Solid and well made Read more

I bought this to go along with my Neewer leveling base, rotating clamp and nodal rail. The machining and parts are all good quality, and no plastic save for the large spirit level. As I mentioned in my rotating clamp review, this appears to be manufactured by Fittest, from 6061T651 aircraft grade aluminum. It has a decent black anodized finish, as good as many pricier rails. Desmond appears to share parts with some of the Neewer re-badges, and the prices are competitive. The products don’t overlap though, so check Desmond as well. The numbers are laser etched, and overall the clamp really does look as nice as ones costing a bit more. For what it is, it’s quite handsome. I think it looks every bit as good as the SunwayFoto. There’s not a lot to review here. The rail does an excellent job at its main task, sliding on a rotating base and holding things. In this case its primary function is to hold a very pricey camera and lens. The thumb screw is machined from a solid piece of aluminum, and the machining of the threads is decent enough. Don’t expect it to be silky smooth machining like SunwayFoto, or the unreal buttery movement from a fluid filled shaft. Movement of the thumb screw is quite smooth, especially after some use. After some use however, a bit of lubricant has been noticed at the base of the jaws. A quick wipe with a paper towel or tissue removes this. I expect it will continue for a while. The jaw is 38mm, approximately the width of the rail, as is the opposing dovetail. Movement of the jaws is kept even by 2 springs on each side of the screw shaft. This is similar to their other clamps, and the way most of the budget offerings solve the problem (if they care to solve it). As reader Linden has pointed out and I neglected to mention, the plate must be mounted by sliding in, rather than dropping in. I believe this is for safety reasons – all of my Neewer clamps open plenty wide enough to accommodate dropping in – and then some. I think the reasoning was that if the rail wasn’t tight and you dropped in your plate by putting the forward dovetail in first, you could push the whole thing right off of your tripod. If this is an issue for you, you might try elsewhere. The rail itself is as well manufactured as it can be – given the size. The only improvement that could be given would be to be massive, such as the Really Right Stuff rails. I really don’t care what I look like out there, and there’s nothing you could do to this other than scratch off the anodizing. It’s got 2 little Allen set screws that act as safety catches on each side. The only way this could be improved would be to have added spring-loaded tabs. At the opposite end of the clamp appears to be a small slot for a strap. There are no screw holes on the ends, so avoid this if you’re thinking of putting a vertical clamp on the other side. Otherwise, there are plenty of screw holes on the bottom, as well as the sliding groove (with included 1/4 20 screw) for an additional over/under clamp. The purpose being you may like to or have to slide the (over/under) clamp and camera instead of sliding the rail, or you may wish to use the rail as a macro rail. It depends on your setup. As it is, the 200mm was the size I had wanted to later add a vertical arm to. At this point, the rail accommodates a 16-35, 24-70, 24-105 and 14mm just fine. I haven’t put a telephoto on yet, the only other lens I’d consider would be my 70-200. But typically, this will be used with medium wide lenses. Pros: - Price - Excellent materials, fit and finish - Handsome for what it is - Spare screws and 2 more Allen Wrenches (yays!!) - Does the job Cons: - Dual spring jaw mechanism could be improved - Could have end screw holes instead of strap slot If you’re looking for a budget Arca-Swiss compatible nodal rail, you really can’t do a lot better. Desmond Photo also distributes high quality gear, of which Neewer grabs a few pieces with different specs. Desmond has shorter ones and longer ones, but nothing at 200mm. Neewer also makes an excellent looking vertical rail which is on my list when I move to a 360° Panoramic setup. I chose this over the SunwayFoto rail, and so far I’m happy with the savings. Function wise it’s 100% as good, and the main reason for spending more has to do with aesthetics really. 5 Stars. Read more

Muy buena calidad de materiales y manufactura. Read more

This is, as far as I can see, pretty much a straight clone of similar products made by RRS and so on, but it's very well made and remarkably cheap. The clamp is good and closes down nice and tight on the Arca plate attached to the camera. The rail itself is well machined and really solid. I was worried about losing sharpness to vibration when the camera is offset significantly from the tripod centre, but in use, that just doesn't seem to be an issue. This is with an ungripped 5DIII and light lenses (24-105, 85 1.8, 70-200 f4), though the rail is so rigid I still think the tripod and tripod head will be the likely weak points even with heavier kit. The rail has a circular bubble level which seems pretty accurate on my copy, and also an adjustable release-plate screw in the centre of the rail. The latter is a useful addition if you want to use a lens with a tripod collar, or if you want to use a short-barreled wide angle prime (this longer rail could otherwise intrude into the frame), though you'll need a penny or wide-flat blade screwdriver to tighten it. I suspect the paintwork won't be as robust as on the astronomically priced alternatives, but that doesn't bother me in the slightest. Bottom line, there's really no reason not to get this if you need a quality rail for single row panos. Read more

Excellent quality and great price. Very speedy delivery Read more

Maybe the best budget nodal for the panoramic photography. It seems the quality is good, 100% arca swiss compatible. Overall experience, very satisfied. Read more