Neewer 60cm Carbon-Fibre Camera Slider Review
As you may know, I'm a big fan of camera sliders - even made my own a few months ago. So when Neewer got in touch to ask me to review one of theirs, I jumped at it.
The slider comes in a decent carrying case, and the internal zipped pocket contains a few bits and pies - an Allen key for if you need to tighten anything up, a couple of rubber buffer studs that stop the slide plate crashing into the end frames (I can't imagination under what circumstances you'd need to replace the ones it comes fitted with), and a ⅜" to ¼" threaded adapter.
Neewer's slider is liberally equipped with both ⅜" and ¼" threaded holes. The actual spindle for attaching your camera or a quick-release plate is ¼". The slider is constructed from a metal alloy, apart from the slide rails which are carbon-fibre. So the rails are super-strong, and super-light.
The actual sliding mechanism is a bit unusual - most sliders use linear bearings that fit over the rails, but this one has three concave pulleys on each side. And they work very well - the sliding motion is exceptionally smooth and quiet.
For support, the slider has 4 short legs that fold up against the end castings. The connection between the top of the leg and the end casting has distinct click-stops so you can easily get the same angle on each leg, and these are locked by gold-ish knobs. The legs have adjustable feet. One thing I didn't particularly like is that the legs are slightly too long to fold in a neat straight line - they overlap slightly. It doesn't affect the functionality, just doesn't look great. And the other thing I wasn't keen on was the gold metallic finish on those knobs and the centre bezel and the spindle. If you are just sitting the slide on a table top, it's really easy to set up.
Mounting the slider on a tripod is a bit of an issue. I mounted it with the tripod in the centre, and there is a noticeable dip as the camera reaches the ends. This isn't to do with the slider - that's perfectly rigid and doesn't bend. So it's to do with the connection between the slider and the tripod. You can get a much steadier mount by using a tripod or light stand at each end. It's more fiddly to set up, and gives you six more legs to trip over.
The slider can handle loads of up to 8kg (17½ pounds). It costs about £56 (Amazon Associates link: https://amzn.to/2r9SUQI). There is an aluminium alloy version which sells for about £42 (https://amzn.to/2NfLrbx).
Apart from my minor aesthetic quibbles (can't help it, I'm a designer), this is an excellent product. Sturdy and well-made, it should last a lifetime.
Neewer's slider is liberally equipped with both ⅜" and ¼" threaded holes. The actual spindle for attaching your camera or a quick-release plate is ¼". The slider is constructed from a metal alloy, apart from the slide rails which are carbon-fibre. So the rails are super-strong, and super-light.
The actual sliding mechanism is a bit unusual - most sliders use linear bearings that fit over the rails, but this one has three concave pulleys on each side. And they work very well - the sliding motion is exceptionally smooth and quiet.
For support, the slider has 4 short legs that fold up against the end castings. The connection between the top of the leg and the end casting has distinct click-stops so you can easily get the same angle on each leg, and these are locked by gold-ish knobs. The legs have adjustable feet. One thing I didn't particularly like is that the legs are slightly too long to fold in a neat straight line - they overlap slightly. It doesn't affect the functionality, just doesn't look great. And the other thing I wasn't keen on was the gold metallic finish on those knobs and the centre bezel and the spindle. If you are just sitting the slide on a table top, it's really easy to set up.
Mounting the slider on a tripod is a bit of an issue. I mounted it with the tripod in the centre, and there is a noticeable dip as the camera reaches the ends. This isn't to do with the slider - that's perfectly rigid and doesn't bend. So it's to do with the connection between the slider and the tripod. You can get a much steadier mount by using a tripod or light stand at each end. It's more fiddly to set up, and gives you six more legs to trip over.
The slider can handle loads of up to 8kg (17½ pounds). It costs about £56 (Amazon Associates link: https://amzn.to/2r9SUQI). There is an aluminium alloy version which sells for about £42 (https://amzn.to/2NfLrbx).
Apart from my minor aesthetic quibbles (can't help it, I'm a designer), this is an excellent product. Sturdy and well-made, it should last a lifetime.
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