Shortening My 21" Rail On My Cambo Nxii

**englishbadger** · 30-Jan-2009, 18:15

Hi all,

Im wondering if anyone could reassure me that its ok to shorten my monorail from 21" to say 10" long. I plan on simply chopping it in half for a shorter rail, until i can find another longer rail for closer work.

most of my landscape work requires a short rail, so im also trying to save on weight when out in the field.

Should i chop it? What will it prevent me from doing if i do?

im using a 75mm & 150mm lense

many thanks

**Alan Davenport** · 30-Jan-2009, 19:03

Hacking a fine Cambo rail will not bring you good karma.

Watch fleabay for a while and you should be able to get a 12" rail there.

**aduncanson** · 30-Jan-2009, 19:38

I could not give better advice except to add that I have not noticed many such beasts on eBay recently, so you might contact Midwest Photo, Calumet or KEH.

I do recall somebody reporting success making a Cambo square rail out of wood.

**David Karp** · 30-Jan-2009, 20:08

Go to a metals supply house and see if they have some 1" square aluminum extrusion. You can have them cut it to any size you want and it should work perfectly with your NX-II. They might even have some scraps that are short enough to sell it to you very inexpensively. Drill a hole in each and and put a cotter pin in it so you don't roll the standards off of the rail!

Take the existing rail with you when you visit. The piece they sell you won't have the ribs or the end caps or the ability to hold the calibration strip, but they should be able to match the size.

Or, do as the others say. You should be able to find one of the Cambo 12" rails on Ebay or MPEX or KEH or somewhere.

Don't hack the rail. You may decide you want to do closeups or use a longer lens someday.