Nisi NM-200: Best Manual Macro Focusing Rail!? - First Impression, Testing & Tips

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Peter, thank you so much for this detailed presentation. You sold me on this focusing rail. I wish you all the best with your channel!

[@peterviragphoto]

Hey Frederick. Thanks for dropping by, much appreciated. I think it’s a very user friendly rail with great build quality/usability. Have fun with it!😊 Have a great day & hope to see you around!

[@thehehrarchive1556]

Another in depth review of the NiSi product. It definitely looks a quality item. Well done Peter. 👍👏

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks a lot Alex, much appreciated! I was very happy with it, that’s for sure!

[@ScottymanPhoto]

The detail is absolutely incredible! The final image is definitely a keeper! Thanks for sharing, buddy! Have a great day 😀

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks a lot mate, much appreciated!

[@adrianalfordphotography]

Well put together review mate. Fly looked amazing. Hope you’re enjoying your week 🤙🙏

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks mate!:) All good here, hope the same for you!

[@artistry-lifeart9721]

I find it a very wonderful and interesting review in terms of quality and features! Absolutely amazing ! Great job PeterBig thumbs up

[@peterviragphoto]

Thank you so much, very kind of you. Have a wonderful day!

[@peterviragphoto]

If you decide to purchase this rail and wanna support my channel at the same time, please use the following link: nisifilters.com.au/product/nisi-quick-adjustment-macro-focusing-rail-nm-200s-with-360-degree-rotating-clamp/ref/peterviragphoto/ I’ll receive a small commission which will help me create more content like this. Cheers👍 🦋🪰🐛

[@LetsClickPhotography]

Great review Peter. Fascinating to see the stacker process building the shot at the increased speed. Have a great weekend mate 👍🏻

[@peterviragphoto]

Hey buddy, thanks a lot! Have a nice, relaxing weekend too! Cheers

[@RB_FromKerala]

amazing product sir, light weight and easy to operate.. good review video and editing

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks a lot, appreciate it!

[@paulcookphotography]

Great review on this product Peter. Looks like a great product for your type of photography. Some really amazing results you got with this. Best part of this though was your video editing, made watching a review video actually really enjoyable! Great stuff as always mate. Hope you are doing well down there!

[@peterviragphoto]

Hey Paul, thanks heaps for your feedback. Making review videos can be quite challenging at times. If I’m the viewer I prefer straight to the point, concise approach & hopefully it has worked haha.😃 Hope you and yours have been well champ!

[@paulcookphotography]

@@peterviragphoto it did indeed. Held my attention the whole way. Nice work pal!

[@peterviragphoto]

@@paulcookphotography you’re biased haha but cheers bud:))

[@FXWalesAnnaAlf]

Hi Peter, great review. This looks great :) ~ Anna

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks Anna! Ta ta for now:))))

[@forced_perspective]

This is absolutely fantastic Peter. I can see how this can be useful for those deep stacks needing really fine adjustments. My cheapo one from Amazon works just fine for me. I wonder if they also have the 4 way macro rail with such fine adjustments.. that would be amazing

[@peterviragphoto]

Yes, it is a great product for sure. You can combine two rails for XY axis adjustments as well but this one works just fine! At higher (10x+) magnification that would be even more useful! Cheers

[@briansbuildsandoutdoors4936]

Great review mate, well done. Your macro photography is always amazing but why not take advantage of tools that make the process easier. Take care and keep up the good work . All the best, Brian.

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks a lot Brian, very kind of you!

[@fredlar9421]

The screwing system is opposite. We turn screw clockwise to tight or drill. This Nisi is opposite, it moves backward on turning thumb screw clockwise, forward on anticlockwise. A little bit weird.

[@peterviragphoto]

I can’t even remember tbh, but it doesn’t matter to me as long as it works. Cheers

[@jonkers2007]

Nice review Peter, thank you. I have just had mine delivered, but one thing concerns me, the adjustment wheel is quite stiff to turn. I'm new to macro, so maybe it's designed that way to aid small adjustments, but do you know of a way to change the friction/tightness? I find moving the lock/unlock lever to midway makes it easier to turn the wheel, but am concerned that it will affect the '1 turn 1mm' accuracy. I'd love to hear your thoughts, thanks.

[@peterviragphoto]

Hey John, thanks for dropping by. I know what you mean. I was concerned a little myself but as you suggested turning the quick adjustment lever a little past the midway point towards the lock position should work just fine, as it was turning for me very easily that way without affecting fine adjustment/accuracy. Once you start using the fine adjustment knob again you can even push the lever further up towards the lock position, but I wouldn’t worry. In the example for the 4x shot I most likely took 30% or more shots than necessary and down the track might try using an infinity objective and push it to 10x or beyond. Good luck and feel free to let me know how you go. Have fun!

[@jonkers2007]

@@peterviragphoto Hi Peter, thanks for your quick, helpful reply. I had written to NIsi asking this question just before I found your video. I'll let you know if they say anything different.

[@peterviragphoto]

@@jonkers2007 no worries! I just double checked the rail and yes, the fine adjustment works very smoothly once the lever is past the midway point. If it’s not and pushed all the way up it definitely grabs onto the rail. Just keep testing it and observing how much it travels with each rotation or when you turn it by the smallest increment / the engraved marker on the thumb screw knob. Have a great day and hope to see you around!

[@jonkers2007]

@@peterviragphoto as always Nisi have been quick to respond. They say it's designed to work as set up originally, ie with the lever at 'lock'. I was originally trying it on a desk, not on a tripod. Although a little stiff it's a very easily controlled movement, so I'll take their advice. Thought you'd like top know anyway :)

[@peterviragphoto]

@@jonkers2007 as long as the fine adjustment works as intended it’s all good:) Thanks for getting back to me!

[@k1k13004]

is the Leofoto MP-180S exactly the same? I have an important question. As we are moving forward, we are changing the focal plan but the perspective changes as well, doesn't it?

[@peterviragphoto]

Yes it does change slightly but in post when blending/aligning the layers that is taken care of. If I were you I’d check the updated version out: nisifilters.com.au/product/nisi-quick-adjustment-macro-focusing-rail-nm-200s-with-360-degree-rotating-clamp/ref/peterviragphoto/ Here is my review: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6jFc3uQrpaGmpo P.s. Can’t comment on the other brand as I’ve never tested it.

[@k1k13004]

@@peterviragphoto thanks I already purchased Leofoto MP-180S for less than 100$. I'm just a beginner playing around. Nothing too serious.

[@peterviragphoto]

No worries. They look fairly identical, so I think you should get some decent results, Have fun!:)

[@k1k13004]

@@peterviragphoto thanks :)

[@1lunifyd]

I just got mine and so far I’m not sure. It seems to bind a tiny bit every now and then it also makes the camera wobble. I’m wondering if your does this as well?

[@peterviragphoto]

Hi Luni. I would never use it as a tabletop device so it wasn’t wobbling much for me when secured on a sturdy tripod. Did you get this or the new NM-200S? That one has a few upgrades over the first iteration. I have reviewed that one as well. If you’re unhappy with it, maybe you should ask for a replacement /new one? Either way good luck & hope you’ll be abke to sort it out. Cheers

[@1lunifyd]

@@peterviragphoto Thank you I should have been more clear I’m sorry. Mounted on a tri pod and when I’m using either side of the devise you can see the camera wobble very slightly. I’m thinkin the main screw has a slight bend in it and wonder if all of them are like this or is it supposed to be nice and straight.

[@peterviragphoto]

It is supposed to be straight. I haven’t experienced much wobble if any at all, but haven’t used the older version for a while.

[@yesidtac7863]

Gran tecnologia

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks. It is!

[@colinbm2010]

Just got mine, but it is being returned for a refund. Unlike the earlier one there is no screw to tighten the grip on the dovetail. It is too easy to rock the camera from side to side as the dovetail has only a light grip on the rail. If you move the slider too close to the extremities it will bind to the thread & get hard to turn.

[@peterviragphoto]

There were absolutely no issues with mine, was super stable and easy to turn w/o binding to the thread. The indicators are confusing, because you don’t actually have to push the lever that far, that is when it can get stuck and hard to turn but there was zero problem just past the mid point. Sorry to hear about yours, that would be frustrating for sure. Hope you’ll get it sorted! Cheers

[@Bo_Hazem]

Man, I hate arca-swiss. Might slap a manfrotto under it and a manfrotto adapter above it.

[@peterviragphoto]

Haha I like arca but easy to use w a manfrotto plate too :)

[@MD0MDI]

Good video, I had to watch it 3 times to understand it, please in future video talk slower, found it a bit rushed, but still good…

[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks mate, appreciate the feedback! You can always enable captions, that should help. This is actually me talking relatively slow😬😀. Have a great day! Cheers

[@Crispy_Bee]

This looks incredibly unstable/rough, the stacked images in the preview window at 2x are moving around so much (6:30), there's far too much movement in the rail! Can't imagine how jumpy it hast o look at 4x. Bummer.

[@peterviragphoto]

The focal plane/ angle of view changes dramatically because the footage is sped up. The subject might have moved slightly as it wasn’t fixed during the process of the lower magnification test but definitely not the rail which is apparent with the higher magnification final image which turned out to be tack sharp.

[@Crispy_Bee]

@@peterviragphoto Well I've used the NM-180 (until it broke after not ever half a day of use lol) and that also had a lot of play during movement - so I'm less than enthusiastic. Naturally stacking software will compensate for movement (a bit) bit you end up with a less than perfect result. Maybe you could record a video where you put the camera on the rail at 4x (or 5x) magnification while using the rail. Then it's easier to see how much movement these is during use.

[@peterviragphoto]

I’ve used much cheaper rails than this( e.g. The Neewer pro 4 way for $50😂 ) & I’ve gotten great results with that too. Having a super sturdy tripod helps and would definitely never use it as a table top rail ( whoever came up with that idea omg ). Sorry to hear about your 180 , that must have been frustrating as hell and totally understand your apprehension re this updated version. Down the track I might test it with even higher magnification ( e.g 10x ) and will record potential movement. What magnification shot were you shooting at with thr first iteration of the rail? P.s. Just double checked that movement during the stacking & imo it is very minimal and totally within tolerable limits. Cheers

[@Crispy_Bee]

@@peterviragphoto Hehe well the better the photographer, the better the results! Yeah, the table top idea is a bit weird but for me it was a clever idea to avoid putting in on a dirty/dusty floor/ground while setting everything up. I already noticed the movement while shooting at 1x on a pretty sturdy tripod (modified Manfrotto 055 carbon with 405 head), and it was also very uneven and some parts of the rail had more resistance than others. You could turn it smoothly for a few cm and then it would get rough again then smooth again etc. In the end it seized up, got very coarse and then the rotating handle unscrewed itself while using it.. I've even compared it to a very old Canon FD Bellows rail which is very rough but has pretty much 0 movement and a Novoflex bellows which is very (very) smooth and only shows very slight movement at 4x when reversing the direction.

[@peterviragphoto]

Yes in terms of placement and storage the feet are fine for sure , I just wouldn't use it for actual image taking. I also am very patient and super careful with the rotating knob and only experienced slight changes in resistance but I know what you mean, that can definitely lead to issues & frustration. As I said I'm happy with the results but will be testing it more down the track but I always prefer to be out in the field rather than in the studio:), so not sure when that's gonna happen! Good luck mate & have fun!

[@thanhtamvlog1836]

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[@peterviragphoto]

Thanks!

[@thanhtamvlog1836]

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