Equipment reviews - Zykkor C081 Copy Stand and "unbranded" 4 way macro rail

I purchased these items through Ebay recently. I particularly wanted to do macro shots on small objects and focus stacking. Unfortunately where I live makes it impossible to view examples before purchase. There are no camera stores carrying that type of gear around here.

The Zykkor C081 Copy Stand

This is a small stand with the following specifications from the Ebay listing :-

"The Zykkor C081 Copy Stand consists of a 14”x15.75” large baseboard, a tripod mount Head with Bubble Level & Quick Release Plate for your camera. This is great for product photography of small to medium items such as coins stamps, etc. Maximum Copy Size is 36X40 cm
Perfect for macro shots with digital compact cameras & DSLR or for copying artwork.

Copy/Macro Stand with adjustable camera mount between 6" and 23" and 14"x16" base

Full adjustable tripod head with bubble level and quick release plate

Perfect for taking macro shots with digital cameras

Holds your camera steady for shooting small objects, like coins or for copying artworks

Includes:
• Baseboard
• Column with Adjustable Camera Base
• Tripod Mount Head with Quick Release Plate

Specifications:
Baseboard (WxHxD): 36 x 2 x 40 cm (14 x 0.75 x 15.75 in.)
Column height: 58 cm (22.83 in.)
Max. Load: 1.8 kg (4 lbs.)
Model: C081L
Max Copy Size: 36x40 cm
Baseboard Color: White"

Cost: - $69.95 USD plus p&p

General

I can't dispute this specification as far as it goes, however I do think there are a number of vital omissions. In particular it fails to mention how much of the item is made of what appears to be quite poor quality plastic. This includes the toothed rail on the vertical pillar, pillar mount, and worst of all the majority of the head. The pillar itself is a metal tube and has a number of holes, presumably to take a locking pin (not included) As fixed holes they may not match your required camera height. Any locking pin you make will support against the plastic of the moveable section. There is nothing otherwise to prevent the camera height from shifting/ gravity winding the head down the column.

The brand on the stand as supplied is QiHe so I presume it is available rebranded under a number of names.

The spirit level is on the plastic tripod head mount. it is difficult to see with camera in place, near on impossible when the camera is facing down. 

In use

I've only tried it so far with a Canon 7D. It was immediately obvious that the weight of this camera (820g plus 130g lens) was a strain, despite the max load rating of 1.8kg. Plastic obviously flexed and the head moved down the rail under the weight - a locking pin had to be made. Since I was now limited to adjustment height by locking pin hole position I got a macro rail (see later).  My first try at photography was on a totally flat object - a postage stamp. Photographic results weren't too bad. I was using the 7D, 10x Achromat and Canon 50mm F2.5 macro lens at F22 , studio lights. I should have had a reasonable depth of field. However I did notice a drop off in focus towards one side of the image. Investigations revealed that this was due to flexing in the head. This amounts to some 3mm difference side to side across a 52mm diameter lens. The camera vertical is adjustable but comes down to trial and error between adjusting, tightening, and then checking the result of letting the head take the weight.

The whole thing has a flimsy feel and easily shakes with the slightest touch, a shutter cable release or remote release is essential.

With macro rail

Adding a macro rail should negate the issues with fixed locking pin height. However it also adds 700g to the all up weight (now at 1650g total, still less than max rated load). It also takes the camera a further 8.5 cm out from the column, presumably adding leverage.

The result of adding this to the load is horrific:- "bend" in the head is very obvious, the quick release plate skews to almost popping point from the plate mount. Sag is huge. In short - a catastrophic failure in the making. - Totally useless. I didn't have the courage to leave my camera mounted like that.

Overall

I think this stand may work with a really light camera, such as a compact or a camera phone and bracket. It is totally unfit for purpose with a large SLR.  My mark:- 1 out of 10.

Unbranded 4 Way Macro rail

Specifications from the Ebay listing :-

"This excellent quality rail is for use with all digital and film SLR cameras and is compatible with most Nikon, Minolta and Pentax macro and EOS bellows, macro shot extension tubes, or macro lenses such as the Canon FD and FL. Smooth rack and pinion movement provides extremely fine focusing adjustments.
The rail has a geared drive system which greatly enhances accuracy and speed of adjustment of the rail.
Two 6" rails allow movement in four directions, right, left, forward and backward. Mounts on, and accepts 1/4x20 threaded screws, will fit most tripods and copy stands. Positive locking knobs assure rock-steady focus.
Focusing rails are essential accessories for macro photography, which requires precise distance modifications and a steady hand, as well as other situations where accurate camera positioning is crucial.

Material: Metal
·Weight: 700g
·Color:black"

Cost $30.98 USD inc p&p

General

Item is pretty much as described and appears to be identical to rails on sale from other companies including Adorama branded.

Most of the item is indeed metal but there are plastic parts too, most notably the channels in which both rails slide.

The rails are graduated in centimetres but do not have any index or reference line to either rail. Given how critical focus depth is and how exact it is best to be with focus stacking I had hoped for vernier scale and micro adjustablility.

Sender was very slow at getting item here and tracking sites given were ones that had raised a number of suspicions of fake information according to google search. I had actually raised failed delivery case with PayPal on this item, subsequently closed when item arrived..

In use

As already stated I got this rail to overcome the shortfalls of the copy stand. In practice that wasn't possible. On mounting the rail to the stand my first experience was that the weight of the camera took the now vertical rail all the way down to the rail stop. The locking screw not appearing to exert enough tension to prevent this no matter how tight. This would limit the rail to use with camera horizontal, not facing down. This is in addition to the issues with the copy stand itself

Second issue is the lack of really fine adjustment. I placed a mark on the vertical adjustment knob to give me some idea how far I was travelling. My calculations gave 3.5 turns for 10cm, a little over 2.8cm per full turn. This is a lot of travel per turn. it is possible to get a rough measure by the alignment of the channel edge with the built in scale but it really isn't accurate in my opinion to any less than 1mm give or take, the scale itself sits above the channel and is also quite heavily printed adding to difficulties.. 

Overall

Can't be used in vertical orientation
No real functional graduations or scaling.
Coarse adjustments

May be ok for larger objects outdoors, flowers etc.  My mark - 3 out of 10.