I recently bought into the Rhino slider system and I would like to share my experiences with this system and some things I think potential buyers should be aware of.
My purchase consisted of the Arc II, the High-Speed Slider Motor, and the 24” carbon fiber slider. I also have the Focus, carrying case, and some minor other accessories but we won’t be getting into that. I fully invested in this system for a total of $2910 before taxes. No doubt a major investment.
Well, at that price point I expected a certain level of quality and care. Let me just tell you that I had to exchange some of these things out multiple times. I first ordered the Arc II and there were a few issues. First of all, it arrived with some damage. There were noticeable scratches and scuffs on the main body. Some portions of it even looked as if someone had been prying on the pieces. It doesn’t help that there’s a lot of plastic so things get damaged quite easily. The display also had a bunch of scratches and I can even see contaminants under the screen from assembly. On top of this, the Arc II just seemed to be making a lot of noise when in use. This product is advertised as having a 15 lbs load capacity. Well, the setup that I tried with the Arc II was a Sony A7RIII with a 24-70mm f/2.8 GM and this combo weighs less than 5 lbs. Even at only a third of the max payload, when I used the Arc II to tilt up and down, it would make a very audible vibrating sound. Because of all this, I contacted customer support and got an exchange.
The second Arc II came along with everything else and again there were issues. The Arc II again arrived with some cosmetic damage. I was willing to look past the stuff on the main body but then I saw the screen, it had even more scratches, a noticeable gouge, and a pretty noticeable piece of contaminant under the screen.
Then when I went to look at the Slider Motor, it was pretty obvious that someone else had mounted it and tried it out considering that there were paint chips at the mounting locations. I tried to look past this because at this point, it’s already been weeks since I made the original order and just wanted to use the stuff I ordered. So, I set everything up and did some initial test runs. Right away, something was up with the slider motor. It was making a lot of noise. Whenever the carriage moved away from the motor, the motor would make an audible scraping sound. When the carriage moved towards the slider motor, it makes a clicking sound. So there was no winning. It always made noises. The weird thing is, these noises corresponded to the speed of the slides. If it was a slow slide, there would be slow scrapes or slow clicks. If it’s a fast slide then I’d hear those scraps and clicks louder and faster.
The worst part is that if this slider is set to fast speed, the slider motor would stop the carriage at about the half point. Sometimes I would have to backtrack and it’ll let me advance a bit more but not all the way to the other end. So, my 24” slider essentially became a 12” slider. I tried recalibrating but this didn’t help at all.
At this point, I have to say that I’m pretty disappointed in this system. At around $3000, you’d think that this would be it, especially with all those high praise reviews on YouTube. Who knows, maybe I just happened to receive multiple bad units in a row. I really don’t care about the reasoning. I’m just glad that I’m within the 90 day return period so these things are going back.
If you’re interested in the Rhino slider system, I’m not going to tell you not to buy it. It’s your money, do whatever you want with it. Just know that there’s a chance that it may not live up to the hype. As I said, the stuff I ordered is going back and I will not be purchasing another Rhino product. Hopefully, I’ll be able to show you another slider system soon. One that works properly.
https://rhinocameragear.com/?rfsn=2000975.85be338
If you do decide to invest in this system, I would highly suggest to purchase the various parts individually and not buy everything at once. Buy the Arc II first. See if its build quality and function is up to your standards. This is a major part of the system and for me, was a point of failure. Then move on to the slider and slide motor. Make sure these things work. Again, just purchase in small chunks. This may take more time but if you buy all at once like I did and something goes wrong, the return process is a much bigger headache and there will be more money on the line.
At the end of the day, Rhino Camera Gear does offer returns. Just realize that you'll be out the shipping fees but if you're good with that, you'll be able to try the system out for yourself. Opinions are great but nothing is going to beat your own personal experience.
Want to support my work?
Consider visiting the shop and buying "Absolutely Nothing" https://www.HaiHoangTran.com/shop/absolutely-nothing
or
Become a Patron!
https://www.patreon.com/HaiHoangTran
or
PayPal
https://www.PayPal.me/HaiHoangTran
or
Just shop on Amazon via this link!
https://amzn.to/2FgsDnG