Back to this old thread, I just received three items from jinfinance.
The transaction couldn't have been smoother. I did a BIN on one, then
contacted him about a couple of other items, one of which he didn't have
on the 'Bay at that time. He gave me attractive prices on the extra
items and a good break on combined shipping.
He shipped immediately after I paid and it took four days to get to CA.
Package had seen some less than gentle handling, but sealing and packing
were ok, as were the items.
As to the items:
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The four way focusing rail looks identical in pics to the one Adorama
sells for more than three times the price. It's nicely finished and will
certainly do the job for any thing up to MF. Build quality is not up to
the Oly rail and the movement isn't as smooth. On the other hand, it's
pretty good and allows for very precise placement. And I don't take
pictures while it's moving. And Oly never made one with left right
action. I suppose one could combine two rails with two stages......
Rating? If you must have very fine machinery and flawless movement, C+.
If you want something that does the job of fine placement of your camera
in two dimensions with ease, a winner, A. Value, A+
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The angle finder is pretty much what I expected. Well enough made of
plastic, it gives a nice clear, correct left/right view through the
finder. Diopter correction range isn't specified - I received no
instructions - but it accommodates my -4.5 or so right eye. It's a long
range with much twisting, which allows easy fine tuning. Eyecup folds
down to allow seeing the full frame with glasses on at 1x.
Compared to the Oly Varimagni? Build quality is Yugo vs. Rolls.
Usability? Well, how much is correct left-right image worth to you? It's
worth a lot to me, and the plastic wonder has it. Optical quality isn't
great, but good enough to see what you are shooting at 1x and good
enough to very finely focus your camera lens at 2x. And it doesn't make
my eyes go funny after staring through for a few minutes.
Biggest weakness is the camera coupling. It's a generic thingie, with
adapters for different cameras. I only asked for Canyon EOS
compatibility and got two different adapters, one of which fits the 5D
and 300D. In the double plastic slide-on connection, there is more play
than I would find ideal. I may simply glue the adapter to the finder to
tighten things up.
Rating? Beauty and truth, C-. Practical tool, B-. Value, B+
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Remote shutter release for 5D is a cheap piece of plastic that cost
almost nothing and does what it is supposed to. Push lightly for AF/AE
set/lock. Push/complete push for shutter release. Push and slide forward
to lock shutter open in B for long exposures. Has a socket in the side
that I think will accept an extension cord. What's not to like? Oh, I'll
bet I can use the socket to connect to the receiver of Polaroid RF
remote I have!
The focusing stage I think would be suitable for almost any use. The
other two are quite acceptable for the very occasional use they may get.
I've seldom used the Varimagni and remote releases, but wanted to have
the flexibility available. For serious use, I'd go with the OEM models.
Moose
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