StackShot Camera Platform

DumbMarine · Post by **DumbMarine** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 6:10 am

Has any other forum member owning and using a Stackshot had issues securing their camera body to the moving platform?

My (new) extended version has a knurled screw that appears to long to lock my Nikon body to the platform. I have informed Cognisys Support but as yet not received a reply.

How are others securing the base of the camera to the potentially slippery platfom (no rubber mat).

johan · Post by **johan** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 7:01 am

I'm afraid it won't help you, but I don't actually connect my cam to my stackshot. I have a velbon XY rail on the stackshot, and bellows on the Velbon. The cam either goes on the bellows or, if I don't need it, on a tripod extension thing I bodged (lifts cam to same height as bellows so I don't need to alter the stage height too much).

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 7:08 am

This is the first I've heard of a problem with the screw length. Lots of people comment that it's difficult to get the thing clamped down rigid because of the slick metal.

Where slipperiness is a problem, usually I just stick in a piece of ordinary paper as a mat. I haven't quite had to do that with the StackShot, but it's my standard solution for metal-on-metal sliding problems.

--Rik

DumbMarine · Post by **DumbMarine** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 7:51 am

Thanks for the reply RJ.

Yes, top platform is very slick. I have noticed where others have pictured their set-ups that few have camera directly to StackShot platform.

Do you know if anyone has contacted Cognisys to advise of 'slipperyness' of platform to suggest a design improvement? - Perhaps a precision-cut diamond pattern or an affixed piece of high quality textured rubber?

Are they (Cognisys) ameniable to suggestions?

If not maybe I can put this too them.

I have since affixed a XY focus slider crossways (at a right angle to StackShot travel) and now its is temporarily happy.

The StackShot is however a massively (for me) expensive piece of kit and this is poor where it is otherwise well made.

Incidentially my $60 Nikon cable is very poor quality and not that long. This should be improved for longevity. Cognisys passed the blame for the shutter release cable cost over to Nikon? Odd as so many Chinese manufacturers can knock these plugs and cables out for peanuts?

johan · Post by **johan** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:27 am

You are not the only one to have had issues with the quality of components used in a stackshot. With me it's the power jack, I've mailed them about this before and they offered to replace the unit. I didn't take up their offer as I was ok about trying their advice to gently pry apart the two prongs of the power connector until the male fit was tighter. So, yes, Cognysis is amenable, responsive and looks after its customers. Maybe they could use slightly better components though =). Another ten dollars on the cost is a relatively marginal extra but could make quite a bit of difference in terms of connectors and jacks.

DumbMarine · Post by **DumbMarine** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:48 am

Thanks Johan.

I have since emailed COGNISYS and sent this suggestion in.

They have not however replied yet on my support email about attaching my camera. This is a fundamental issue and probably teh fault of the knurled screw supplied, so again not an expensive component? This with the slick platform mean I have to attach unnecessary parts to my rig or pad with cardboard!!!

I am mostly unhappy about the $60 (£40) cable that matches the quality of what China knocks out for less than a dollar fifty (99p) delivered.

However, at this very moment the StackShot is chugging away doing a stack so is all working.

DumbMarine · Post by **DumbMarine** » Fri Jun 29, 2012 5:04 pm

An update on this.

After speaking with Cognisys support the Stackshot appears to be suited to cameras with a deeper tripod socket hole than my nikons , namely 8.5mm.
My Nikon D700 and D90 have a tripod socket hole of around 6.19mm (measured with digital vernier).
Cognisys support manufactured me a particular knurled nut to the required dimenension and I can now lock up tightly even on the slippery surface.
I hope this may help others?

Rylee Isitt · Post by **Rylee Isitt** » Sat Jun 30, 2012 2:06 pm

Has anyone tried using thin, sticky rubber bumpers to deal with the slippery base? I'm able to find nice ones in department stores in Canada that closely resemble the type of anti-slip rubber they often put on tripod mounts. It's about 1mm thick. You can also get much thicker ones, which might solve the problem of the too-long mounting screw.

Rylee Isitt · Post by **Rylee Isitt** » Sat Jun 30, 2012 2:12 pm

DumbMarine wrote:
I am mostly unhappy about the $60 (£40) cable that matches the quality of what China knocks out for less than a dollar fifty (99p) delivered.

Is this the cable that runs from the camera to the Stackshot to allow it to trigger the shutter? If so, I'm very surprised by the cost. You can splice cables together to accomplish this, and if you have a soldering iron and heat-shrink tubing, you can even do a fairly professional job of it. And possibly for free, since TRS and RCA cables are often considered dime-a-dozen and given/thrown away on a regular basis.

For the higher end Canons that use the proprietary cable, you can buy a cheap (on eBay, from China) shutter release and snip the cable off, then also get out that nice two-stage push button for use in other custom projects.

DumbMarine · Post by **DumbMarine** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 1:03 am

Thanks Rylee, I believe you to be correct on the shutter cable issue. Phono cables are dirt cheap (even in rip-off UK). I believe the argument revolves around the proprietory Nikon socket plug for triggering the shutter. Even so China can make these a dime a dozen?

What is the function of the rubber bumper sheet you are able to get from supermarkets in Canada?

regards
Ian

Rylee Isitt · Post by **Rylee Isitt** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 2:02 pm

The rubber bumpers (also called rubber feet or rubber pads) are usually stuck to the bottoms of things to prevent them from sliding around. There are larger ones use to protect floor from furniture, but those are too large for our purposes.

There are also felt feet designed to do the opposite, so you have to be a little careful when buying.

I've got rubber feet stuck to the bottom of my stacking controller so that it doesn't slide around on the table when I push buttons. That's more or less what they are meant for. They are also somewhat soft, so can be used for padding between hard surfaces.

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 2:28 pm

I'm pretty leery of anything like cork or rubber on any connecting surface when working at high magnifications. A tiny degree of "flex" that goes unnoticed when shooting, for instance, a landscape image can seem monumental at 10X. And it is seldom that there is only one connecting surface in a set up. So "metal-to-metal" always seems like the best approach. (It's a primary reason quick connect mounts like the Arca-Swiss style are so solid).

Rylee Isitt · Post by **Rylee Isitt** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 4:04 pm

On the other hand, wouldn't they dampen the transmission of vibrations? Sure, there will be some flex, but flex alone shouldn't induce vibration. It should only be an issue while handling the camera, and for high mag work you shouldn't be handling the camera while composing. I have a QR plate with a rubber interface between it and the camera, and it does flex, but I've never considered it a problem.

DumbMarine · Post by **DumbMarine** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 2:35 am

This takes me back to my hifi hobbyist days when I used a turntable called a Linn Sondek that used suspension to isolate and damp vibrations, alternatively my loudspeakers were mounted on (sharp) spikes which together with their weight ensured a strong mechanical linkage.

I can imagine each approach has some merits, metal to metal or rubber.

DumbMarine · Post by **DumbMarine** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 7:53 am

I would like to report back that having been supplied (by Conisys) with a specially (and correctly) shortened camera platform screw that even with the rather slippery platform I can now get a good tight mechanical lock without slippage unless I exert considerable pressure.