I was looking to get a focusing rack for macro photography for use with my Canon 5DII. I've previously used a focusing rack with a Rollei rack with a 6008 and I was wondering whether anyone has any experiences (positive or negative) with any type or brand that they might care to share.
Phil
The
RSS rail is quite nice, but it suffers from backlash in the focusing mechanism. If you like to focus by moving the lens to and fro until you get the best focus, this is quite irritating. I tried the unit, but returned it for a refund and bought the
Kirk rail. It is not as well made, but has less backlash in its rack and pinion mechanism. The RSS is screw drive, which should be free of excessive play, but the play is not in the screw mechanism but in the lug that attaches the screw to the camera support.
Which would be better depends on the intended use. For single shots, I would prefer the Kirk but the RSS might be better for focus stacking since you can move the camera more precisely. With the Kirk, the Arca Swiss type clamp can be rotated 90 degrees is you are using a lens with a foot rather than mounted on the camera. With the RSS, you would have to buy an adapter.
Bill