Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium

  • Price: $119.95
  • B&H # VEMSMQ
  • Mfr# SUPER MAG SLIDER

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The Super Mag Slider is a lightweight macro stage for very precise 4-way camera alignment: forward, back, left and right. Ideal for precise close-up work, tilting or macro-photography.

The Super Mag Slider provides 2.5" top maximum movement, 1.3" bottom maximum movement, and only weighs 1 lb. The overall length of the top plate is 8.1", and the bottom base is 4.4". Features two reversible 1/4-20" to 3-8" tripod connections, and a 1/4-20" camera screw.

Lateral adjustment range of ±1.2" (30 mm)
Fore/aft adjustment range of ±2.4" (60 mm)
Tripod Mount Thread Size 3/8"-16 (includes 1/4"-20 reducer bushing)
Dimensions 8.3 x 4.7 x 2.8" (210 x 120 x 70 mm) WxDxH
Weight 1.04 lb (470 g)

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews
Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium
 
4.6

(based on 57 reviews)

Ratings Distribution

  • 5 Stars

     

    (37)

  • 4 Stars

     

    (20)

  • 3 Stars

     

    (0)

  • 2 Stars

     

    (0)

  • 1 Stars

     

    (0)

100%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

  • Lightweight (36)
  • Easy to use (28)
  • Durable (20)
  • Stable (18)
  • Improves function (9)

Cons

  • Heavy / bulky (4)
  • Cumbersome (3)
  • Heavy (3)

Best Uses

  • Macro photography (22)
  • Macro (11)
  • Long exposures (6)
  • Stabilization (6)
  • Photography (5)
    • Reviewer Profile:
    • Photo enthusiast (35), Semi-pro photographer (7), Enthusiast (5), Pro photographer (4)
    • Was this a gift?:
    • No (26)

Reviewed by 57 customers

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Displaying reviews 1-20

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5.0

Very Well Built Product

By low4life

from Buffalo, NY

About Me Semi-pro Photographer

Verified Buyer

Pros

  • Durable
  • Easy to Use
  • Well built

Cons

  • Bulky

Best Uses

  • Macro

Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

This is an extremely solid and well built product. It is a little heavy I suppose but I think it has to be. I run a gripped canon 60D on this mount and it doesnt move at all. It does exactly what it is supposed to. It lets me move the whole camera in and out to focus a macro shot. It even gives some side to side movement to fine tune your composition. You can also remove the side to side part to make it smaller and lighter if you dont need that part.

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5.0

Smooth, Precise Operation

By Jim

from Clinton, MA

About Me Photo Enthusiast

See all my reviews

Verified Buyer

Pros

  • Easily Adjusted
  • Lightweight
  • Smooth Movement

Cons

    Best Uses

      Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

      I've used this for table-top close-ups indoors with 50mm and 85mm lenses. It allows extremely accurate front-to-back and side-to-side adjustments for closeups without need to move tripod or lights. I haven't yet used this outdoors, but plan to use it when spring flowers are out with a 185mm macro and extension tubes for macro and macro-plus photos.

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      • No

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      4.0

      Works well

      By Allen W

      from DeBary, FL

      About Me Semi-pro Photographer

      Verified Buyer

      Pros

      • Easily Adjusted
      • Lightweight
      • Smooth Movement

      Cons

        Best Uses

        • Macro photography

        Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

        Using it for macro work with reversed 50mm F1.4 Nikkor.
        The adapter inserts are impossible to remove for mounting directly to the tripod 3/8 thread. Instead, I used a Manfrotto quick attach adapter to attach to the slider. It is stable and easily adjusted.

        Aluminum inserts in a magnesium frame? Dissimilar metals cause them to lock together. Velbon could isolate with teflon tape so the inserts can be removed if need be.

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        • No

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        5.0

        A product that performs as Advertised!

        By Psion2007

        from Little Rock, AR

        About Me Photo Enthusiast

        Verified Buyer

        Pros

        • Durable
        • Easy to Use
        • Super Build

        Cons

          Best Uses

            Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

            I have been stacking for a short time. Up until this point it has been on a steady tripod just using the focus ring to accumulate pics to stack. This is so much easier, I can just turn the adjustment a quarter of a turn, settle down, take the shot and move on. The results have proven to be provide consistency in the stacking results.

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            • No

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            4.0

            Works well but bulky

            By Andrew

            from Arlington, VA

            About Me Pro Photographer

            Verified Buyer

            Pros

            • Functional

            Cons

            • Bulky

            Best Uses

            • MacroFocus Stacking
            • Stitch Panoramas

            Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

            For studio macro work it works well. I use this both for macro work (including focus stacking) and for stitch panoramas to offset for the nodal point. It is sturdy.

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            • No

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            5.0

            Exceeds my expectations

            By JerryJ

            from Olympia WA

            About Me Photo Enthusiast

            Verified Buyer

            Pros

            • Durable
            • Easy to Use
            • Lightweight

            Cons

            • None

            Best Uses

              Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

              I use the mag slider for close-up and macro photography. The slider is lightweight but very robust. I had to machine a small relief in the back of the slider and it took some time in the milling machine. The controls work great and vertical holding with camera body and lens results in no slipping. Addition of quick release adapters makes using this a snap. Great product!

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              • No

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              4.0

              Super Mag Slider by Velbon

              By Flickchick

              from Canberra

              About Me Photo Enthusiast

              Verified Buyer

              Pros

              • Durable
              • Easy to Use
              • Lightweight

              Cons

                Best Uses

                • Landscape/Scenery
                • Macro

                Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

                This is an exceptionally well engineered piece of kit. It is easy to use and is very light and firm. The only regret I have is that it does not have a scale on it. However, that is only a minor grumble. I believe that the two way movement will allow me to use the slider for panoramas in that I'll be able to set the camera pivot point at the nodal point - however, I am yet to try to use that function.

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                • No

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                5.0

                Does the job correctly

                By Dave

                from Monument, CO USA

                About Me Photo Enthusiast

                Verified Buyer

                Pros

                • Easy to Use

                Cons

                • Bulky

                Best Uses

                  Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

                  This is used for fine-tuning with macro photography. This unit ([$]) is much more stable than the trick of using 2 single-axis rails (at $15/each). The extra $90 is worth it because the $30 would be a waste of money. The unit is just a little bulky, but any device that does this job well needs to be bulky.

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                  (0 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

                   
                  5.0

                  MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY ON ROSES

                  By NONE

                  from LA QUINTA, CA

                  About Me Photo Enthusiast

                  Verified Buyer

                  Pros

                  • Easy to Use
                  • Lightweight

                  Cons

                    Best Uses

                      Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

                      I DO MUCH MACRO WORK WITH ROSES AS MY WIFE IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL ROSE SOCIETY. I HAVE BEEN USING ANOTHER MAKER'S FOCUSING RAIL, BUT HAVE CONSISTANTLY HAD TROUBLE MOUNTING THE CAMERA ON THE RAIL BECAUSE OF THE AWKWARD LOCATION OF THE MOUNTING KNOB. IN BROWSING THROUGH YOUR WEB SITE, I NOTICED THE SUPER MAG SLIDER, TRIED IT, AND FOUND THAT IT IS MUCH EASIER TO MOUNT THE CAMERA ON, REGARDLESS OF THE WEIGHT OF THE PARTICULAR MACRO LENS THAT I MAY BE USING. IT'S GREAT, AND I WOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM IN RECOMMENDING IT TO ANY ONE THAT DOES MACRO WORK. FRANK MOORE

                      POSITION OF THE

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                      4.0

                      Good for the money

                      By kook the medic

                      from Southern california

                      About Me Photo Enthusiast

                      Verified Buyer

                      Pros

                      • Well made

                      Cons

                        Best Uses

                        • Macro work

                        Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

                        I mainly use it for macro work.It does have some extra movement between the two platforms.Otherwise its an excellent slider for the money.

                        • Was this a gift?:
                        • No

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                        5.0

                        Excellent Product

                        By BSP

                        from Virginia

                        About Me Photo Enthusiast

                        Verified Buyer

                        Pros

                        • Compact
                        • Easy to Use
                        • Lightweight

                        Cons

                          Best Uses

                            Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

                            Provides a very fine movement on the slider with each turn of the positioning screw and allows precise focusing for close up macro work.

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                            • No

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                            5.0

                            Great product/Great price

                            By stugatz17

                            from Whidbey Island

                            About Me Photo Enthusiast

                            Verified Buyer

                            Pros

                            • Good Stability
                            • Lightweight

                            Cons

                              Best Uses

                                Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

                                I use the Mag Slider for macro shots of flowers and insects "in the field". It allows you to focus using the slider when dof is so small.This has been a great advantage when autofocus isn't practical.I'm very impressed with the smoothness of the controls and the build quality.It's also very easy to attach to the tripod and the camera even without quick release plates.

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                                • No

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                                4.0

                                Smooth and steady

                                By stringfocus

                                from New York

                                About Me Photo Enthusiast

                                Verified Buyer

                                Pros

                                • Good Stability
                                • Lightweight

                                Cons

                                  Best Uses

                                  • Home
                                  • Video
                                  • Wildlife

                                  Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

                                  Use for macro photography and video. Very good in focusing when using reverse lenses/extension tubes.Feels like a solid built.

                                  Share this review

                                  (1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

                                   
                                  5.0

                                  Worth its weight...

                                  By Joe the Sushi Slicer

                                  from Nagoya, Japan

                                  About Me Photo Enthusiast

                                  Verified Buyer

                                  Pros

                                  • Good Stability
                                  • Lightweight

                                  Cons

                                    Best Uses

                                    • Macro
                                    • Panorama

                                    Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

                                    I was skeptical until I saw it. Light but sturdy, it held my D300 in place with the 60mm 2.8 Nikon Micro and three extension tubes rock solid. From landscape to portrait at any forward angle absolutely nothing budged.

                                    The fine-tuning on my focus was razor-sharp. What I hadn't anticipated was how much I would appreciate being able to move the camera a few micrometers to the left or right.

                                    I also used this with a good deal of success to mount my camera at the parallax point for some really effective panorama shots.

                                    Love it!

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                                    • No

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                                    (1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

                                     
                                    5.0

                                    A must for the macro togs

                                    By dKi photography

                                    from Maryland

                                    About Me Photo Enthusiast

                                    Verified Reviewer

                                    Pros

                                    • Easy to use
                                    • Good Stability
                                    • Lightweight

                                    Cons

                                    • Cumbersome

                                    Best Uses

                                    • Macro

                                    Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

                                    I have been shooting macros with various lenses and extension tubes. I found that stacking tubes have become cumbersome and time consuming.

                                    To combat this, I purchased the MP-E f2.8 1-5X and this slider. Though I've used this slider for only a few days, I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

                                    I find the build quality and the ease of use to be excellent. I have attached a quick release plate to the bottom bracket, and since I use this exclusively with the MP-E, I do not need a second QR plate.

                                    The operation is smooth, and makes focusing extremely easy. No more sliding the tripod back and forth and sideways to get the composition and focus fine tuned. Just a few twists of the knobs do the trick.

                                    If you are serious about macro, do not pass this item up.

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                                    • No

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                                    (2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

                                     
                                    5.0

                                    Excellent macro accessory

                                    By DVL 80

                                    from Sao Paulo, Brazil

                                    About Me Photo Enthusiast

                                    Verified Buyer

                                    Pros

                                    • Lightweight
                                    • Precise
                                    • Smooth translation

                                    Cons

                                      Best Uses

                                      • Macro Photography
                                      • Wildlife

                                      Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

                                      I always had trouble to control the camera when taking macro pictures very close to the subject. The depth of view becomes very shallow and the slightest movement takes the picture out of focus.
                                      I had other focusing rails, but the quality of the Velbon Slider is far beyond them on every aspect.
                                      As a mechanical engineer, this product caught my attention for being made of magnesium. It is lighter than aluminum, which is one of the most used metals when weight and resistance has to be balanced. The fact the slider is moved by the thread shaft rotation makes every movement very smooth with minimum efforts, yet very stable.
                                      The only trick not everyone will notice is that the 4 nuts mounted on the main body have to be tightened or loose for quicker and lighter movements, or precise and a little bit stronger movements. The second option is prefered in most of the cases.

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                                      • No

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                                      (1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

                                       
                                      5.0

                                      Good Product

                                      By th0th

                                      from San Francisco, CA

                                      About Me Photo Enthusiast

                                      Verified Buyer

                                      Pros

                                      • Good Stability

                                      Cons

                                      • Heavy

                                      Best Uses

                                        Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

                                        The Super Mag Slider is sturdy and well made. Operation is very smooth and well designed.

                                        • Was this a gift?:
                                        • No

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                                        (2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

                                         
                                        4.0

                                        Works like a charm

                                        By Spectrastu

                                        from Dutchess Co. NY

                                        About Me Semi-pro Photographer

                                        Verified Buyer

                                        Pros

                                        • Reasonable price
                                        • Works perfectly

                                        Cons

                                        • No Qwikcon'ct for Camera

                                        Best Uses

                                        • Macro
                                        • Product shots

                                        Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

                                        I use this in combo with my Manfrotto 405 gear head on my tripod.

                                        These two items allow me to position my camera in any position and the Slider allows precise composition (right to left) and precise focusing when used with my Macro lenses.

                                        The units controls work smoothly and quickly.
                                        The only thing lacking is a quick connect for the camera or lens mount.

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                                        • No

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                                        (1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

                                         
                                        4.0

                                        Great value

                                        By Paul

                                        from Seattle, WA

                                        About Me Photo Enthusiast

                                        Verified Buyer

                                        Pros

                                        • Good Stability
                                        • Lightweight

                                        Cons

                                        • Cumbersome

                                        Best Uses

                                        • Macro

                                        Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

                                        Very easy to use. Wonderful value and reasonably light. It is somewhat bulky and would not take on extended trips, but when you are doing roadside macro work it is now essential. Add quick release plates so that I can use my ballhead and it functions well in this fashion without a loss of stabilty.

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                                        • No

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                                        (1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

                                         
                                        5.0

                                        Simply perfect

                                        By FotoSphere

                                        from Buffalo Grove, IL

                                        About Me Semi-pro Photographer

                                        Verified Buyer

                                        Pros

                                        • Good Stability
                                        • Lightweight

                                        Cons

                                          Best Uses

                                          • Home
                                          • Landscape/Scenery
                                          • Macro
                                          • Portraits

                                          Comments about Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium:

                                          I bought this rail for use in macro photography. Very sturdy construction. It held my Canon 7D with 70-200 lens at almost 60 degree down position without any travel. I just keep it attached to my tripod and use built-in camera attachment knob to add / remove camera instead of using regular tripod ball head quick release adapter. I wish I had bought it long time ago.

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                                          • No

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                                          Velbon Super Mag Slider Macro Rail - Magnesium
                                          • 3/8"-16 to 1/4"-20 Reducer Bushing
                                          • Limited Lifetime Warranty
                                           
                                           
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