The LS-324C turns in a very good set of stiffness and damping numbers given its size and weight. Good enough in fact that the tripod only trails the RRS models in the all-purpose tripod rankings. It even beats out the Gitzo models but the comparison isn’t entirely fair due the presence of a center column on the Gitzos.
| Yaw Stiffness | 674 +/- 4 Nm/rad |
| Yaw Damping | 0.337 +/- 0.034 Js/rad |
| Pitch Stiffness | 2922 +/- 17 Nm/rad |
| Pitch Damping | 0.79 +/- 0.079 Js/rad |
The stiffness and damping data are the averages of 10 trials for each measurement. The reported error is the standard error, except in the case of the damping data. I have set the error in the damping at 10% as the standard error metric does not appropriately capture the error in fitting to the data. All of the reported specifications are measured, with the exception of the weight rating. The tripod is measured at full height, with the center column down.
Recommended Gear Limit
The LS-324C performs very well for being a midsize tripod, but it is still a just a midsize tripod. For a tripod with this stiffness, I recommend limiting any size camera with up to a 70-200mm lens or equivalent. The tripod will have no problems supporting the weight of a larger lens, but the stiffness isn’t quite good enough that this will be a seamless experience.
Example Test Data
The following data is example raw data from the stiffness and damping measurements. The relevant information with regards to the tripod performance is entirely contained within the stiffness and damping figures presented above. The plots below are solely present so that the tested stiffness and damping figures are believed. Each plot and the corresponding Fourier frequency space plot correspond to one of the ten trials done on each axis to obtain the test results. For a more in depth discussion on the meaning of these graphs, see the methodology section and the understanding the test results page.
Example data for oscillations about the vertical axis of the tripod:
Certainly not the cleanest data set that we have ever seen, but there is no doubt we are measuring the correct resonance.
Example data for oscillations about the radial axis of the tripod:
Very strong damping in the pitch direction which is why we see such a broad peak on the Fourier plot.