A Tripod, something I thought I never needed. But here I am with a review about the Leofoto Ranger. In this blogpost, I take you along why I decided to buy a Tripod and why I choose this one.
Why did I want a Tripod?
I did a lot of years without using a Tripod, but what switched why I wanted one?
For a long time I didn’t feel the need to buy a Tripod, I did a lot of model shoots where I really wanted to change a lot of the viewing angle. Only in the studio, I used a column stand as a Tripod.
For this year, our goal was to focus more on Location shoots. And that was where we switched our minds about a Tripod.
In March, we had our first location shoot of the year. Tom was there to carry all my stuff, and that was the moment we figured out that our setup was way too heavy. I really enjoy using Tether during shoots. We always used our Tether Table on a lighting tripod, but those are quite heavy because they have to carry your flashes without collapsing. So it was time for an upgrade.
What was I looking for in a tripod?
Time to do some research
Wow, I enjoy to search for the item that is best fitting my needs. But boy, there are so many options in the world of Tripods. I did an Instagram story to ask about which Tripods other photographers were using and if they were happy about them. After that I searched in a Facebook group for Photographers which ones they were using and at least I searched on the website of a camera website.
Visiting the Camera Store
So I figured out that images on websites are looking all similar, and you can’t really see how thick the legs are of a Tripod. So something that looked online quite a good fit seemed not a good match in real life. So we made a list with tripods which could be a good match, being the following tripods.
Our preference on forehand
In our head, we had that we would go for the Sirui Traveller, on paper these ticked most of our boxes, but to be sure we wanted to see it in real life. This one was available in Urk. This is where Cameranu has their warehouse, so that was a big plus, because then we would be able to take it with us right away. We decided to go there to take a look if this was the tripod for us.
In the Store
So we went to the store and went to an employee. We told what we wanted to use the tripod for and what would be some add-ons for us. Like having a boom arm build in, being able to use it also for the camera if needed. I told him that I did some research online and that I had a few which caught my interested. He came back with me that I searched mostly for travel versions of tripods, which wasn’t the most stable ones. He said to me that it was better to look for a higher quality one, not mainly focus for travelling, but would be lightweight. So he came forward with the Leofoto.
Why did he advise the Leofoto
He came forward with the Leofoto because it is one of the more stable versions of Carbon he had.
It’s made of 10 layers of Carbon, has not a lot of friction and comes with a loose centre column. Without the centre column the height you can reach is 139 cm and with the centre column is 170,5 cm. But the lowest you can go is only 17 cm! I’m not photographing that low to the ground, but it’s super impressive that it’s possible. Leofoto focused with this tripod to be more of a strong (travel) tripod without costing a fortune. So that is why he thought this was the perfect match for me. He advised to add a loose boom arm if I wish to use it that way.
What does Leofoto say about their Tripod?
The Leofoto Ranger EF-324C carbon tripod is one of Leofoto’s stronger travel tripods. This robust but light professional travel tripod is intended to provide stability under all circumstances, so anyone who goes out into nature should take a Leofoto EF-324C carbon tripod with them. Leofoto supplies this high-end tripod including the high-quality LH-40 ball head, a separate center column and a set of separate spikes. Thanks to the easy link coupling, you can easily hang an accessory arm on the tripod.
Pro’s & Con’s
Our conclusion
It’s a super stable Tripod, quite lightweight (1.9 kg) which we first thought it would be on the heavier side, but now we’re using it the way we intended to (to use it for tether) we found out that it is such a release to use it compared to the light tripod we always used to. I had a bag that I wanted to mount underneath it to put my Camera in, and that is working out really well as well. The only thing I found out is that if I mount my iPad holder to it, it will leave a mark on the leg of the tripod. But I’m still super excited about it.
Price, where to buy and specifications
I’m curious about what you think about our new tripod!
P.s. Did you know that the average Photographer has around 10 Tripods during their career.
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*This review is my own opinion, not sponsored.
