Q: Macro Focus Rails

Hi all,

I've decided I need another piece of equipment to make me a better photographer ...

A macro rail! To me used mostly for Fungi, Flora and Insects.

I know that one gets what one pays for, however my dream is for an inexpensive but effective macro rail that will carry my 7D and 100mm f/2.8 - total weight of about 1.2kg. I feel I really only need to adjust forward and backward.

If you have purchased a macro rail recently or done a fair amount of research into products, I'd be happy to hear of your experiences.

Tah.

There are dozens of rails advertised. But there is another option. Rather than a complex and costly rail that can't be used in the field very easily, and moves the camera and lens, you can buy a cheap rail and rig some accessories to hold the subject, instead of the camera. If your going to stack, then either works just as well.

At the other end of the spectrum, is StackShot. A motor run rail with a controller that will move the camera or subject forward or back a preset distance, then hesitate to let vibration settle down, then fire the camera and flash and automatically move to the next stop. You can now add Zerene Stacker to the loop and it will process the images into a stack as you go and have a coffee somewhere.

http://www.kirkphoto.c​om/Focusing_Rail_FR-1.html

It is pretty inexpensive as focusing rails go.

I've noticed this set up in several photos on macro threads. I'm planning on getting one myself. It's very inexpensive so it isn't much of a risk. If anyone who has one would comment, I'd appreciate it.

http://cgi.ebay.com …ain_0&hash=item​35accd5121

I've been tossing the idea of a rail around a lot but the more I add to my setup the more annoying it is to cart everything around. I think in some ways the rail will compromise your ability to move around and actually get a photo before you lose a subject such as some insect. For plants and fungi obviously not a problem. Some of the velbon rails look pretty nice and are relatively inexpensive as compared to the 270 dollar one that ChefDave posted.

Phoenixkh wrote in post #12652824
I've noticed this set up in several photos on macro threads. I'm planning on getting one myself. It's very inexpensive so it isn't much of a risk. If anyone who has one would comment, I'd appreciate it.

http://cgi.ebay.com …ain_0&hash=item​35accd5121

You really don't even need a macro rail-set, unless you're using the MP-E 65mm. And, if you are using the MP-E, then you probably have a ~$2000 camera, you definitely have a $1000 lens, and in order to make this lens work right you probably have added an $800 TwinLight Flash at the end of it. That is a lot of money you have tied-up to your macro work, and I would never trust $3800 worth of my equipment sitting on top of that cheap, plasticky-looking thing you posted right there.

If that company thinks its product is only worth $45, I can assure you that they're right! I just wrote a blog post on this very subject: CHEAPNESS. People who are always looking for "something cheap" need to remember there can be unseen COSTS of being cheap. In my blog post, I wrote about how I bought a "cheap tripod" 3 years ago ... trying to "save money" too ... and (I admit) my tripod worked okay for a few years ... until (just 3 weeks ago) the central screw snapped off the center column, while my camera was on it ... which dumped my $1700 7D and my $1500 180mm macro lens onto the ground! Fortunately, my camera was only 6" off the ground (and I was doing a macro over a soft canopy of leaf litter), so my camera and lens were okay. However, had my camera been elevated even 3-4' off of normal ground when my tripod broke ... I could have lost both my camera and my lens ... all because I wanted to "be cheap" in my tripod purchase. So the leson I learned, and what I want to share here, is really think hard about the hidden costs of being cheap.

With that said, I urge the reader to really take their "camera support" seriously, because all of your monetary investments into camera equipment (quite literally) "is riding on it!" And, to me, just looking at that macro rail you posted, it does not look like it is built very well. If you examine the design, it places all the camera weight behind the actual point where the rail is resting in the slot ... and, by the principle of basic leverage, this is putting excessive stress where that rail fits into that slot. And I could easily see "that rail" coming out of that slot over time, especially with heavy equipment being repeatedly-used on it, which could have devastaing effects to the expensive camera and lens that are riding on it. So my advice would be buy the BEST macro rail-set you can, with better engineering behind it for stability and handling the weight of heavy equipment, because thousands of dollars of your equipment are going to be sitting on top of it!

I personally just bought the Really Right Stuff Macro Rail for collared lenses. Yeah, it's a lot more expensive than that "cheapie," but it is far better-engineered for stability, and it is precision-made out of the finest metals for the purpose of holding expensive equipment safely and precisely ... rather than being made of "cheap metals and plastics" so the company can cut corners and offer "an attractive low price."

In the end, I firmly believe that "The bitterness of 'poor quality' remains long after the sweetness of 'low price' is forgotten."

To each his own, though, and good luck.

Jack


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Jack, even expensive stuff can and does break. The thing to do is buy insurance on it with the money saved on the tripod.

Jack,

I'm sure your conclusions are correct. I only have a G12 so my set up isn't heavy or all that expensive. In fact, the macro rail you recently purchased is about what I paid for my G12. I'm still a novice at macro photography, so I still have a lot to learn.

canonloader wrote in post #12654778
Jack, even expensive stuff can and does break. The thing to do is buy insurance on it with the money saved on the tripod.

Well, there is a difference between "possibility" and "probability" ... so, yes, it is "possible" that better-built equipment can break, but it is not as probable. Better engineering and materials are better engineering and materials, which give a much greater probability of lasting and NOT breaking than do inferior engineering and materials.

But, like I said, "to each his own" ...

And, as someone who was an insurance claims adjuster for over 12 years, I can tell you that I personally would rather have the better equipment ... as opposed to "hoping" that my insurance company would "pay me back" the full value of my equipment that just got destroyed ... or if they would instead try to try to pass off the handing of the loss to the tripod company for a product defect ... where both companies spend months/years in protracted litigation over "who" was culpable ... while you sit there "waiting it out" with your broken tripod, camera, and lens

Jack

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If you can find a used microscope for cheap in classifieds I have seen people successfully modify the micrometer into a focusing rail, this is probably even more accurate than expensive systems.

I have the RRS focusing rail, which in fact I use next to never. Focusing rail in my experience is good only for stacks. If you're stacking by the time you set up insect will probably be gone. Therefore usually involves stack of a dead insect...personally not my thing though I've seen beautiful results.

Cheers,
Paul

mr.white wrote in post #12656067
If you can find a used microscope for cheap in classifieds I have seen people successfully modify the micrometer into a focusing rail, this is probably even more accurate than expensive systems.
I have the RRS focusing rail, which in fact I use next to never. Focusing rail in my experience is good only for stacks. If you're stacking by the time you set up insect will probably be gone. Therefore usually involves stack of a dead insect...personally not my thing though I've seen beautiful results.
Cheers,
Paul

Hey Paul, I agree with you ... 99% of the time most people do not need a macro rail set for most macro lenses (and certainly not for a G12). Tripod and camera are all anyone needs. I never use a macro rail for either my 100mmL macro lens or my 180mmL macro lens.

However ... if you're shooting an MP-E 65mm ... and if you're trying to go 2:1 or higher for ultra-precision shots ... you need a TwinLight Flash and a serious macro-rail.

Cheers backatcha

Jack


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John Koerner wrote in post #12657466
However ... if you're shooting an MP-E 65mm ... and if you're trying to go 2:1 or higher for ultra-precision shots ... you need a TwinLight Flash and a serious macro-rail

Hey John,

I've gone 9:1 with the mpe and a raynox msn-202 without a macro focusing rail, just takes practice and resting the lens on a steady surface helps. up to 5:1 a good bracing technique can be sufficient.

Cheers,
Paul

mr.white wrote in post #12657494
Hey John,
I've gone 9:1 with the mpe and a raynox msn-202 without a macro focusing rail, just takes practice and resting the lens on a steady surface helps. up to 5:1 a good bracing technique can be sufficient.
Cheers,
Paul

For the benefit of those who do NOT have the MP-E 65, this lens does not focus. The only thing this lens does is rotate between 1x- and 5x magnification. Therefore, in order to achieve focus, you must physically move closer to the subject, or farther away from the subject, to achieve your desired focus.

That said, Paul, I have also hand-held at 5:1 and "braced myself" against any manner of objects to try to "hold still enough" to get a decent shot. For that matter, I have also "used a tripod" at 5:1 (and just leaned forward or leaned back to achieve focus) ... but the simple fact is I get my best results when using a tripod and a macro rail, because doing so allows me to let go of the camera and take advantage of live view, mirror lock-up, as well as a remote switch. To me, trying to hand-hold on ultra-close macros is tantamount to trying to take portraiture while operating a jackhammer. You might get the shot, if you're lucky, but it is not exactly "best practice."

Paul, anyone can cut corners and say they've "done so" ... and I have done so too ... but this does not make your experience (or mine!) BEST PRACTICE. It just means that you (as well as I) have cut corners at times and achieved acceptable results.

You know as well as I do that there is no way you can get the same precision focus by hand-holding and squinting, looking through your viewfinder, as you can looking at the subject through Live View, blown-up 10x, to ensure ultra-critical focus. You know as well as I you simply cannot depress the shutter "with your finger" and be as steady as you will by using a tripod, letting go of your camera, and using a remote switch with mirror lock-up. We both know it is simply impossible.

That said, using a macro rail witht he MP-E 65, taking advantage of Live View, mirror lock-up, and a remote switch is simply best practice. This doesn't mean a person "can't" hand-hold and get decent results with a flash at times. But nor should the fact that a person "can do this" in any way fool the reader into thinking that this is best practice.

Going through all of this trouble may not be practical for the field, I fully agree, but I personally don't consider the MP-E 65 much of a "field" lens to begin with. I only use this lens for controlled, staged shots. For me personally, if I am going to hand-hold in the field, the 100mmL macro is what I use (or the 180mm on a tripod, depending upon what it is I am after).

Cheers

Jack


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I mentioned that I'd seen those inexpensive macro rails on a few rigs here on POTN. I might not need a set... I'm practicing with my Leica +1.66 Elpro 3 both hand held and on my tripod. I was thinking of times when I'm using my +8 Raynox.
Anyway, here's a link for a review by one of the site members:

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=968403

I have been using the Adorama focus rail and it's worked great. It's inexpensive but surprisingly sturdy.
http://www.adorama.com​/MCFRS1.html