NiSi NM-180 Macro Focusing Rail - an in-depth review

NiSi NM-180 Macro Focusing Rail - Show Notes

For more information about this excellent rail, including links to where it can be found for the lowest prices, drop by my website and check out the article - https://www.allanwallsphotography.com/blog/nisimacrorail

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The NM-180 can be found right here... https://amzn.to/2M0ZWSz

So, how come a second NiSi review so soon? Well, NiSi was kind to send me one of their Macro Focus Rails, the NM-180, when they sent over the lenses that I reviewed a couple of weeks ago. I started using the rail immediately and, after a ton of focus stacking experimentation, think that this is a piece of gear that should know about. It fills a very important gap in the focus stacking equipment lineup. Despite costing a little less than most of the other manual rails currently on the market, this one can do something none of the others, that I have tested, are capable of. The NM-180 can stack at steps all the way down to 25 microns. That is the kind of step size I would use for stacking with a 10X microscope objective.

For this kind of precision, the only viable option formerly available was to use an automated rail, like the Stackshot. This is the first rail in this modest price range, that can consistently give the kind of short, accurate, reproducible steps needed for high quality extreme macro photography. While the Stackshot would be my weapon of choice for shooting in the 10X range, I recognize that many don’t have access to such an expensive tool, and that is where this rail blows away the competition. As you will see in the video, I made a very tiny modification to the rail, in order to unleash its full potential, but it is mod that should take no more than 2 minutes to make.

There are a few things about the rail that I am not crazy about - the odd legs, and the fold-away handle, but the solution is to just not use them. Other than those issues and the fact that it could use an additional mounting hole on the base, there is a lot to love here. It is a solid, well made, and beautifully engineered device that should probably cost a lot more than it is currently selling for - an amazing $110, last time I checked.

I don’t need another rail - but I am getting one of these. The perfect backup to my automated rail, and a load of fun to use.

A full throated thank you to my Patreon (https://patreon.com/allanwallsphotography) Supporters and to those supporting my work through donations (https://www.allanwallsphotography.com/donations). None of this would be possible without your generosity!

Thanks for watching and I’ll see you again soon!

Allan

Видео NiSi NM-180 Macro Focusing Rail - an in-depth review канала Allan Walls Photography