For the past two years I have been trying to replace my Induro CT-114 tripod. Having browsed through countless products from different brands, I learned that finding a tripod that meets all my requirements and doesn’t cost a fortune will not be easy. When Leofoto released their LQ-365C, I thought I had finally found the perfect tripod. In this article, I share if this assumption turns out to be true or whether I regret my purchase.
When you start missing out on photo opportunities because of your device, it’s time to replace it. With the Induro CT-114, it’s been quite a while since I started looking for a new tripod. The CT-114 is a good tripod, don’t get me wrong. But over the years, I have had to compromise more and more in my photo sessions.
Requirements for the perfect tripod
I created a list of requirements for my new tripod, knowing that it would be difficult to find one that would fit all the requirements. There is no perfect tripod, so you must always be willing to compromise. It is important to make the right compromises by personalizing and prioritizing such a list.
Going through typical tripod specs, I came up with this:
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Stability is important. I take a lot of long exposure photos so I needed a sturdy tripod that doesn’t shake.
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The tripod should be easy to disassemble and clean. I have been using the Induro CT-114 for almost eight years. Such a long lifespan is only possible because I can take it off and clean it up after shooting at the beach. If you don’t do this regularly, your feet will not work smoothly or get stuck at some point.
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The tripod must allow eye level photography. For me, it means a maximum height of at least 160 cm without the ball head attached. Especially for cityscape photography, this is essential if you have to shoot over railings and fences. It was a shortcoming of the CT-114, so I missed several times.
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A low minimum height is required for landscape photography. Because this is often a problem for tripods with centered columns, there must be a mechanism to remove it quickly.
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I travel a lot, so the folded length is no more than 50 cm. Then it fit into my luggage.
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As well as the length when folded, the low weight of less than 2 kg is essential for traveling and hiking.
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High-end tripods can easily cost more than $1,000. While I recognize the importance of a well-built tripod, this is well beyond my budget.
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I like a tripod with a column in the middle. It’s useful for making small height adjustments while keeping everything level. For example, when I’m filming, I use the center column to fine-tune the frame.
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Last on my priority list are twist locks. I’m used to them and they make taking apart the tripod easy. But I wouldn’t mind locking the levers if they didn’t add too many small parts that could get dirty, rusty or broken.
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Legs and buckles should have some sealing to prevent water from entering when submerged. Especially salt water should be kept away from the feet if possible.
For most tripods, requirement 3 contradicts points 5 and 6. I’ve also learned that while having more legs can solve this problem, most of the time, just the rack. travel tripods use five leg sections compared to three or four sections of conventional tripods. But those travel tripods don’t meet my third claim and aren’t the most stable either. They usually use those extra leg sections to achieve a folded length of about 40cm, which I really don’t need. When RRS announced Tripod Ascend-14, I thought I finally found the right watch until I saw its price. So my search continues.
Leofoto LQ-365C
level, the Leofoto LQ-365C of the Mr.Q series is not a cheap tripod either. In terms of quality and size, it is in the mid-range segment with a price of $899, including the LH-47 ball head. That’s a lot of money, and I’m glad I bought it without the ball head, which saved me $130. It still hurts my wallet, but with my trip to Asia coming up and the prospect of taking photos of cityscapes in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, I eventually had to swap out my tripod.
When I went through the specs of the LQ-365C on the official Leofoto homepage, I couldn’t believe what I read. The maximum height of more than 190 cm while keeping the weight under 2 kg sounds too good to be true. It has been, and this information has been updated.
I measured the weight of the Leofoto LQ-365C with the center column at 2.1 kg. Add to that a ball head, and you get a pretty heavy pack. I was about to send it back because I felt cheated.
But after thinking for a while, I kept it, and I’m glad I did.
What I Like
Out of my ten requests, this tripod meets 7.5; I consider the price request to be only half met. It’s cheaper than some high-end tripods, but it’s a great investment.
While a bit heavy for my liking, it’s still one of the lightest tripods with comparable specs and stability. And I find that a little extra weight really benefits my photography. While it’s a bit painful when hiking, it makes my camera setup more stable. That’s thanks to the thick carbon legs that give this tripod a solid base. It takes me a lot of time to blend photos, and with my Induro tripod I often have to auto-align my photos, which doesn’t always work pixel-perfect. With the LQ-365C, even photos taken one hour apart will be aligned.
What I like about this tripod is its height. Without using the middle column, it extends to 153 cm. If I add the column in the middle, it goes up to 183 cm. Add a ball head and you’re over 190 cm. You may ask when I need such a height. I used it a few times to take pictures of railings in Kuala Lumpur. It also helps in landscape photography in winter with heavy snow. Under such conditions, my old tripod was always too short.
Above, I mentioned the weight, which is above 2 kg. If I don’t need the center column, I switch to a configuration without it. It reduces weight to 1.9 kg, such as I like hiking in the mountains. The locking mechanism in the base of the Mr.Q tripod allows for quick changes, as I show in the introductory video.
Without the central pillar, the tripod can be folded down to 50.5 cm, very compact. It also allows close-to-ground photography.
Plus, the large rubber twist locks make it easy to remove the tripod. This is important both during and after the move, as I demonstrate in my tripod maintenance video below.
There’s an extra feature that I don’t want to miss anymore. The Mr.Q platform has 1/4” and 3/8” mounting threads. I use them to attach accessories like Smallrig super clamp. Such a setting can hold an umbrellaFor example.
What can be improved
To make this tripod even better, Leofoto should provide some seals for the screw buckles to prevent water from entering the legs when they are submerged. Their Poseidon line has this feature.
And while I like the thick leg for stability, I think they could have easily made a version with a reduced diameter that still feels solid. Currently, the thinnest tube has a diameter of 22 mm. The lightest version in their Mr.Q line uses 19 mm but has only four leg sections. Starting with 19 mm on the LQ-365C so the total weight of the tripod is under 2 kg.
A lost opportunity to have such a thick diameter at the bottom of the foot is to provide retractable spiked rubber feet. It will eliminate the need to swap feet for different surfaces.
Another improvement will be the bubble level in the Mr.Q platform. It’s a feature that my Induro tripod has, and I used it to balance the stand for panoramic shots.
Inference
The Leofoto LQ-365C is not a perfect tripod. But the compromises I had to make when using it were the right compromises. I now carry about 600 g more than my Induro CT-114, but I don’t mind the workout as much as I initially thought. I’ve been using it for almost five months now, of which I’ve been traveling for four months, climbing mountains with it, and taking pictures that wouldn’t be possible with my old tripod.
The tripod comes with a bag, interchangeable spikes, and some tools. Currently, it is only available with the LH-47 ball head for $899. Like all Leofoto tripods, it comes with a 10-year warranty.
