Wasted money or...

Just bought that first macro lens? Post here to get helpful feedback and answers to any questions you might have.

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Soeren
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2016 11:18 am
Location: Denmark

Wasted money or...

Post by Soeren »

Having done mostly handheld one shot macro and closeup stuff the idea of doing stacks became too tempting so I bought a NiSi NM-180 rail to try out this technique. Being a total noob I became a bit distressed by the amount of sideway + up-down movement by each turn aparently caused by the screw so...

1. Should I expect flawless linear movement with this model?

2. Will the "Allign" command in a stacking software like zerene fix it (5mmish on screen of D610 @ 5x with laova 25mm lens?

Best regards

Søren
Offcource I may be wrong

Pau
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Location: Valencia, Spain

Re: Wasted money or...

Post by Pau »

Hi, welcome aboard

Take a look at this recent thread
https://www.photomacrography.net/forum/ ... 95#p284795
Pau

rjlittlefield
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Re: Wasted money or...

Post by rjlittlefield »

Soeren wrote:
Fri Oct 28, 2022 11:59 am
1. Should I expect flawless linear movement with this model?
"Flawless" no, but it does seem like you're seeing more than I would expect. Do you know whether the shifts that you're seeing are caused by movement of the carriage with respect to the rail, or movement of the rail with respect to whatever is supporting it? If it's the latter, then carefully gripping and turning the screw handle so as to provide only torque, no lateral force, might help.
2. Will the "Allign" command in a stacking software like zerene fix it (5mmish on screen of D610 @ 5x with laova 25mm lens?
Stacking software should be able to correct this amount of shift OK. You'll get degraded strips along some edges of the image, in areas that were outside the frame of some shifted shots. With default settings in Zerene Stacker, that degradation is likely to be "edge streaks", as discussed at https://zerenesystems.com/cms/stacker/d ... hy_is_that .

--Rik

Soeren
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2016 11:18 am
Location: Denmark

Re: Wasted money or...

Post by Soeren »

Pau wrote:
Fri Oct 28, 2022 3:40 pm
Hi, welcome aboard

Take a look at this recent thread
https://www.photomacrography.net/forum/ ... 95#p284795
Thank you Pau. Will have a look
Offcource I may be wrong

Soeren
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2016 11:18 am
Location: Denmark

Re: Wasted money or...

Post by Soeren »

rjlittlefield wrote:
Fri Oct 28, 2022 5:20 pm
Soeren wrote:
Fri Oct 28, 2022 11:59 am
1. Should I expect flawless linear movement with this model?
"Flawless" no, but it does seem like you're seeing more than I would expect. Do you know whether the shifts that you're seeing are caused by movement of the carriage with respect to the rail, or movement of the rail with respect to whatever is supporting it? If it's the latter, then carefully gripping and turning the screw handle so as to provide only torque, no lateral force, might help.
2. Will the "Allign" command in a stacking software like zerene fix it (5mmish on screen of D610 @ 5x with laova 25mm lens?
Stacking software should be able to correct this amount of shift OK. You'll get degraded strips along some edges of the image, in areas that were outside the frame of some shifted shots. With default settings in Zerene Stacker, that degradation is likely to be "edge streaks", as discussed at https://zerenesystems.com/cms/stacker/d ... hy_is_that .

--Rik
Thank you Rik
To me it looks like the spindle is slightly out of alignment, something not perfectly centered. Seems the best solution is working at lower magnifications and crop :-k may also be the best way to learn :)
Offcource I may be wrong

Chris S.
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Re: Wasted money or...

Post by Chris S. »

Soeren wrote:
Sat Oct 29, 2022 1:09 am
To me it looks like the spindle is slightly out of alignment, something not perfectly centered. Seems the best solution is working at lower magnifications and crop :-k may also be the best way to learn :)
I'd suggest you check to make sure that the lead screw is not bent. Also, that the bearings that hold the lead screw on each end seem to be correct in all respects. Then that the two nuts that move the carriage seem correct in all respects.

I haven't used this company's product, but have seen my share of lead-screw-actuated linear stages--any of these elements can be wrong. This company seems to make nice products, so they likely care about what they sell. If something is wrong, I'd contact the company.

--Chris S.

Soeren
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2016 11:18 am
Location: Denmark

Re: Wasted money or...

Post by Soeren »

Chris S. wrote:
Sat Oct 29, 2022 9:05 pm
Soeren wrote:
Sat Oct 29, 2022 1:09 am
To me it looks like the spindle is slightly out of alignment, something not perfectly centered. Seems the best solution is working at lower magnifications and crop :-k may also be the best way to learn :)
I'd suggest you check to make sure that the lead screw is not bent. Also, that the bearings that hold the lead screw on each end seem to be correct in all respects. Then that the two nuts that move the carriage seem correct in all respects.

I haven't used this company's product, but have seen my share of lead-screw-actuated linear stages--any of these elements can be wrong. This company seems to make nice products, so they likely care about what they sell. If something is wrong, I'd contact the company.

--Chris S.
Thank you Chris. I do expect its something along those lines.

I saw Allan Walls video with Alison Pollack the other day and tried out the internal bracketing feature in my fuji X-T2 (wont work on the 3).

That made me change my focus for now. Though I eventually will do stacks using a rail I will have to reevaluate my needs when it comes to using my Laowas. Spoiler allert, Q's on Vemacro vs Stackshot and the posiblility of using of 180mm ais as tubelens will be incoming :lol:
Offcource I may be wrong

ChrisR
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Re: Wasted money or...

Post by ChrisR »

5mm at 5x means 1mm on subject. Perhaps the angle of the mounting plate changes on the rail as the lead screw goes round. As suggested I'd try to see where the misalignment is and quiz the seller.
Tip - the eccentricity is likely to vary along the rail. You might be best off using it near one end.
(Stackshots aren't perfect either).
Chris R

Soeren
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2016 11:18 am
Location: Denmark

Re: Wasted money or...

Post by Soeren »

ChrisR wrote:
Sat Nov 05, 2022 8:54 pm
5mm at 5x means 1mm on subject. Perhaps the angle of the mounting plate changes on the rail as the lead screw goes round. As suggested I'd try to see where the misalignment is and quiz the seller.
Tip - the eccentricity is likely to vary along the rail. You might be best off using it near one end.
(Stackshots aren't perfect either).
Thanks Chris
I suspect youre right. After having done some stacks using the cameras bracketting I found the rail is good for the initial getting the camera in place but Im not patient enough to do 100 shot stacks using the rail anyway so for now Ill be learning with the AF setup and maybe Ill get an automatic rail someday in the future
Offcource I may be wrong

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