a leveling base.
| Summit LM-365 | Ranger LS-365CEX |
| 1970g | 1950g |
| Summit LM-324 | Ranger LS-324CEX |
| 1620g | 1610g |
Operation
As seen in image #4, a large lever control on the side locks and unlocks the levelling half-ball. This lever has a spring-loaded shifting function, which ensures easy use if anything blocks it. The mounting platform features a large spirit-level on a protruding flange for accurate leveling. The leveling half-ball features a large +15/-15 degree range of motion.
*Tip – this tripod can also be used as a compact video setup if paired with a small video head.
Everything else is exactly the same a standard ranger series tripod.
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 here to find out more about this tripod range.
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.
Emil Von Maltitz of Nature's Light Photography, made a video comparing the LS-324C and the LS-324CEX tripods. To purchase any Landscapegear product from Emil, follow this link. Emil is based in Kloof, Durban.
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?
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"
Shop 5 Roeland Square, Cnr Roeland and, Upper Canterbury St, Cape Town
0214653573
Victorian Towers, 2 Palm St, Bellville, Cape Town
Fritz, 0219101380
Boskruin, Randburg
Deon Truter, 0823148308
Stonemill Office Park, Greenstone House
300 Acacia Rd, Johannesburg
Wilhelmus Möller, 0118802885
28 Pearce St, Berea, East London
043 726 2200
Kloof, Durban
Emil, 0844849959
Shop 5 Roeland Square, Cnr Roeland and, Upper Canterbury St, Cape Town
0214653573
Victorian Towers, 2 Palm St, Bellville, Cape Town
Fritz, 021 910 1380
Kloof, Durban
Emil, 0844849959
Durbanville
Bernard Kotze - 0727156743
Ivan Fourie - 0825290593
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.
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.
