You are probably finding yourself looking at a heavy duty tripod, you have come across the Leofoto LM Summit series and you are wondering how much they cost!?!? Well, in this article we are going to cover the cost of the different tripods in the range, as well as the why behind the cost of these Leofoto tripods. We will finish off with a quick description of each tripod within the family and their related costs.
Let’s get the cost portion out of the way. There is quite a range in pricing as there is quite a range in different tripods within the Leofoto Summit range. At the low end for cost, you can pick up a LM-402C, the smallest of the family for $339.00 USD. When you jump up to one of the largest tripods of the LM family you are looking at $699.00.. So as you can see there is a range of over $350.00 depending on which tripod you go with.
Let’s jump into the why of these costs.
The Leofoto Summit LM series is designed with heavy weight in mind. All of the Summit LM series tripods have a weight rating of 55lbs or more, with one of them at 110lbs max weight. As you are no doubt aware this is a fairly substantial weight rating for a camera tripod. This means they are designed and built with weight in mind. The legs are a little thicker than their other tripods, the head is a little stronger than their other tripods. The locking, and angle adjustments are more heavy duty than their other tripods. Can you start to see why the cost is there? Every portion of the Leofoto Summit series tripods are built to withstand the weight.
The Summit series is definitely not the most compact tripod on the market, but you have to weigh up the trade off of small and potentially weak, or a little chunkier and tough as nails. This is for you to decide what will work best for you.
Now we are going to dive a little deeper into each tripod, below is a photo of the specifications but we will also go over them.
We will follow the order of the above picture, which is in the order of the number of leg extensions each tripod has. Starting with the highest and working down.
The first tripod is the LM-405C which is currently $699.00 USD. This model of the summit series has 5 extensions meaning there is the top tube that attaches to the head, inside of the top tube is 4 other pull out extensions. The largest tube diameter on the LM-405C is 1.57”. It has a working capacity of 66lbs. As all of the Leofoto summit series tripod are, the whole family is a heavier set tripod. The LM-405C comes in at 5.4lbs. The head width is 3.94” or 100mm across. When the LM-405C is folded up into its smallest position is it 20.87” long. At its max height it stands 65.20”, and its lowest working height is 3.94”.
Alright, moving onto the LM-365C. It comes in standard carbon fiber gray for 459.00 USD or in camouflage for 599.00 USD. Again it has 5 pieces to each leg, 1 is fixed and 4 pull out from inside the main top tube. The diameter of the top tube is 1.42”, allowing it to hold a maximum weight of 55lbs. The LM-365C comes in at a weight of 4.34lbs by itself. The diameter of the head is 2.95” or 75mm. When the LM-365C is folded up into its smallest self it stands 19.29” tall, while at its tallest working height it is 60.63” high. The shortest working height of the LM-365C is 3.15” high.
Next, LM-404C and LM-404CL. The LM-404C is 609.00 USD at the moment and the LM-404CL (L stands for Long/Tall) is $619.00 USD. We are going to lump there are not very many differences. Both the 404C and the 404CL have 4 pieces to each leg. They both have a 1.57” thick top portion of their legs. They both have a weight rating of 88lbs. They do weigh slightly different amounts. The LM-404C weighs 5.51lbs and the LM-404CL weighs 5.93lbs. Both the 404C and the 404CL run a 100mm or 3.94” head. When the LM-404C is packed up to its smallest size it stands 24.8” tall, whereas the LM-404CL stands 28.35” tall when all packed up. The tallest working height of the 404C is 70” and the highest working height of the 404CL is 84”. Final point of these two tripods is the lowest working height of 4.53” for the LM-404C and 5.04” for the LM-404CL.
Next up is the LM-364C and LM-364CL. The LM-364C runs $579.00 (only comes in gray/black carbon fiber color) and the LM-364CL runs 659.00 for the Gray/black carbon fiber color, or 699.00 USD for the olive/green color. Both of these tripods have the 1 fixed portion of the leg and 3 pull out sections making them a 4 section leg. Both tripods have a top tube radius of 1.42”. They both have a weight rating of 66lbs. The LM-364C weighs 4.23lbs and the LM-364CL weighs 4.52lbs. Both use a 75mm/2.95” head. When the LM-364C is folded up it stands 20.87” high and the LM-364CL stands 23.54” tall when folded up. At their max working height the LM-364C stands 57” and the LM-364CL stands 66.93” tall, making the minimum working height fall just below 4” at 3.54” for the LM-364C and 3.78” for the LM-364CL.
Phew, ok we are halfway through the series.
Moving onto the LM-324C and LM-324CL. The LM-324C runs $549.00 USD and the LM-324CL runs $569.00 USD. Let's run through the stats. They both have 4 piece legs, the top portion is 1.26” thick. They both have a weight rating of 55lbs. The LM-324C weighs 3.57lbs and the LM-324CL weighs 4lbs. Both tripods run with the 75mm/2.95” head. When folded up into their smallest form the LM-324C is 20.47” tall and the LM-324CL is 26.69” tall. The highest working height of the LM-324C is 57.09” and the LM-324CL is 79.53” high. The lowest working height of the LM-324C is 2.95” and the lowest working height of the LM-324CL is 4.06”.
Alright, 4 more to go, lets pound through them fast! :)
LM-363C, $429.00 USD. It has a 3 piece adjusting leg, with the top tube being 1.42” wide. Max capacity is 77lbs with a weight of 4.08lbs. Runs with a 75mm/2.95” head. 23.43” tall when folded up. Max working height of the LM-363C is 53.13lbs, with the lowest working height being 3.74” high. Boom done, that was quick hey!?!?
Next, LM-323C is 479.00 USD, it has 3 piece legs as well. Top tube having a 1.26” diameter. Max load capacity is 55lbs, coming in at 3.48lbs heavy. The LM-323C also runs a 75mm/2.95” head. When folded up it stands 24” tall, max working height is 55.12” high with a minimum working height of 3.94”.
Two more, LM-402C. 339.00 USD. Two part legs, meaning one fixed and one adjustable potion. Diameter of top tube is 1057, with a smashing max weight of 110lbs clocking in at the toughest Leofoto LM Summit series tripod! This miny beast weighs 3.48lbs and uses the 100mm/3.94” head. When all packed up it is mini but mighty at 11.73” tall. Max working height is 16.34” with a min working height of 3.15”.
Alright, last but not least the LM-362C comes in at $319.00 USD. Again comes with the two part leg, top diameter being 1.42. Again smashes the max work load with just shy of 100lbs at 99.21lbs. Even lighter than the last at 2.84lbs, using the 75mm/2.95” head. Folded up it stands 10.83” tall and max working height is 14.52” high. Min working height is 2.76” high.
Wow, that was a lot of detail! Now that you have the pricing, a bit of the why the price, and the stats on the Leofoto summit series tripods, as we promised we are going to back off and let you decide for yourself which tripod will be the best fit for what you are looking to accomplish.
