All I Want For Christmas Is...A Cable Release That Will Last...

[John Simmons]

Well, today I drove two hours to photograph (one way)...walked a half mile down a freezing beach on Lake Michigan. I set up my camera and composed...hit mirror lock-up....pushed the cable release and nothing.... my cable release broke...again. That's 5 this year.....and it's been a good year. Can anybody tell me of a decent cable release that will last. Why does every cable release brake after a couple months of hard use...is this some kind of conspiracy?

 

[Dave Parker]

John, you can't use them to swing from tree to tree to get to shooting locations! LOL

I have a cloth covered cable release that I got over 20 years ago, that is still going strong, I think I paid about $40 bucks for it way back when, but if you want something that lasts, you have to pay the price, the plastic covered ones that Kalt and others offer, just don't hold up, get a really good one and it will reward you with years of good service.

One other thing to note, if in this situation again and the cable release breaks, what I used to do, was set up, mirror lock up, set speeds and aperture, then set the time and push the shutter release, the amount of timer will normally be enough to overcome any movement in the camera to settle down.

Dave

 

[roteague]

I have a cable release on each of my lenses, but that probably won't help John with his medium format camera. All I can say, is buy the best you can, and carry a spare.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Linhof.

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

I bought a Hama one (cloth covered) which broke five times. I never got around to returning it the fifth time. A couple of years ago I bought another German-made one, which is the plasticky fibry covered type and it is still going strong.

 

[eric]

Why does every cable release brake after a couple months of hard use...is this some kind of conspiracy?

I have a heavy duty Minolta brand cable release. I've NEVER seen this one anywhere before. I got it about 20 years ago from Ken Hansons. I asked for a cable release and the salesman (Ray) that I always worked with took out a Minolta brand one and he said I'll never need another one. He was right.

 

[jd callow]

I've never owned one long enough for it to break. I lose them at a rate of 10 to 20 rolls/sheets per.

 

[Gim]

I lose them myself and buy the cheap 4.95 cloth covered ones and always have a spare or two. I have lost my only cable release once and and said "that won't happen again". (but it will).
Jim

 

[kjsphoto]

I buy the Linhof ones. Cost more but well worth the money. I bought the cheap ones and they kept breaking.

 

[John Koehrer]

Older Nikoon, Minolta & Canon releases were really well made.
Horseman also has(2 yrs ago) a heavy duty job.

 

[Craig]

I've got a Pentax one and it seem to be pretty good quality. I have not had it long enough to see if I can break it, but things look promising so far.

 

[Wally H]

Linhof.

As David said so well, Linhof. I used to go through cable releases like candy until I purchased a couple Linhof's, ( a couple different lengths and spares). That was 10 years ago and I've not had one failure. Supports one of my favorite sayings, "you only pay for quality once". And as cable releases go, you will generally pay a pretty high price for the Linhofs

 

[Dave Parker]

To add to my earlier post, the one that I purchased several years ago, turns out it is a .......... Linhof, so the linhofs seem to be leading the pack.

Dave

 

[photobackpacker]

I've never owned one long enough for it to break. I lose them at a rate of 10 to 20 rolls/sheets per.

I used to think I lost them - I now realize these are actually offerings to the snowbank and river gods. Without these periodic offerings, you have to put up with wind.

 

[Rob Skeoch]

I always bought the cheap ones. Sometimes even used ones for $5. They were always breaking so I picked up one made by Ebony.
I lost it before I had a chance to shoot with it.
-Rob Skeoch