The Novoflex Castel M - A Review

Many thinks to Novoflex for giving me a loaner Castel-M rail to work with for the last couple of weeks. I will be sending it home soon but have had it long enough to put it through some pretty heavy testing. This video summarizes what I found. This is a long video so I have it broken into sections in case you are in a hurry:

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction and what to expect
04:49 - Meet the Castel M
08:44 - Manual stacking
11:22 - A demonstration of the setup
13:06 - An interlude and some awesome customer service
15:10 - the stuff in my bag
22:20 - Some pointers and tips on stabilizing a subject
25:00 - the shooting process
31:00 - my top tips for manual stacking in the field
32:39 - Who is the Castel-M for?
42:50 - Wrap-up, pictures, and out-takes

There is a lot of content about manual stacking throughout this video - It is not just a review and we cover a lot of ground on technique, equipment and approach, so there is stuff in here for everyone, including the beginner who is interested in learning how to focus stack using a manual rail. When you go to buy your copy of the Castel M you can do so at any of your usual sources for high quality photography gear - like Amazon, Adorama, B&H should all have the rail in stock. I have not been informed about any sales or coupons but if Novoflex US still has the new customer, 10% discount you might want to look at getting it from there.
Several of you already have and use this rail, so if you want to get a second opinion, track one of those folks down and ask them.Ideas for the livestreams or a video you would to see - tell me about it!

Gear
Nikon D850 - @
Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom - @
Other cameras Nikon D7500 - @
A Nikon D3400 - @
A Fujifilm XT-2, with a battery grip - @
I use a TS adapter from Kipon- @
I use Audio Technica shotgun microphones in the studio, - @
And the Procaster from Australian mic-maker Rode - @
who also make my DSLR microphone - @
and my wireless microphone system - @
I record all my sound separately onto the awesome Zoom H5 Digital Audio Recorder. - @
I have retired the GoPro Hero 8 Black and Media Mod - https://amzn.to/2UScm3J & @
And am now using the Osmo Pocket II for DJI - this thing is incredible - if you EVER shoot content for uploading or sending to friends, get this creator kit - you will thank me... @

That is just some of the stuff I use - if you have any questions about my macro gear, or my recording equipment, just ask.

All my audio, music and sound effects comes for Epidemic Sound - I have been with them for about 3 years and they are pretty awesome - @


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