Macro rail - comparison/advice

[CrispyBee]

The thing you need on any macro rail are precise indicators or markings.
mm-marking on the rail itself are useless, you need precise marking on the screw/knob to see the step size.

That's why a lot of those rails aren't good for decent magnifications, if your step size is 0.1mm, what good is a rail with 1mm markings only?

Example: the Swebo LS001 has a 1mm travel per full rotation - but it has 100 marks on the knob (with numbers at 0, 10, 20, 30,..) so you can break that 1mm down to 0,01mm steps - in theory at least. Ad some minior inconsistencies and backlash etc... I'd say 0.015-0.02 is a safer bet.

Anyway if you want to get super precise and yet fast enough you can also get a Swebo MicroMover DP1 you mentioned, same concept as the AstrHori but I prefer Swebo, they really know their stuff and the claims regarding precision are clear with no guessing game involved. This one too goes to 0.01 like the LS001 but should be even more stable and precise towards the min. step size.

[lothman]

Anyway if you want to get super precise and yet fast enough you can also get a Swebo MicroMover DP1 you mentioned, same concept as the AstrHori but I prefer Swebo, they really know their stuff and the claims regarding precision are clear with no guessing game involved. This one too goes to 0.01 like the LS001 but should be even more stable and precise towards the min. step size.

I agree ;-)

It looks like in the Swedbo DP1 the fine focus slider is ball beared, in the LS001 and in the AstrHori both drives are dovetail slide bearings. So the DP1 should have less wobble and a higher chance to run very smooth for very small increments. On the other hand if stepsizes are in the range of 0,1mm or bigger are required either macro slider (slide bearings well adjusted) should be OK. The alignment of all the single frames in Zerene does a good job for compensating small deviations from frame to frame.

[Allthink]

Anyway if you want to get super precise and yet fast enough you can also get a Swebo MicroMover DP1 you mentioned, same concept as the AstrHori but I prefer Swebo, they really know their stuff and the claims regarding precision are clear with no guessing game involved. This one too goes to 0.01 like the LS001 but should be even more stable and precise towards the min. step size.

I agree ;-)

It looks like in the Swedbo DP1 the fine focus slider is ball beared, in the LS001 and in the AstrHori both drives are dovetail slide bearings. So the DP1 should have less wobble and a higher chance to run very smooth for very small increments. On the other hand if stepsizes are in the range of 0,1mm or bigger are required either macro slider (slide bearings well adjusted) should be OK. The alignment of all the single frames in Zerene does a good job for compensating small deviations from frame to frame.

So the Swebo DP1 will be less wobbly and more fine adj. than the LS001?
How they compare to my Velbon super mag slider macro rail or the other i mentioned.
This Swebo is much better under 2-3kg load have more fine adjustments?

[lothman]

I never had those models in my hand, but I use similar products and being a mechanical engineer built stacking rigs myself.
So my guess would be:

So the Swebo DP1 will be less wobbly and more fine adj. than the LS001?

yes

How they compare to my Velbon super mag slider macro rail or the other i mentioned.

I would say the Swedbos and the AstrHori are superior to the Velbon slider for magnification bigger than 1:1

This Swebo is much better under 2-3kg load have more fine adjustments?

What I see and read is that the Velbon slider is rack and pinion drive while the others are spindle driven. Rack and pinion makes a much bigger travel per revolution than a spindle drive. The Velbon is said to have 4mm travel per revolution. So you would have to divide one knob revolution into 40 increment in order to achieve 0,1mm travel (hardly to do by hand), on the Swedbo DP1 with its 0,5mm travel/revolution you would have to divide one turn into 5 increments, what can be easily and reproducible ba hand. 2-3kg load should be no problem. But: often the slider is spring loaded against the micrometer screw (like in the DP1). So if used vertical gravity force of your setup could be bigger than the spring load. The you would have to install a stiffer spring / counterbalance your setup or flip it so that the micrometer screw lifts the setup upwards and does not push it downwards into the spring.

[lothman]

I never had those models in my hand, but I use similar products and being a mechanical engineer built stacking rigs myself.
So my guess would be:

So the Swebo DP1 will be less wobbly and more fine adj. than the LS001?

yes

How they compare to my Velbon super mag slider macro rail or the other i mentioned.

I would say the Swedbos and the AstrHori are superior to the Velbon slider for magnification bigger than 1:1

This Swebo is much better under 2-3kg load have more fine adjustments?

What I see and read is that the Velbon slider is rack and pinion drive while the others are spindle driven. Rack and pinion makes a much bigger travel per revolution than a spindle drive. The Velbon is said to have 4mm travel per revolution. So you would have to divide one knob revolution into 40 increment in order to achieve 0,1mm travel (hardly to do by hand), on the Swedbo DP1 with its 0,5mm travel/revolution you would have to divide one turn into 5 increments, what can be easily and reproducible by hand. 2-3kg load should be no problem. But: often the slider is spring loaded against the micrometer screw (like in the DP1). So if used vertical, gravity force of your setup could be bigger than the spring load. The you would have to install a stiffer spring / counterbalance your setup or flip it so that the micrometer screw lifts the setup upwards and does not push it downwards into the spring.

[dickb]

I never had those models in my hand, but I use similar products and being a mechanical engineer built stacking rigs myself.
So my guess would be:

This Swebo is much better under 2-3kg load have more fine adjustments?

What I see and read is that the Velbon slider is rack and pinion drive while the others are spindle driven. Rack and pinion makes a much bigger travel per revolution than a spindle drive. The Velbon is said to have 4mm travel per revolution. So you would have to divide one knob revolution into 40 increment in order to achieve 0,1mm travel (hardly to do by hand), on the Swedbo DP1 with its 0,5mm travel/revolution you would have to divide one turn into 5 increments, what can be easily and reproducible ba hand. 2-3kg load should be no problem. But: often the slider is spring loaded against the micrometer screw (like in the DP1). So if used vertical gravity force of your setup could be bigger than the spring load. The you would have to install a stiffer spring / counterbalance your setup or flip it so that the micrometer screw lifts the setup upwards and does not push it downwards into the spring.

The Velbon Super Mag is a wormwheel based system, not rack and pinion, so the assumptions made above may not be correct. With some adjustments the performance of the Velbon can be improved. It may still not be ideal for what you want to do with it. I prefer microscope focus blocks when I need more precision than the Velbon.

[CrispyBee]

I never had those models in my hand, but I use similar products and being a mechanical engineer built stacking rigs myself.
So my guess would be:

This Swebo is much better under 2-3kg load have more fine adjustments?

What I see and read is that the Velbon slider is rack and pinion drive while the others are spindle driven. Rack and pinion makes a much bigger travel per revolution than a spindle drive. The Velbon is said to have 4mm travel per revolution. So you would have to divide one knob revolution into 40 increment in order to achieve 0,1mm travel (hardly to do by hand), on the Swedbo DP1 with its 0,5mm travel/revolution you would have to divide one turn into 5 increments, what can be easily and reproducible ba hand. 2-3kg load should be no problem. But: often the slider is spring loaded against the micrometer screw (like in the DP1). So if used vertical gravity force of your setup could be bigger than the spring load. The you would have to install a stiffer spring / counterbalance your setup or flip it so that the micrometer screw lifts the setup upwards and does not push it downwards into the spring.

The Velbon Super Mag is a wormwheel based system, not rack and pinion, so the assumptions made above may not be correct. With some adjustments the performance of the Velbon can be improved. It may still not be ideal for what you want to do with it. I prefer microscope focus blocks when I need more precision than the Velbon.

I would still emphasise the lack of a step size indication on many of those rails including the Velbon, which makes them borderline useless for focus stacking at high magnifications.
Without those indicators it's a guessing game, which I personally would like to avoid.

[Allthink]

I never had those models in my hand, but I use similar products and being a mechanical engineer built stacking rigs myself.
So my guess would be:


What I see and read is that the Velbon slider is rack and pinion drive while the others are spindle driven. Rack and pinion makes a much bigger travel per revolution than a spindle drive. The Velbon is said to have 4mm travel per revolution. So you would have to divide one knob revolution into 40 increment in order to achieve 0,1mm travel (hardly to do by hand), on the Swedbo DP1 with its 0,5mm travel/revolution you would have to divide one turn into 5 increments, what can be easily and reproducible ba hand. 2-3kg load should be no problem. But: often the slider is spring loaded against the micrometer screw (like in the DP1). So if used vertical gravity force of your setup could be bigger than the spring load. The you would have to install a stiffer spring / counterbalance your setup or flip it so that the micrometer screw lifts the setup upwards and does not push it downwards into the spring.

The Velbon Super Mag is a wormwheel based system, not rack and pinion, so the assumptions made above may not be correct. With some adjustments the performance of the Velbon can be improved. It may still not be ideal for what you want to do with it. I prefer microscope focus blocks when I need more precision than the Velbon.

I would still emphasise the lack of a step size indication on many of those rails including the Velbon, which makes them borderline useless for focus stacking at high magnifications.
Without those indicators it's a guessing game, which I personally would like to avoid.

Thank you for your comments

Do you mean these indicators i put a red arrow on? (that are very important to have)

[Allthink]

I never had those models in my hand, but I use similar products and being a mechanical engineer built stacking rigs myself.
So my guess would be:

So the Swebo DP1 will be less wobbly and more fine adj. than the LS001?

yes

How they compare to my Velbon super mag slider macro rail or the other i mentioned.

I would say the Swedbos and the AstrHori are superior to the Velbon slider for magnification bigger than 1:1

This Swebo is much better under 2-3kg load have more fine adjustments?

What I see and read is that the Velbon slider is rack and pinion drive while the others are spindle driven. Rack and pinion makes a much bigger travel per revolution than a spindle drive. The Velbon is said to have 4mm travel per revolution. So you would have to divide one knob revolution into 40 increment in order to achieve 0,1mm travel (hardly to do by hand), on the Swedbo DP1 with its 0,5mm travel/revolution you would have to divide one turn into 5 increments, what can be easily and reproducible by hand. 2-3kg load should be no problem. But: often the slider is spring loaded against the micrometer screw (like in the DP1). So if used vertical, gravity force of your setup could be bigger than the spring load. The you would have to install a stiffer spring / counterbalance your setup or flip it so that the micrometer screw lifts the setup upwards and does not push it downwards into the spring.

thank you. Seems like a Swedbo DP1 or LS01 is verey good compromise between quality and price AS opposed to the other ones i had in my list, so if there are no other suggestions from other members, I will probably go with that one.

[CrispyBee]

The Velbon Super Mag is a wormwheel based system, not rack and pinion, so the assumptions made above may not be correct. With some adjustments the performance of the Velbon can be improved. It may still not be ideal for what you want to do with it. I prefer microscope focus blocks when I need more precision than the Velbon.

I would still emphasise the lack of a step size indication on many of those rails including the Velbon, which makes them borderline useless for focus stacking at high magnifications.
Without those indicators it's a guessing game, which I personally would like to avoid.

Thank you for your comments

Do you mean these indicators i put a red arrow on? (that are very important to have)

Yes, exactly. Only those help you to really see how big your steps are. The millimeter scale on the rail won't show that unless you use huge step sizes.

[Chris S.]

I've had a Velbon unit for years, and rarely use it. I find it imprecise, not smooth to turn, and generally not useful for anything I've needed to do.

I second the motion to use a repurposed microscope focus block. To my mind, this is the gold standard for precise focus movement within the maximum travel range of the focus block. In my own rig, the motorized focus block is mounted on a long, motorized Velmex Unislide that is also microcontroller driven. This lets me position the microscope block within a wide range, with ease and sub-micron repeatability. The Velmex would also serve for stacking at about the precision level of a StackShot rail--but I personally don't have reason to do this.

A forum member I respect has reviewed negatively some Velmex rails, but my own experience with a number of their Unislides and Bislides has been excellent.

--Chris S.