Proaim (RS-2) Rail System from The CineCity
I’d thought I would share my experiences of using the CineCity Proaim Rails System that I’m using with the Panasonic AF101. Simply because I was very sceptical about buying equipment from India rather than buying (or rather, ‘investing’) in what might be better quality gear from the US – such as Zacuto or Chrosziel. But I may have been converted…
The rail system comes with:
- Camera Quick release base plate
- Camera riser with X/Y adjustment
- Tripod Mounting Plate
- Height Adjuster (which I completely forgot to photograph – I don’t use it)
- Lens Support
- 150mm Extension Rails in 15mm dia
- 300mm long Rails in 15mm dia
Firstly, this stuff isn’t what you’d call a fine piece of modern engineering. Sure, the parts are CNC machined aluminium and steel, but it is quite heavy and the finish isn’t perfect.
However, for the price point, it is far far superior to not having a rail system, or indeed, superior to a DIY effort in an attempt to save money.
It hasn’t fallen apart yet, nothing has bent or come off in my hand. In fact, the general feel of the system is one of solidity over weight saving.
As you can see, the camera base plate is a good size and slides easily in the base unit. It has a lock and safety catch as you would expect to see. There is a good level of height adjustment as well.
Turning the unit over, you can see there is a good selection of mounting holes for your own tripod base plate. These two mounting units are machined from solid steel, so they make up a large proportion of the weight of rails.
Additionally, there is a front lens support which I use for my Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 lens. I had completely forgotten about the riser that comes with it as well.
All of the system is adjustable by hand or with an Allen key.
After some adaptation, my Formatt Matte Box fits on the system with the addition of a bracket bought from CineCity at the same time. The matte box was a screw on type and I had to add an adapter to allow the box to slide onto the rails.
In summary then, a good rail system that appears well engineered (not superb but good) that looks like it might survive a while yet.
Mu philosophy with this is that if it can get me through a few jobs, then it’s paid for itself and I can move on to better equipment. But quite honestly, at £150 including shipping, it’s a bargain and seems to be holding up well.
