Universal 150mm Macro Focusing Rail Slider Close-up Shooting Head Camera Support Bracket Holder with Arca-Swiss Fit Clamp and Quick Release Plate in Bottom for Tripod Ballhead

I don't write many reviews although I do a lot of Amazon shopping, but the quality of this Macro Focusing Rail by Shoot is way beyond what I expected. Being a mechanical engineer, I appreciate a well made product and this is one. The manufacturing quality of the IS-MFR150 is what you would expect from a custom machine shop. It is almost to the level that you want to put it on display. The assembly of the screw drive mechanism is spot on with no backlash what soever. The movement is extremely smooth, something you would not expect in a product costing so little. I am using an Olympus OM-D EMI MKII with the accessory battery holder and the OLY 60mm macro lens weighing in at 3 lb 4 oz, which the macro focusing rail supported with no problem. I'm not sure how it would perform with a heavier camera/lens combo. However, It does appear to be able to hold and focus a heavier camera/lens combo. I'm sure you can find many macro focusing rails costing much much more than the Shoot unit, but quality wise, this is near the top.

Works as advertised. My only complaint is the stiff action from the screws.

Excellent rail! I am always skeptical of items that have 100% satisfaction rating, but it seems warranted here. I just received this and it is very well made and smooth to operate. It is light weight but doesn't seem to flex or have any backlash on the worm gear. Speaking of that, this has a steel worm gear and metal "shoe" (not sure the technical term for it) that rides on it. When you push in on the release on the side, the shoe moves away from the worm gear and you can move the whole assembly forward or back quickly. It has a friction knob on the side, but being a worm drive I don't know why. They are not prone to slipping. As to weight handling: I am using a Fuji X-E1 with a Vivitar Series 1 90 macro and there are no issues. I know that is no where near what the spec says this is rated for, but that's what I use and the rail works perfect with it. Very happy with this item.

Major issue is with the ArcaSwiss. ALL my plates from DIFFERENT makers WOBBLE. The main problem is the two recesses at each end of the Arca mount are NOT deep enough for the safety screw's heads. Might explain why an ArcaSwiss plate is not provided. In addition, the angle machined on the ArcaSwiss is WRONG and does not mesh properly. Next issue; the range is NOT 150mm as stated in the description. Travel is only 100mm and this is hindered by the side of the mount being curved on one end. The edge on the 100mm side does NOT line up with the scale because it is CURVED for the finger recesses. The other side it does because it is perpendicular to the scale. Should have skipped the artsy finger recess design, and just made the thing SQUARE. Then it would line up with the scale properly, The screw works great and has expected 1/4 turn of backlash, but if stacking this is not an issue since the screw would be turning the same way for each frame. The unit itself is quite well made and has very little if any play unlike a Manfro slide I have which is awful and must be locked down.Workarounds:1. Grind down the head of the Arca plates safety screws about 1/2 mm. This will allow the plate to sit flat and snug up fully. However, not only the plates with the screws ground down will fit properly.2.Only use for movement in one direction else note there is play when reversing direction. However, this is a simple lead screw and is NOT a zero-backlash device. Would work OK for stacking on the Y axis.3.With the scale, make a mark on the big knob and note than one revolution is one mm of travel.

This is a great manual macro rail. My only complaint is that turning the knob clockwise moves backwards the camera. So, be aware of this. Other than that, it's a good purchase.

This product seriously exceeded my expectations. I wasn't expecting it to be this sturdy and accurate. I've been using a macro rail from another manufacturer previously but when I upgraded to this one, the difference is night and day.A full knob turn on this is almost equivalent to a 0.5 to 1 mm in distance, which is really crazy accurate, especially if you're doing focus stacking.Not sure if this is good for standard 1:1 macro use but for something larger than 1:1, this is great as you can precisely place your focal plane on such thin depth of fields.Overall, a 5/5 product for me.

The good: The arca dove tail groove and the quick release plate intergrate well with other equipment. There is a clutch that you can press down to release the mechanism for quick movement. However, it all went downhill from there. The rail motion is ok by itself but with a camera and lens mounted, it is so stiff and difficult to turn. Also, it clicks and slips. The rail has so much resistance; by the time it finally moves, my whole setup jerked, which made focus stacking impossible. The interface of the unit seems to be well designed and built but the movement, which is the core of a focusing rail, is sadly not.

Way better than the cheap $10-$20 junk, but still some looseness/play in the sled. I use two of them for aligning a DSLR/macro lens for slide digitizing with a modified slide projector.