Manfrotto 454 Micro Positioning Plate

Concept: 3 out of 5
Execution: 2 out of 5
Yeah, but: It's perfect for detail-oriented control freaks.


The Long Version: Baseball and football have both been described as games of inches, which seems pretty generous to anyone who has tried macro photography. With high magnifications and low working distances, very slight changes in camera position make a big difference to the image composition. This is part of the fun of shooting close-ups, and anything that's meant to be fun doesn't need to be complicated. But there's a limit to what can be accomplished with a flower icon. On the other end from 'fun' there's a degree of obsession that leads to tripods and worse.

The Manfrotto 454 combines a base that mounts on the tripod with a plate that attaches to the camera which can be slid back and forth with a worm drive. Gross adjustments use a lever to disengage the gears, allowing the plate to slide fairly freely. When the gear is engaged a full turn from the thumbscrews on the ends of the plate slides the assembly 5/4 of a millimeter at a time; a comfortable twist of the screws on the front and back of the slider, somewhere between one-third and one-half of a turn, translates to about half of a millimeter. For readers in Burma, Liberia, and America, that translates into slightly over one-nothingth of an inch.


Our tour of the micrometric positioning plate ends with the brass knob on its side. This is used to lock the sliding plate firmly into position. When the screw is loose, the plate can be moved back and forth, but the slight wiggle is enough to change the framing of the shot. When the plate is locked down enough to prevent side-to-side motion, it doesn't allow any movement at all. Sometimes this doesn't matter, and sometimes it really, really does.

Changing the focusing distance changes the magnification, so an effective way to work with macro photography is to set the amount of magnification and then move the camera (or subject) until the desired part is in focus. The 454 plate makes this simple, and combined with a camera with live-view magnification, achieving critical focus has never been easier. The shallow depth of field that's endemic to close-up photography can also be beaten with judicious use of software like Helicon Focus or Photoacute, which stack vast numbers of photographs taken with different parts of the image in focus. But now we're back to the problem that changing focus with the lens changes the magnification, so precise adjustments in camera position becomes even more critical. The sample photo above is from eighteen images processed with Photoacute. Slight shifts in image position don't bother that particular piece of software - in fact it can help - so the slight wiggle in the Manfrotto 454 isn't an issue.


The setup that you see in these photos isn't just what comes in the box with the positioning plate. It doesn't include a quick-release, so I've added a Manfrotto 323 QR (with a spacer made from popsicle sticks) and a 341 elbow bracket. These are compatible with the RC2 plates that I already use, and the whole assembly is much cheaper than the equivalents from Kirk or Really Right Stuff. I've noticed that those call themselves focusing rails, while the manfrotto is merely a micro-positioning plate, but I don't know if that's significant. I'm willing to accept that things that cost several times more money might be better, have less play, and infuse the photos with a magical aura, but the extra hundreds of dollars are quite comfortable in my pocket.


Despite its flaws, the 454 is a very nice piece of work. I'll be buying a second one to stack perpendicular to the first, giving me full lateral control as well as fore-and-aft movement. I've always been something of a gear-head - and already use a Manfrotto 410 Geared Head - so this gives me a phenomenal level of control. It's exotic, but it's worth it when I'm in this narrow little slice of the photographic universe.

CRKT KISS Folding Knife

Concept: 2 out of 5
Execution: 2 out of 5
Yeah, but: Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.

The Long Version: CRKT - Columbia River Knife and Tool - is a company that I like. They make decent products very well, and they're not too expensive. They're also quite an innovative company, and have a lot of blade shapes that I haven't seen elsewhere. I do give them a lot of credit for being a little edgy and experimental. But when things all look pretty similar, it's usually because it works.

The KISS knife is designed to be as simple as possible. Its short blade has a single-sided chisel grind, with the chisel-front "tanto" point. When closed the sharp edge is held safely against the handle, and when it's open the frame itself forms the lock. It has a pocket clip and a thumb stud for one-handed opening. Honouring its desire for simplicity, I've actually taken the stud off and just use the really, really steep grind on the blade for an opening surface. The stud caught on my pocket too easily, and I don't miss it at all.

But here's the problem: the steep chisel grind doesn't work very well. The blade is too thick to slice through cardboard easily, and when it does, it drifts. For anything heavier than breaking packing tape, it wouldn't be what I reach for. The knife is neat, clever, and pretty; it's spawned a lot of spin-offs and imitators, but it's not a great working tool. It serves as a backup and lives in one of my T2 bags in case I forget one of my CS Voyagers, but that's about it.

DMT Diamond Sharpener

Concept: 3 out of 5
Execution: 3 out of 5
Yeah, but: They last forever.

The Long Version: I've bought two of these in my life, and this is the first one. It's about fifteen years old, and while it has worn down a little, the diamond sharpener still does its job. Made by DMT, it has a plastic base with industrial diamonds embedded in a nickel-steel plate. This is the 4" version, which comes with a handy leather case. I also have a longer version that I can't find on their website, which has a handle that folds over the sharpener balisong-style. It's not as solid, so I still use it laid flat on a table, but since it's double-sided I need to put something underneath it to protect the surface. All told I like this one better.

There's nothing special about a diamond sharpener versus a regular whetstone. The diamonds work faster, but that just means that it's faster to make mistakes. Technology is no substitute for skill, so take your time and learn how to do it properly - I'd provide a link if I could find one that I agree with. (Hint: arbitrary angles for the bevel are arbitrary.) The 4" size is good for pocket knives, but are too small for my level of patience with anything from the kitchen or the toolbox. There are others available, and it is a fundamentally good idea, so if that's important then there are larger ones out there waiting for you.