Thanks for a very good video about the Castel-M. I am a long-term Novoflex user since 1970. I ordered the Castel-M shortly after the announcement and received it in May this year. I have now tested it in different situations in both the field and in-doors, and find it to absolutely satisfy my expectations. I have a tip for semi-automation of the shooting process. I take advantage of the interval timer shooting facility in my Nikon camera. I set the interval to 5 sec. and enter the number of shots. After starting the process, I then only have to turn the wheel on the Castel-M right after each picture has been taken automatically by the camera. This makes shooting the stack easier, because you only have one thing to do for each step. A disadvantage of using the interval shooting facility is, that I do not see the frames during the process, but only after the end.
Delighted to have just discovered your excellent UA-cam channel, thank you for sharing your expert advice, I'm looking forward to watching more of your videos and learning more!
I have had the rail for just over a week now and it is absolutely A++. EASY to use. FASTER to use than I expected. ZERO frustration on what step size I should use! PERFECT rail for a beginner/intermediate in macro. I will still use my WeMacro powered rail for 10x but for 2 to 5x it will be this manual rail! I mounted the NovoFlex on a NiSi rail (to facilitate large movement) and then on my WeMacro base for my shots down in my office. Super clean and super sturdy! SUPER REVIEW! I agree with everything you said! Especially the need for a remote trigger! This piece of gear is worth it! 100%
Fantastic review, Allan. And good to see you back out in the field. My take from the video: "Forget the rest - Just get the best"!.. Well done @novoflex.
Thanks for the review Allan. Having started into macro at plus 1x only a few years ago, I only have four other manual rails. After getting one of these the others are going to sit in the drawer where they live and grow old together. This one is truly a work of art.
Thank you for all the Great suggestions. I am going to keep using my RRS rail with my MPE 65 for awhile until it doesn’t work but the Novoflex is so nice.
Great review as usual. However, I don't really understand the use of this product. I have a Stackshot and a battery pack for it if I want to use it outside. Why would I want to do something manually? At a lower magnification about any focusing rail is good enough. I have an ancient Novoflex rail which works fine for me. What I have also found is if you want something really accurate get a machinist's stage or have a machinist make you a rail out of a micrometer. Both of these cost peanuts in comparison. And this was not my idea I purchased my Stackshot used and the man through the stage and the micrometer rail in for free.
Hi Allan, I'm curious what kind of geared tripod head is it ? I have a chap manfroto geared head that I'm no so found of, I need something more acurate and sturdy... Thanks! :)
Thank you for my first experience of your videos. Loved it! My question is, "What about mirror lock-up?" You mentioned so many other concerns re things you dare not do.
I preordered this rail early this year and have had it since May. I also own the Laowa 2.5 - 5x lens. In fact, I acquired the rail before the lens, so I am the one member of the group of users how felt that they needed the lens because the had the rail 😉 The only problem I have is vibrations, and wind (known heavy weight solutions).
Allan, I’m looking at getting the laowa 25mm f2.8 2.5-5x Lens for my full frame Nikon ZF, and I have a couple of questions on camera setup… when adding the lens to the Non CPU area do I just enter “25mm and 2.8” or do I have to consider that it is a DX lens when entering the data, and if so what values do I use? Also is the lens recognized as DX by virtue of the light hitting the sensor or do I have to expressly put the camera into crop mode. You answers to these questions would be greatly appreciated!!
Alan, I have some questions about the Lighting arrangements in the Macro Cage which I feel you might be able to answer. But which address should i use to send the questions to you?? Great project !!!
Sorry, what did you say? I was fixated on watching the Monarch butterflies in the background ... sounded like some sound infomation and I'll watch again.
great field video Allan, I shoot this lens and a z6 and a couple of tips, there is the MB-N10\11 ( 11 is for later cameras, z6ii and onwards) this allows a "hot swap" as well as two batteries at one time, so they auto switch when flat, so you can stay out longer; also I use the drive button on the back to select the self-timer, so you hit the shutter, then it waits a set number of seconds before release {to allow vibrations to dissipate}; a warning for the final tip, with this 105mm lens (NOT the slr D300 body lens, Ai-s f2.8) ALWAYS use a tripod, you can't hand hold this!!- the macro capacity makes this lens suffer vibrations a LOT, more so than the Ai-s lens, esp. when focussing close, for details afar, like architecture, boats, etc. it is fine, but just something to be aware of.
The process yes, that's me. I have an home made rail from off the shelf stuff from the automation industry. It's super smooth and accurate. It's not light or small, so has been outside only once, and nothing to do with Macro. It sits like a lump on a flat area, like a table. I had to build one and mechanise it because many years ago I built a DP electronic kit for controlling rails, and I'd never used it on a rail. Sadly it's so old the stepper motors hadn't been thought of, so it knows nothing about them. 1.5 pounds is nothing for those who eat meat and Black pudding, so I'll be adding one to my bag, soon.
Is this method superior to just letting the camera do the focus bracketing or just when focus bracketing at 2x magnification or more? Thanks in advance.
At 1 to 1 the focus bracketing in my Nikon and Sony works fine. I strongly recommend the Laowa 2.5 - 5x lens which is a manual focus and you need THIS rail to be successful at 3x to 5x. 🎉
I'd say anything bigger than a pea, use focus bracketing. Anything smaller, use rail and focus stacking. Exactly the size of the pea? Depends on the pea 😜
Thanks for the vid. In general, how does using rails compare to a camera with the in camera focus stack feature like some Nikons have? Thank you for any replies.
If I understand your question…as an owner of a D850 which has the focus stack feature, the camera in order to achieve focus stacking moves the focus ring and that affects the magnification. On the other hand (at the rail method) you set the magnification. For example, I set 1:1 magnification to my lens then with the rail move the camera back or forward without touching the ring, soooo magnification remains 1:1. If i covered you let me know😊😊
@@Harris_Fountas Perfect. Thank you. I tried turning the lens to move the focus a couple of times to try a stack & see the subject size changes. I can sometimes stack a few photos in AP but have to do the mask thing manually to clean up. Hit rate isn't always that good in the taking photos like that. Just never used a rail before. Thanks.
At 24:30 you need a Benbo tripod, I’d loan you mine but it’s busy holding my camera and rail rock solid at ground level while photographing focus stacks of fungi.
Just bought the NiSi NM-200S yesterday and now wondering if it was a good decision. So far I enjoy that one but it is my first attempt at focus stacking. Thanks for your detailed video's.
There will always be a better rail, I guess , if you are satisfied with what you bought just stick with it, you don't need the latest and greatest to take marvelous shots anyway 👍
If you think you are going to get macro I would return the NiSi and get the NovoFlex! A LOT less complicated with no need to figure out the step size. If you get out of macro later (unlikely!) you could probably get back 75% or so of your investment. The NovoFlex is VERY easy to use!.
Allan i watched your tutorial very very carefully and the demonstration is EXCELLENT😊😊. I would like to ask did you measure the backlash of the Castel because at 2x to 5x magnification even a little amount of backlash is an issue or no?? The motorized version of Novoflex rail doesn’t have backlash??
If I use a Sony A7RV with a auto focusing macro lens paired with either the Raynox MSN 202 or DCR 250. I can just find the front focus point and then allow the camera to use the focus bracket feature for incremental steps. With Camera technology advancing, I am hesitant to invest in something like this, that may not be needed soon.
This is for high magnification manual lenses. Theres a zero percent chance you'll be able to get an auto focus lens higher than 1x in the next 10 years.
I was not aware that WeMacro made a manual rail. The question was why Allan seems to prefer the $699 manual rail to the $319 motorized one he was reviewing favorably earlier this year.
I think he did only have manual rails in the back of his mind. Otherwise, this would mean that the manual rail is better than the automized Novoflex and that wouldn't make sense, since the latter is kind of the holy grail. I got the wemacro, love it. You could even take it outdoors, if you like trolling around with cables and charger etc. But hey, that can be fun too 😉
Looking at the great lengths you went through and your "low threshold" to abort the stack - why don't you for once talk about the inevitable drawbacks of stacks of something like the shown flower? I have done enough stacks to know that at best such a stack will be a successful failure (for me it will be because I know where to look for these stacking flaws). No matter what you try, you will end up with physically unavoidable halos - and they are blatantly visible in your result if you know where to look, how does that match your high quality standards you keep pointing out? At low magnifications (anything below 5:1 I would consider a lost cause) you have no chance to avoid these halos (due to the subject size and DOF being too large) unless you are engaging in days worth of Photoshop manipulations to remove those stacking defects - and still the flower will lack any indications to it's depth and thus look as if it is straight from a 1800's botanist pressed flower album...
I focus stack the orchids I grow, and I use a method that changes the focus of the lens without any movement of the camera. This is exactkly what you are asking about. I am interested in this rail to use with a bellows and flat field lens. With that setup, the lens is fixed and the camera moves for the change of each slice of the stack. There is more to all of I have said. The mathematics of it is what blows my mind. Rik Littlefield of Zerene Stacker suggests moving the camera behind the lens for stacking and not get all of the 'halos' you mention when you are stacking these 'larger' subjects.
@@johnkryewinske9474 With that technique I believe that these halos will not occur (I am looking at the maths right now) or be very small indeed. But that still means that the stacking is not applicable to the use of normal camera/lens setups unless you talk about large format cameras with their large bellows - and then you could always use the inherent tilt/shift these setups offer to move the focal plane to encompass the important areas of the subject.
Love seeing the butterflies in the background.
Thanks for a very good video about the Castel-M. I am a long-term Novoflex user since 1970. I ordered the Castel-M shortly after the announcement and received it in May this year. I have now tested it in different situations in both the field and in-doors, and find it to absolutely satisfy my expectations.
I have a tip for semi-automation of the shooting process. I take advantage of the interval timer shooting facility in my Nikon camera. I set the interval to 5 sec. and enter the number of shots. After starting the process, I then only have to turn the wheel on the Castel-M right after each picture has been taken automatically by the camera. This makes shooting the stack easier, because you only have one thing to do for each step. A disadvantage of using the interval shooting facility is, that I do not see the frames during the process, but only after the end.
Delighted to have just discovered your excellent UA-cam channel, thank you for sharing your expert advice, I'm looking forward to watching more of your videos and learning more!
I have had the rail for just over a week now and it is absolutely A++.
EASY to use.
FASTER to use than I expected.
ZERO frustration on what step size I should use!
PERFECT rail for a beginner/intermediate in macro.
I will still use my WeMacro powered rail for 10x but for 2 to 5x it will be this manual rail! I mounted the NovoFlex on a NiSi rail (to facilitate large movement) and then on my WeMacro base for my shots down in my office. Super clean and super sturdy!
SUPER REVIEW! I agree with everything you said! Especially the need for a remote trigger!
This piece of gear is worth it! 100%
Fantastic review, Allan. And good to see you back out in the field. My take from the video: "Forget the rest - Just get the best"!.. Well done @novoflex.
Great walkthrough, thanks for sharing 👍
Thanks for the review Allan. Having started into macro at plus 1x only a few years ago, I only have four other manual rails. After getting one of these the others are going to sit in the drawer where they live and grow old together. This one is truly a work of art.
Excellent review. Now that I'm done taking pictures of smoke, I can't wait to use my Castel-M!
Thank you for all the Great suggestions. I am going to keep using my RRS rail with my MPE 65 for awhile until it doesn’t work but the Novoflex is so nice.
Great review as usual. However, I don't really understand the use of this product. I have a Stackshot and a battery pack for it if I want to use it outside. Why would I want to do something manually? At a lower magnification about any focusing rail is good enough. I have an ancient Novoflex rail which works fine for me. What I have also found is if you want something really accurate get a machinist's stage or have a machinist make you a rail out of a micrometer. Both of these cost peanuts in comparison. And this was not my idea I purchased my Stackshot used and the man through the stage and the micrometer rail in for free.
Buy once cry once :-) Thanks for the great review.
love that expression, I must pass it on, lol.
Hi Allan, I'm curious what kind of geared tripod head is it ? I have a chap manfroto geared head that I'm no so found of, I need something more acurate and sturdy... Thanks! :)
Thank you for my first experience of your videos. Loved it! My question is, "What about mirror lock-up?" You mentioned so many other concerns re things you dare not do.
I preordered this rail early this year and have had it since May. I also own the Laowa 2.5 - 5x lens. In fact, I acquired the rail before the lens, so I am the one member of the group of users how felt that they needed the lens because the had the rail 😉 The only problem I have is vibrations, and wind (known heavy weight solutions).
Allan, I’m looking at getting the laowa 25mm f2.8 2.5-5x Lens for my full frame Nikon ZF, and I have a couple of questions on camera setup… when adding the lens to the Non CPU area do I just enter “25mm and 2.8” or do I have to consider that it is a DX lens when entering the data, and if so what values do I use? Also is the lens recognized as DX by virtue of the light hitting the sensor or do I have to expressly put the camera into crop mode. You answers to these questions would be greatly appreciated!!
Alan, I have some questions about the Lighting arrangements in the Macro Cage which I feel you might be able to answer. But which address should i use to send the questions to you?? Great project !!!
Thanks for another great video
Sorry, what did you say? I was fixated on watching the Monarch butterflies in the background ... sounded like some sound infomation and I'll watch again.
great field video Allan, I shoot this lens and a z6 and a couple of tips, there is the MB-N10\11 ( 11 is for later cameras, z6ii and onwards) this allows a "hot swap" as well as two batteries at one time, so they auto switch when flat, so you can stay out longer; also I use the drive button on the back to select the self-timer, so you hit the shutter, then it waits a set number of seconds before release {to allow vibrations to dissipate}; a warning for the final tip, with this 105mm lens (NOT the slr D300 body lens, Ai-s f2.8) ALWAYS use a tripod, you can't hand hold this!!- the macro capacity makes this lens suffer vibrations a LOT, more so than the Ai-s lens, esp. when focussing close, for details afar, like architecture, boats, etc. it is fine, but just something to be aware of.
The process yes, that's me. I have an home made rail from off the shelf stuff from the automation industry. It's super smooth and accurate. It's not light or small, so has been outside only once, and nothing to do with Macro. It sits like a lump on a flat area, like a table. I had to build one and mechanise it because many years ago I built a DP electronic kit for controlling rails, and I'd never used it on a rail. Sadly it's so old the stepper motors hadn't been thought of, so it knows nothing about them.
1.5 pounds is nothing for those who eat meat and Black pudding, so I'll be adding one to my bag, soon.
How would this compare with the best results you could get by using Nikon’s built-in focus shift feature?
awesome review allan thx alot
Thanks Allan!!
Is this method superior to just letting the camera do the focus bracketing or just when focus bracketing at 2x magnification or more? Thanks in advance.
At 1 to 1 the focus bracketing in my Nikon and Sony works fine. I strongly recommend the Laowa 2.5 - 5x lens which is a manual focus and you need THIS rail to be successful at 3x to 5x. 🎉
I'd say anything bigger than a pea, use focus bracketing. Anything smaller, use rail and focus stacking. Exactly the size of the pea? Depends on the pea 😜
Thanks for the vid. In general, how does using rails compare to a camera with the in camera focus stack feature like some Nikons have? Thank you for any replies.
If I understand your question…as an owner of a D850 which has the focus stack feature, the camera in order to achieve focus stacking moves the focus ring and that affects the magnification. On the other hand (at the rail method) you set the magnification. For example, I set 1:1 magnification to my lens then with the rail move the camera back or forward without touching the ring, soooo magnification remains 1:1. If i covered you let me know😊😊
@@Harris_Fountas Perfect. Thank you. I tried turning the lens to move the focus a couple of times to try a stack & see the subject size changes. I can sometimes stack a few photos in AP but have to do the mask thing manually to clean up. Hit rate isn't always that good in the taking photos like that. Just never used a rail before. Thanks.
Thanks! Great!
What tripod and tripod-head are you using?
At 24:30 you need a Benbo tripod, I’d loan you mine but it’s busy holding my camera and rail rock solid at ground level while photographing focus stacks of fungi.
Just bought the NiSi NM-200S yesterday and now wondering if it was a good decision. So far I enjoy that one but it is my first attempt at focus stacking. Thanks for your detailed video's.
There will always be a better rail, I guess , if you are satisfied with what you bought just stick with it, you don't need the latest and greatest to take marvelous shots anyway 👍
If you think you are going to get macro I would return the NiSi and get the NovoFlex! A LOT less complicated with no need to figure out the step size. If you get out of macro later (unlikely!) you could probably get back 75% or so of your investment. The NovoFlex is VERY easy to use!.
Allan i watched your tutorial very very carefully and the demonstration is EXCELLENT😊😊. I would like to ask did you measure the backlash of the Castel because at 2x to 5x magnification even a little amount of backlash is an issue or no?? The motorized version of Novoflex rail doesn’t have backlash??
If I use a Sony A7RV with a auto focusing macro lens paired with either the Raynox MSN 202 or DCR 250. I can just find the front focus point and then allow the camera to use the focus bracket feature for incremental steps.
With Camera technology advancing, I am hesitant to invest in something like this, that may not be needed soon.
This is for high magnification manual lenses. Theres a zero percent chance you'll be able to get an auto focus lens higher than 1x in the next 10 years.
Bought it, seems 👍👍👍
Did you say this was better than WeMacro?
If you are referring to manual rails, yes. Best rail in the world. Sounds clear to me.
I was not aware that WeMacro made a manual rail. The question was why Allan seems to prefer the $699 manual rail to the $319 motorized one he was reviewing favorably earlier this year.
I think he did only have manual rails in the back of his mind. Otherwise, this would mean that the manual rail is better than the automized Novoflex and that wouldn't make sense, since the latter is kind of the holy grail. I got the wemacro, love it. You could even take it outdoors, if you like trolling around with cables and charger etc. But hey, that can be fun too 😉
Looking at the great lengths you went through and your "low threshold" to abort the stack - why don't you for once talk about the inevitable drawbacks of stacks of something like the shown flower? I have done enough stacks to know that at best such a stack will be a successful failure (for me it will be because I know where to look for these stacking flaws). No matter what you try, you will end up with physically unavoidable halos - and they are blatantly visible in your result if you know where to look, how does that match your high quality standards you keep pointing out?
At low magnifications (anything below 5:1 I would consider a lost cause) you have no chance to avoid these halos (due to the subject size and DOF being too large) unless you are engaging in days worth of Photoshop manipulations to remove those stacking defects - and still the flower will lack any indications to it's depth and thus look as if it is straight from a 1800's botanist pressed flower album...
I focus stack the orchids I grow, and I use a method that changes the focus of the lens without any movement of the camera. This is exactkly what you are asking about. I am interested in this rail to use with a bellows and flat field lens. With that setup, the lens is fixed and the camera moves for the change of each slice of the stack. There is more to all of I have said. The mathematics of it is what blows my mind. Rik Littlefield of Zerene Stacker suggests moving the camera behind the lens for stacking and not get all of the 'halos' you mention when you are stacking these 'larger' subjects.
@@johnkryewinske9474 With that technique I believe that these halos will not occur (I am looking at the maths right now) or be very small indeed. But that still means that the stacking is not applicable to the use of normal camera/lens setups unless you talk about large format cameras with their large bellows - and then you could always use the inherent tilt/shift these setups offer to move the focal plane to encompass the important areas of the subject.