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Thread: sinar rail clamp

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    London
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    sinar rail clamp

    hi
    I am having a bit of difficulty leveling my camera side to side on the rail clamp
    I line it up level with the built in level but as I tighten up the rail clamp the camera rotates the more I tighten the more off level it moves
    Is this just badly designed or do I have a bad rail clamp

    Is there a fix for this if its a design flaw

    regards

    robin

  2. #2
    Peter De Smidt's Avatar
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    Jan 2001
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    Fond du Lac, WI, USA
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    Re: sinar rail clamp

    The fix would be to get a Sinar Rail Clamp 2. These do a much better job in this regard. That said, while I agree that's it's a design flaw with the first version clamp, that's the clamp I used until this year. Tightening it will generally move the rail a consistent amount. Learn where you have to place the bubble before you tighten the clamp, and it shouldn't be too big of a deal.

  3. #3
    Whatever David A. Goldfarb's Avatar
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    Mar 2000
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    Honolulu, Hawai'i
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    Re: sinar rail clamp

    That's how it works--wonky, I know, for what is otherwise a precision instrument. Just don't loosen more than necessary and set it so that it's leaning to the left a bit (presuming you have the knob on the right side), and as you tighten it, it should come back to level. Use it regularly, and you'll get a sense for how far you need to tilt it.

  4. #4

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    Re: sinar rail clamp

    Thats a shame
    I thought I was doing something wrong
    Glad the other movements don't move when you lock them down ...

    robin

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Mar 2005
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    Baton Rouge, LA
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    2,428

    Re: sinar rail clamp

    Holding the camera firmly while you tighten helps, as does watching the level as you tighten and pushing the camera back into alignment as it shifts. The geared rail clamp is the real fix, but it is really expensive!

  6. #6
    Drew Wiley
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    Sep 2008
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    SF Bay area, CA
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    18,337

    Re: sinar rail clamp

    It is possible to tighten the rail in the clamp when it's not actually in the full bottom
    position. This will result in the problem you've described.

  7. #7
    jesskramer jesskramer's Avatar
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    Feb 2002
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    Northern California
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    68

    Re: sinar rail clamp

    My approach is slightly different

    I found it impossible to level the camera with the use of the clamp alone, the sinar base does not help with the left to right axis

    I now have the whole apparatus attached to a heavy duty 3-way pan tilt Gitzo head

    With my system I can achieve the leveling precision worthy of my otherwise VERY precise Sinar P2...works like a charm...Jesse

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