A Tale of Two Tripods - Choosing the Leofoto Mr Y LY-284C or the extra-length Ranger LS-284CL

[@chrlmlln9018]

Thank you, Emil, for this extended comparison of these two close types of tripods! Have you considered taking a closer look at the waterproof/dust-proof carbon tripod from Sirui? The model I purchased (have both the smaller and bigger one) is SIRUI W-2204 Waterproof Carbon Fiber Tripod. Max height = 180cm! Load = 18kg! Weight = 1.7kg! For me, this option was appealing for safety when for example photographing at salt-water seascapes or when you need to step into waters! I am also using the Arca Swiss P0, so I do not even have the important need of a separate leveling base either when photographing panoramas with correct nodal point and avoiding the parallax shortcomings in post editing! Now subscribing to your excellent channel and I of course wish you all the very best please stay safe and blessed every new day!Best regards to you, from Sweden! /Charl

[@emilvonmaltitz]

Thanks for the comment. I actually started my reviewing of tripods with Sirui and FLM over a decade ago (long before I started with KZbin). I have tried the W-2204 and enjoyed using it. It's a good tripod. I tend to review what I can get access to, which at the moment is primarily Leofoto, but am more than happy to review other brands when I get the opportunity. I might reach out to the team at The Sunshine Company (SA distributors of Sirui) and see if they would be interested. Cheers!

[@icogicog8287]

Interesting. Indeed a bit of spitting hair between the two. BTW I have used successfully the 862 with the H30 head with the GFX system. I have actually also used the much lighter 225 with good results with that system although not yet tested in extreme conditions

[@emilvonmaltitz]

I'm impressed that you managed with the tiny LS-225. I've used that particular tripod as a B-cam tripod with a Nikon D780 atop, but haven't used anything larger. Ultimately (as I tell my college students who end up buying plastic-fantastic rubbish because it's cheap) any tripod is better than no tripod at all, but big and heavy will always be more stable in adverse conditions.

[@RichiHicklin]

I decided on the leofoto mr O & it’s been fantastic 👌

[@emilvonmaltitz]

The Mr O is excellent, particularly if you get the matched leveling base. Unfortunately it’s quite pricey here, hence the Mr Y being quite popular. I’d like to see the Mr O in an extra length version though. That would be phenomenal!

[@firstclassfish01]

@@emilvonmaltitz the matched leveling base? Which is that? The Mr. O is already a leveler so trying to understand. Thanks

[@firstclassfish01]

@@emilvonmaltitz thought I’d drop another note, a few questions got missed if you don’t mind checking your notifications as a product ambassador that would be awesome!

[@emilvonmaltitz]

@@firstclassfish01 sorry, my bad… for some reason I thought you were referring to the Mr Q (too much stuff going through my head, and also a pet peeve of mine with Leofoto’s naming convention). The Mr O has a leveling centre column which is slightly different to a leveling base but will ultimately have the same result. I missed your previous note entirely… notifications don’t always come through for responses to responses.

[@firstclassfish01]

@@emilvonmaltitz no worries. Notifications are a mess on here. It wasn’t me who made the first post about the O. So you had mentioned the O being good with matching leveling base, so you had the Q in mind when you said that? Just confirming. So with the O having a center column is it significantly bigger in circumference than the Ranger Pro? I have to make a quick decision on some deals and wondering also if that Ranger Pro no longer has the hollowed out apex? It only mentions being different in that it says it has a 10% bigger top area. Is the O’s leveling apex really stiff if you take out the center column? If the Ranger Pro is significantly smaller in closed circumference and a significantly stiffer apex I might get that with a leveling base. Otherwise I’m going to get the Ranger Pro and buy a Mr. O and swap in that spider onto the pro. That leveling on the O has a really nice amount of travel in degrees and I’d get a center column for when necessary, more for odd shots and such and not as much for height as I’m 5’6”. The pro is out in the US and I can get decent deals on all this. Or even cheaper on the LP, but lesser legs and apex. You mentioned the newer apex’s being better, which ones did you mean? I know the Q and LG have excellent ones, but LG is too expensive and the Q doesn’t have the leg locks I want. Sorry for all this. I’m a starving artist and don’t want to miss a deal like this. Thanks so much for your time!

[@sabamacx]

11:58 will they post overseas? The Agulhas is outstanding.

[@emilvonmaltitz]

It can be arranged. Where are you? The biggest issue is the courier cost (South Africa is terrible with that, although getting better).

[@firstclassfish01]

Learning a lot here. Wondering is the Mr Y circumference of the folded legs and the spider actually smaller than the other 284 here?…I would assume each Mr Y model should be slimmer across lineups as some do have regular columns. Thanks!

[@emilvonmaltitz]

So the Mr Y has a fractionally larger diameter (with legs folded) that the equivalent Ranger, but so negligible that it’s irrelevant. It is significantly narrower than a standard round centre-column though. So yes, the Mr Y will definitely be narrow than the Summit and Urban models (or competing models with similar setup), but close in diameter and weight to the Ranger which doesn’t have a centre-column at all.

[@firstclassfish01]

@@emilvonmaltitz makes sense. Thanks. Seems like this should be an option on most models. Use it without for better stability but there if ya need it.

[@emilvonmaltitz]

@@firstclassfish01 it is pretty good. The only downside is the still relatively short legs. For me the best thing about the Mr Y is the additional leg angle, but that seems to be coming into the new models as well as I notice the new Ranger Pro has the additional angle as well.

[@firstclassfish01]

@@emilvonmaltitz yeah, I just mean they could put it on tall models as well. They have all these features spread across models that I want and even buying two and swapping spiders I can’t get everything I want in one from them. I left a message about the Mr O below and some yesterday as well. Sorry for all the questions I’m looking to buy soon. One thing they should add to more or at least as an option within the line is the water and dirt resistant locks. They’re better even aside from the water issue. And the new carbon. Also the hollow spiders on LS and LP aren’t good. The ranger pro mentions it being different, but is it still hollow on them?

[@emilvonmaltitz]

@@firstclassfish01 the new carbon is better, as are the apexes/spiders. There’s even a new Ranger ‘Pro’ model now coming out. However it all comes with an increased pricetag as the brand goes more premium.

[@LightTheShadows]

Hi Emil, I think you are the right person to ask all things Leofoto. Can you tell me the difference between the XB-32 and the LH-30, please? I am looking for a small travel ballhead and don’t know which one of those is the higher quality one. Thanks a lot for your help and time, Peter

[@emilvonmaltitz]

It might be overkill, but you can take a look at this article I wrote which sets out the differences: landscapegear.co.za/blogs/news/selecting-a-leofoto-head I personally prefer the LH design as I think it’s more robust and I also prefer the lower profile.

[@hankroarkphoto]

Too bad the LS-284CL isn't available for the US market 😞

[@emilvonmaltitz]

@@hankroarkphoto I’m sorry to hear that. Contact the US Distributor and see if they can help. Otherwise the LS-284CEX is the same leg leg length as the CL version and has the added bonus of the levelling head (downside is it’s more expensive because of the levelling head.