COPY STAND # MINI300, A USA Made Compact & Mini Tool for Digitizing Documents, Old Photos and Macro Photography with Today's DSLR Super Megapixel Cameras

I've been looking for a camera stand that can hold my DSLR with heavy macro lens. So far, I love this stand as it is sturdy!

This stand works great. Seems to be good quality. Made in USA is great. Seems a little bit pricey but you get what you pay for.

I wanted a copy stand that wasn't too large or too small. This one fit my need nicely. The dimensions are perfect for lugging around and using off site. The build is nice with a sturdy platform or base. the vertical post is very sturdy and bolts onto the platform either in the center or off center. The camera bracket can be used either angled down or up for a bit more distance (which is how I used it). The unit comes with a cell phone holder and a grided magnetic plate if needed.

This is a good choice for a small format copy stand. The parts are of excellent quality and assembly is simple. I recommend that buyers purchase a small circular level to help adjust cameras and phones to be perpendicular to the base. I have a Photomyne light panel that sits nicely on the platform. I had to build a raised platform of 4" with a piece of frame glass and wood to get the right distance for smartphone slide copying to focus, but that was easy and could have been done with other materials. I am happy with the purchase.

The people who designed this didn’t take into account that macro lenses are long and stick out from the camera body (usually about six or more inches.) What this means is that IF your macro lens can focus at 2 inches away (most don’t) your lens will be right up against the support beam or will not fit because it is thicker than the camera body. If your lens is normal focus distance you will have to flip the support bar to the upright position. Unfortunately, if you do this the lens will focus but you won’t be able to position it so that all of your negative is in your frame…which is the whole purpose of scanning negatives with a macro lens. Added to this is the fact that the screw which attaches your camera is too long so the camera cannot be held against the support bar. The photo shows a piece of foam used as a kind of spacer but mine did not come with the foam. In addition, the screw holes were drilled on the wrong side of the baseplate plate…they were drilled on the short side rather than the long side. What this means is the base plate with measuring grid won’t fit properly…the edges will be hanging off the sides. The photo shows the correct setup which is not possible with how it was manufactured.The materials are good quality. It just wasn’t designed properly. The photo shows what appears to be a 35 or 50mm lens…possibly good for products, but with the other defects it’s not useable. This was probably designed for iPhone use and the camera was added later as a selling point. Maybe it works for that…if the holes are drilled in the correct side and if the screw is short.

Extremely solid construction. The stand is very easy to assemble...tools included. It is a VERY solid design...no wiggling, which is excellent. The brackets are very beefy and strong, too. Excellent design and materials.

The L support angle (the one that holds the camera) is made from 3/16" steel. It should be a little thicker, I would suggest moving-up to 1/4", since it it not sturdy enough and moves slightly when accessing the camera controls, including manual focusing. It will not move if you use the camera's timed shutter or an external camera release. I tried it with another L-bracket and it was perfect. Otherwise, a good product, well made and easy to use.

Works great when I shoot my artwork.