17/09/2009

Carbon and magnesium tripods designed for spotting scopes, and perfect for digiscoping

Leica has today announced the LEICA TRICA 1 and LEICA TRIMA 1 – two lightweight, easy-to-use tripods designed for use with all brands of spotting scope, and ideal for bird watching and nature observation activities. This makes Leica the only company worldwide to offer a complete digiscoping solution, from tripods and tripod heads, to spotting scopes, scope adaptors and digital cameras.

The LEICA TRICA 1 is a high quality carbon tripod with a height of 175cm and remarkably low weight of 2.1kg (2.68kg with head). The compact LEICA TRIMA 1 is made of magnesium and offers maximum stability, measuring 160cm and weighing just 1.92kg (2.49kg with head). Both tripods are equipped with the LEICA DH 1 ‘fluid’ head that has been specially optimised for digiscoping and enables easy and precise operation of the spotting scope or digiscoping unit, reducing camera shake to a minimum. The quick release assembly ensures robust connection between the spotting scope and the tripod head in a matter of seconds.

Also available as an accessory to this head is a ‘balance plate’, which distributes the weight of the spotting scope evenly when a camera is attached to the scope. The extra long guiding arm also ensures that moving the kit is extremely easy. The head can tilt +/- 90 degrees and has a load capacity of approximately 4kg.

The new tripods are ideal for use with the LEICA APO-TELEVID 82 and APO-TELEVID 65 spotting scopes, which where recently shown at Birdfair 2009, but can be also used with all brands of spotting scope. Both scopes, when combined with the LEICA 25-50 WW ASPH. wide-angle eyepiece and Leica’s compact, high performance D-LUX 4 digital camera with special adaptor ring, are perfect for digiscoping due to their high contrast image and neutral colour rendition. Specially designed for the LEICA D-LUX 4, the adaptor turns the scope into a powerful super-telephoto lens with a focal length of more than 3,000mm. The LEICA D-LUX 4 sports an all-metal body and offers a resolution of 10.3 pixels.

Pricing and availability
The LEICA TRICA 1 (carbon) has a suggested retail price of £499, while the LEICA TRIMA 1 (magnesium) has an SRP of £369. Both prices include the LEICA DH 1 digiscoping head.

The new Leica tripods and complete digiscoping solutions are available in the UK now from authorised Leica dealers and the Leica Store Mayfair
(www.leica-storemayfair.co.uk).

LEICA TRIMA 1 and TRICA 1: Technical Information

	LEICA TRIMA 1	LEICA TRICA 1
Description	Magnesium tripod with tilt head	Carbon tripod with tilt head
Height max. tripod	160cm	175cm
Height max. with DH 1	168.5cm	183.5cm
Height min. tripod	33cm	38cm
Transport length	69cm	70cm
Weight	1.92kg	2.1kg
Weight with DH 1	2.49kg	2.68kg

Leica DH 1 (fluid) Digiscoping Head

Compact light-weight low-profile fluid head, fluid damping, interchangeable plate with 1/4" thread

– Rotation 360°

– Inclination +90° to -90°

– Weight 570 g

– Rotation 360°

– Height 8.5 cm

– Maximum load 4kg