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Customers most agreed on the following attributes:
from Los Angeles, CA on 5/8/2008
I used this product for product photography, fine jewelery to be exact. Because I'm new to macro photography, I did a lot of research on macro focusing rails and was hesitant to buy this Adorama focusing rail at first. It seemed really generic to me. Then I took the chance after reading good reviews and boy am I satisfied. I was afraid the unit would be flimsy and made of plastic. But I was surprised to see that it's constructed really well and mostly made of metal. It works great for my needs. And for the price, you can't beat it. I use this focusing rail with a Canon 5D and Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro lens.
from Houston, Texas on 4/2/2008
This 4-way focusing rail is a very worthwhile piece of equipment. It is well made and at the price it is a great value.
from Sydney, Australia. on 1/27/2008
The Adorama Focusing Rail set provides adequate adjustment in both X and Y directions while maintaining stability (ie with a D200 with vertical grip), and is so useful for macro work. The unit I have has no backlash in the gear set.
The only negatives, which are subjective, is; the location of the camera attachment screw. This can make attachment a bit time consuming. Also, the diameter of the lower adjustment knob protrudes slightly below the baseline where the unit attaches to, say, a connecting mounting plate. While most plates will probably be ok, larger plates may be a problem. Just a couple of mil less would be ok.
from las vegas nv. on 1/21/2008
to achieve focus within 1mm without holding breath
from Portland, Oregon on 9/30/2007
Probably the best accessory other than a good macro lens for macro photography and the price is right.
Most focusing rails only move in the one direction and of course insects naturally move across multiple planes. The bidirectional nature of this rail is an important feature to me for my scientific work of photographing arthropods of medical importance. The rail is study and doesn't wobble like many cheaper units, and moves smoothly. I have had mine for around ten years and has rarely failed me. The only problem is that once I knocked the tripod over and the front plastic knob broke (this is not high quality plastic), and I was unable to obtain a replacement [...] This has now made focusing more difficult. If you are attempting macro work of greater than 1:1 magnifications (as I often do with the MPE65), then I would recommend combining this with a geared tripod head such as the Manfrotto 410.
from unforunately the state of Illinios on 7/10/2007
For the people who want the extra detail and know that they have done the best they could this item is a must. Saves a lot of time not haveing to repostition your tripod every few minutes.
from Redruth, Cornwall, UK on 3/26/2007
I thought for the price it was an excellent piece of equipment and it has allowed me to undertake with control multi-exposure close-ups of very small objects to be processed into one picture by sophisticated software. So far I have photographed four objects using this mount with success. It is necessary to have a very stable tripod set on a stable base not as I did in the first place on a plush piled carpet.
from Woodbridge, NJ on 2/13/2007
I'd recommend this to a serious amateur. If you're not using a very heavy medium format setup, then this is an ideal low cost alternative to the more famous brands. In case you want to use this with a medium format rig then you'd have to adjust the tilt of the camera carefully, since this tends to crawl on its own owing to the heavy weight of the camera and lens combo.
from Cambridge, MA on 2/12/2007
This is a solid macro support. It does exactly what it's supposed to: moves the camera/lens side to side and front to back, with enough precision to focus where you want. As you'd expect from its price, it does not have fine adjustment, so its use on anything more than 1X macro is limited. And as with any kind of tripod-mounted rail, it is not good for moving or live subjects. Focusing rails are the best when used with stationary objects.
Its use in the field is limited, as it is hard to pack compactly. But that's true of all macro rails.
All said, it's exactly what you expect from a macro rail.
from Oceanside. CA on 2/12/2007
An excellent tool for close-up photography where depth of field is so small.
from CT on 2/5/2007
Excellent peformance with smooth moving rails with exact stopping ability.
from MA on 2/5/2007
Great little tool for getting those close up shots without having to move your tripod multiple times to get just the right focus!
from Regina, Saskatchewan on 2/5/2007
I use this in closeup flower photography, tripod mounted. Add a magnifying angle finder to the camera and the focusing rail gives truly superb control to sharpness and composition. I like the four-way capability as well. It does the job you want, or at least it has for me.