Velbon Super Magnesium Slider, Macro Rail

2019-11-12T09:59:43

The rail is solid, I have not detected any play with D700+105mm micro, or with the D5300 and the same lens. It makes life easier for small stationary subjects, particularly with an inverted lens setup. I recommend it.

PAVEL R.

2018-09-15T07:12:00

I would say overall, it is well made but for a few drawbacks -- one significant, which is the red flag that makes me give a negative review as opposed to positive. It is well made, smooth travel on the worm gear, lightweight, and for what I need and similar to what I would have designed myself (I am a quality inspector in a machine shop). The main problem I have is with the camera mounting plate and attachment screw. Because it is corkboard instead of rubber, it is slicker and requires a whole lot more torque on the mounting screw to hold the camera in place. This was shown to me when I was adjusting the lens to be parallel with the slide and my camera quickly turned at a 90 degree angle when I tipped it to the side: The problem? the knob that attaches the camera is made of lightweight plastic, which means it will break under excessive strain, and also too much torque will put strain on the camera itself, damaging the attachment threads. that makes me give a negative opinion. The engineers need to quickly change the plate and screw - it would turn my three stars to four and recommend as opposed to not. The other drawback is lack of travel markings, but I resolved that with some whiteout and a toothpick (a brush does not give a fine enough line.) Again, overall a good product and ,for what I need it for, suits the purpose, but I do not recommend it and will not purchase it again unless the mounting plate and screw are changed. unfortunately Velbon will never see this review and make the needed changes.

Don M.

2015-05-06T21:00:00

I owned a Velbon super slider about fifteen years ago and considered it a piece of junk and got rid of it. I was delightfully surprised by this slider. It is a quality product and so far I have enjoyed using it in my work. The item is made from quality materials, the slider move easily and smoothly and lock done tightly. Would recommend this to anyone.

DAVE C.

2014-02-26T19:00:00

I've been doing macro photography for the last year with my Nikon D90 & Tokina 100mm macro lens but needed a focusing rail. I researched a lot of brands (Kirk,RRS,Novoflex,etc.)but was ether turned off by the high price or the cheapness of the budget rails. The Super Slider looked to be well made & at the right price range for my 1st. rail. I set it up on my Giottos MTL9251B tripod with a Giottos MH-1001 ball head.I even used quick release plates between the ball head & the slider & between the slider & my D90.With all these pivot points I thought there would some flex or play in the setup but it's very solid with no flex at all to speak of.I'm not sure what others are using for there setup but this one is solid.The Super Slider has very smooth adjustments in all directions & I can see that it's a very well built machine. I see no need for an upgrade or even paying a lot more for other rails.

ALAN P.

2012-02-11T19:00:00

Works very well. My only complaint is that there are no measurement markers on the rails. This would help when you want to adjust the slider by a precise amount.

Richard R.

2012-02-05T19:00:00

I like this product. It makes Macro and close-up focusing so much easier.

THOMAS R.

2012-01-29T19:00:00

Have you tried to focus your micro shot by sliding your tripod back and forth? I'm sorry, but you should have known that it's not possible. What if somebody made an attachment to a tripod head that slid back and forth while the tripod stayed where you put it? This is it and you must get it right away so you will hate yourself less for all those "almosts" that would have made your portfolio astonishing if you had just been able to nail those great micro shots. I'm not kidding, get it right now.

Vice O.

2012-01-02T19:00:00

I just use the top rail because there is so much flex when macro positioning with the bottom part attached. There is even flex in just the top rail such that I have to aim a bit high and guess at the slump when using my Canon 50D and EF 100mm macro lens. Other than it's flex, it's a great little rail. Without the bottom section it's not bulky at all. Separating and rejoining the top and bottom sections into different arrangements is quite easy and fast, just be sure to get the alignment correct before you tighten, it takes a bit of wiggling to snap into place. If I replace this, which I probably will this year, I'll get a Stackshot since I do mostly macro studio work. I teamed the Velbon slider with a Manfrotto 460MG 3D head on Manfrotto 055XPROB legs. While I'm able to get the camera to about any position imaginable, at 1:1 macro framing is problematic due to flexing of all the combined pivot points in the head combined with the flex of the rail. I did buy on a budget, but still regret not spending the extra bucks to buy at least a Manfrotto 410 Jr. geared head, an essential item for 1:1 macro framing I realize now. Just the same, the setup outline above does indeed work for my needs. Once I get the shot framed, I just wait about 10 seconds for all vibration to die off before I start focus stacking shots. While I could certainly use the macro rail to move the camera closer for each shot to be stacked, because of the flex and vibrations I'm shooting tethered and changing focus and using Zerene to put it all together. I'd probably get a bit better results by moving the camera, but what I'm getting is good enough for viewing on the computer.

Jeffery E.

2011-10-02T21:00:00

I use this mainly for Macro work.. I looked at allot of other sliders but found most to be very expensive. The Velbron is an excellent slider for the reasonable price.

RICHARD M.

2011-09-05T21:00:00

easy to use, excellent fine precision control, good materials. i take this photos with it.[@]

Alberto R.

2010-03-20T21:00:00

I use a canon 40D plus a 200mm 2.8 L lense with a 12mm extension tube and 1.4 converter,this setup is too much weight for this rail,probably okay for the smaller macro lenses.

ZoomClic

2009-09-28T21:00:00

Good, solid macro rail. Seems reasonably built so far. Has helped a lot when doing manual focusing for very close up macro photography. Excellent value.

PAUL S.

2009-07-30T21:00:00

I bought this product several years ago to replace an ancient Novoflex focusing rail that wore out. I've hardly used the Velbon for a couple of reasons: The first is that with a heavy camera and lens attached, there's too much up and down flexing in the rails. The second reason is that, although it isn't all that heavy, it's just too big and bulky to carry around. Besides, you really don't need the lateral movement function, so that's a waste. I've learned to put up with moving my tripod minuscule amounts, and of course with high rez digital, you can always crop your images later to get the exact composition you're after.

GERALD B.

2009-02-05T19:00:00

EVERY THING WORKS THE WAY IT SHOULD NO SLOP, NO PLAY

John H.