Newport Linear Translation Stage Arca-Swiss Conversion

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Macro_Cosmos
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Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2018 9:23 pm
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Newport Linear Translation Stage Arca-Swiss Conversion

Post by Macro_Cosmos »

I made an infographic on converting a high quality second hand Newport linear translation stage for use with the Arca-Swiss system. The conversion is based entirely on off-the-shelf readily available components. Total cost is about $50.

The clamp used: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... _Long.html
Thorlabs SD1: https://www.thorlabs.com/thorproduct.cfm?partnumber=SD1


Example of the Arca-Swiss compatible plate: https://www.ebay.com/itm/360-Fluid-Pano ... SwBiBapnDO
Mounted to the clamp is the metal piece shown in the tutorial. Mine came with a high quality clamp from Leofoto, I didn't need it, so I removed it from the panorama clamp to attach directly to my ballhead.
These are also available for sale individually, I've seen them around before. Can't find it now though. They are cheap, $5. Maybe someone else can find a source.

Cheaper clamps similar to the Sunwayfoto shown are available. BH however is the easiest source, so I decided to go with that particular model.

Original size: https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1860/434 ... bb6c_o.jpg

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RobertOToole
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Post by RobertOToole »

This is interesting, I used the same QR clamps, but the knock-off $10 versions or your units, I found these bolt right on on to Velmex Unislides!

Good find.

Robert

Macro_Cosmos
Posts: 1506
Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2018 9:23 pm
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Post by Macro_Cosmos »

RobertOToole wrote:This is interesting, I used the same QR clamps, but the knock-off $10 versions or your units, I found these bolt right on on to Velmex Unislides!

Good find.

Robert
Thanks!

iShoot makes similar clamps, which are cheaper, but of exceptional quality: https://www.ebay.com/itm/iShoot-Metal-C ... SwLqFV8ABb

I've talked to the people there. They have their own factories and design a lot of their own stuff rather than the cloning RRS/Arca-Swiss route many Chinese brands take. They are also a distributor and take custom orders, which means the rather pricy Sunwayfoto clamp could be made by them, or perhaps by Mengz. Mengz's customer support is pretty bad though from my experience.

The people at iShoot went through all the measurements for me, I kind of felt bad for not buying it in the end. Needless to say, I'm going to order a batch of items including the clamp and will post updates. The clamp shown on ebay is the older version, their new version has a longer cutout. The advantage of the Sunway one would be the 2 included bolts, which I'm almost certain is not included in the iShoot one.

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