4 Way Macro Focusing Rail

Hello

 

Has anybody used a 4 Way Macro Focusing Rail?

 

I have the Manfrotto focusing rail but I find I need a second axis so I can buy

another Manfroto one or a new one with the two rails.

 

There are some sold on ebay but I do not know if they support the weight of

camera, grip, macro lens and flash (I usually use the rail over a geared

Manfrotto head).

 

Any tips or advice?

 

Regards

A couple of years ago I purchased the Velbon Macro Slider. Its a four-way slider and works as advertised. I haven't used as much as I thought I would, but I keep it around incase I do want to use it.

I like the reasonably large range of movement it allows and the sturdiness, I dislike the bulkyness of the unit and the stiffness of the turn knobs (I'm thinking that the knobs will loosen with use).

It easily supports a D200 with a 105mm macro or a 200mm macro.

 

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=193311&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

The Minolta AB1 Focus rail fits well on top of the Manfrotto slide/rail. The set up will give you 114mm X and 84 Y. The minolta rail has very smooth and tight movement. They don't make it like this anymore.<div></div>

Tommy's rig looks beautiful but Minolta AB1 should be too rare even to come by. I live in Tokyo, Japan for over 20 years and have been hobby photographer for nearly 20 years, but I've never seen AB1 in any camera shops here!

 

So, I would second Eric. I had this Velbon and was satisfied with it. It is made of magnesium and doesn't add too much weight. The only reason I sold it is that my special macro rig cannot be mounted on it the way I want. I had no complaint in terms of the quality of this macro slider.

Minolta Auto Bellow 1 is easy to find in the US. There are 3 of them now in KEH with focus rail. They are all arround $100. The picture above is the focus rail only.

Wow, I didn't know that Minolta's auto bellows can be disassembled and its focussing unit can be used separatedly. Minolta had made very interesting and unique photographic tools and lenses in manual focus MD mount days. This AB1 should be a good example.

 

The auto bellows unit of Minolta is not at all rare in Japan, although not ubiquitous any more. Thank you for the info, Tommy.

I bought that Minolta Focusing Rail at a camera fair, used in mint condition, for $10 a couple of years ago. So you never know what you'll find at a used camera show.

Hello Jorge,

 

I haven't used one, but you might have a look at

http://www.novoflex.de/html_d/fr_ha4.htm (and scroll down to the

bottom - sorry, I couldn't find this product on the English pages of

Novoflex). Pricing, international delivery and a short english

description can be found at

http://www.isarfoto.com/EN/produkt_set.php? -> then click nature

photography -> macro photography -> focussing rails.

 

I'm neither related to nor paid by Novoflex, but like their products.

 

If you want to pay even more, have a look at

www.reallyrightstuff.com...

 

Greatings, Rolf

<p>I bought one of this for my courses; this 4 way focusing rail is not bad at all for this price. <br /> I run photography courses in London and I bought it for my courses, for people to learn macro photography and practice with it. This gadget works really well, I was reluctant at the beginning and but i really liked it; it has a smooth movement, the adjustments knobs are quite handy and it can be split in two which is good considering you might not need both rails, Overall, a solid, well built piece of kit. It can also be used with the camera grip mounted. I recommend for those who want a budget macro tool. <br /> <br /> Ion Paciu <br /> Photoion Photography <br /> <br /> http://www.photoion.co.uk <br /> http://www.londondigitalphotographycourses.co.uk <br /> http://www.peopleididntknow.co.uk</p><div></div>