VIKING SWALLOW TRIPOD WITH FLUID HEAD (1 Viewer)

[Kev_ski]

Hi!
Has anyone ever used to new Viking swallow tripod? I’m thinking of buying it for my first tripod as it’s affordable and looks/sounds pretty decent. I have brought a second hand Leica apo 77 straight scope so ideally I want something to support this without any major issues

otherwise any other recommendations would be appreciated

Another option is a vintage Slik Sl-67 tripod which I know will be rock solid but very unpractical for long distance traveling but for £30 on eBay I think this is a great option even if it’s for occasional use. Is it annoying to have to keep screwing & unscrewing it onto a fixed plate ?

my budget is around £200 & under

any tips & advice is much appreciated

 

[dave hughston]

Hi!
Has anyone ever used to new Viking swallow tripod? I’m thinking of buying it for my first tripod as it’s affordable and looks/sounds pretty decent. I have brought a second hand Leica apo 77 straight scope so ideally I want something to support this without any major issues

otherwise any other recommendations would be appreciated

Another option is a vintage Slik Sl-67 tripod which I know will be rock solid but very unpractical for long distance traveling but for £30 on eBay I think this is a great option even if it’s for occasional use. Is it annoying to have to keep screwing & unscrewing it onto a fixed plate ?

my budget is around £200 & under

any tips & advice is much appreciated

Kev ,l bought the Viking swallow tripod and head one week ago,so still getting use to it ,it has replaced a Veblen 635 carbon tripod which was broken after ten years hard use .First impressions are good,seems light ,reasonably stable ,just the right height so l don’t have too have the centre column extended .l perfer the clip type leg fasteners.The head has surprised me ,l like the way the scope attaches to the tripod and allows it to be balanced to stop the scope falling forward as my old Nikon82a is front heavy ,both the tilt and swivel are together on the same side of the head and easy to reach ,with a little tension these allow the scope to move nice and smoothly .As l said early days ,but would think your Leica would be ok on this tripod .

 

[Kev_ski]

Kev ,l bought the Viking swallow tripod and head one week ago,so still getting use to it ,it has replaced a Veblen 635 carbon tripod which was broken after ten years hard use .First impressions are good,seems light ,reasonably stable ,just the right height so l don’t have too have the centre column extended .l perfer the clip type leg fasteners.The head has surprised me ,l like the way the scope attaches to the tripod and allows it to be balanced to stop the scope falling forward as my old Nikon82a is front heavy ,both the tilt and swivel are together on the same side of the head and easy to reach ,with a little tension these allow the scope to move nice and smoothly .As l said early days ,but would think your Leica would be ok on this tripod .

Thank you, it certainly sounds promising. How tall are you btw? I’m 5’11 so il probably need it fully extended for my straight scope

 

[dave hughston]

Thank you, it certainly sounds promising. How tall are you btw? I’m 5’11 so il probably need it fully extended for my straight scope

Hi l’m 5’9 also l’m using an angled scope ,so l look down into it ,but obviously that shouldn’t make much difference. I bought from Focalpoint in Cheshire ,it’s close to home and looked what they had in stock ,the Viking was set up in the showroom,l was told it was proving to be popular and settled on it quite quickly.

 

[Kev_ski]

Hi l’m 5’9 also l’m using an angled scope ,so l look down into it ,but obviously that shouldn’t make much difference. I bought from Focalpoint in Cheshire ,it’s close to home and looked what they had in stock ,the Viking was set up in the showroom,l was told it was proving to be popular and settled on it quite quickly.

Thank you. Do you think it’ll fit in a medium sized suitcase as I live in Berlin and il bring it back with me when I visit my family next month.

 

[dave hughston]

Thank you. Do you think it’ll fit in a medium sized suitcase as I live in Berlin and il bring it back with me when I visit my family next month.

Hi , when l bought the tripod it was in a cardboard box with fluid head attached,( if l recall correctly) l’ve looked at a couple of websites to see if there was any measurements,1 showed with the head fitted ,1 without ,but no measurements. So assuming you take the fluid head off the legs measure 65cm/26 inch’s and l would hope the fit into our suitcase .

 

[Kev_ski]

Hi , when l bought the tripod it was in a cardboard box with fluid head attached,( if l recall correctly) l’ve looked at a couple of websites to see if there was any measurements,1 showed with the head fitted ,1 without ,but no measurements. So assuming you take the fluid head off the legs measure 65cm/26 inch’s and l would hope the fit into our suitcase .

Ok thanks a lot for your help