Cable release... does it matter which one?

[jgcull]

I've bent, crimped, or somehow accidentally messed up the few I've ever had. I need another cable release and I'm looking online. They go from about $10 up. I need it for my Hasselblad, and I need to be able to hold the shutter open for extended times so I need that little screw to hold the shutter open.

Is there something that makes an expensive one more desirable? I'd rather pay less, if there's not a huge difference.

Thanks.

Janet

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

The more expensive ones like Linhof and Gepe tend to last longer. I have some nice Japanese ones with red cloth covering from Calumet that have a lock ring that you press to release, which is nice for bulb exposures.

 

[ath]

Yesterday I discovered a german company which seems to make an endless variety of cable releases - and check out the prices.
http://www.drahtauslöser.com/ESITE/

 

[jd callow]

Look into your wallet and decide which bill, larger than a single, you'd least mind giving to a complete stranger -- possibly someone who has no use for your currency -- or thrown into a ditch and you will now have your price point.

Good ones are nice, but cheap ones work well and 90% will be lost long before they break. I've lost so many I wonder if some haven't been picked up by other photographers or if their decaying carcasses are going to impact my karma.

 

[Monophoto]

Practical suggestion - take your camera with you when you shop for cable releases.

You would think that cable releases would be standardized - but they aren't. There are two variables - the length of throw, and the diameter of the screw. I bought a new cable release a couple of months back that won't screw into a relatively modern Compur shutter.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Noah Schwartz has a good explanation on photo.net of the variety of tapered and straight threaded cable releases--

http://photo.net/large-format-photography-forum/00G7ej

More than you ever wanted to know about this subject, I'm sure.

 

[naeroscatu]

Good ones are nice, but cheap ones work well and 90% will be lost long before they break. I've lost so many I wonder if some haven't been picked up by other photographers or if their decaying carcasses are going to impact my karma.

I tend to agree with Janet on this one. I bought cheap ones all the time and 90% of the time they failed on me when I was shooting so I ended up cursing instead of taking pictures.
Spending little more on a good one will save you time and aggravation.

 

[bobwysiwyg]

I, personally prefer the cloth covered ones as they are somewhat limp and apply very little pressure or torque to the camera. I've used some heavier ones that were pretty bad in this regard, particularly for smaller 35mm outfits. The only drawback to the cloth, perhaps, is rain I suppose.

 

[jd callow]

I tend to agree with Janet on this one. I bought cheap ones all the time and 90% of the time they failed on me when I was shooting so I ended up cursing instead of taking pictures.
Spending little more on a good one will save you time and aggravation.

I guess i should qualify my original post. I have never bought the outrageously cheap, but I know I've paid as little as 8 or $9.00 for ones that had the disk brake, where at least 12" long and worked perfectly.

The only failures I can remember is where the thread broke or the brake stopped working - the former is a bitch, but the latter is not too big an issue and I think this had more to do with age and use than quality. I have 3 clear plastic over white fabric ones that cost 15.00-20.00 each with tapered threads (the only type I've seen) and disk brakes -- they were the only ones available locally at the time that were of the right length. I bought them one right after the other as I had thought I'd left them at a shoot and later found them in a coat or pants pocket. These three have lasted longer than any that have come before, possibly because I felt so stupid assuming they were lost.

 

[PhotoJim]

I used to buy the cheap ones. I found they broke on me. (I did lose one though.)

I've since bought a nice Nikon one and had it for many years. It isn't very fancy, but it's still in good condition after years of use.

Recently I bought a nice long one at Adorama. It has a metal sheath and was mid-priced. Ask me in a few years how it lasted.

 

[jgcull]

Thank you for all the replies!

 

[chriscrawfordphoto]

I've had the same one since I was 14 years old, and I am 33 now. It still works well. It is a Prontor cable release. I bought it at a photo swap meet when I was a kid for $5. It was in a Vivitar ziplock filter holder, and the guy selling it must have thought it was a cheapie Vivitar model. I didn't know any better, I bought it because it was cheap and I didn't have any money...lol Years later I found out it was a rather expensive one!

 

[nemo999]

I've bent, crimped, or somehow accidentally messed up the few I've ever had. I need another cable release and I'm looking online. They go from about $10 up. I need it for my Hasselblad, and I need to be able to hold the shutter open for extended times so I need that little screw to hold the shutter open.

Is there something that makes an expensive one more desirable? I'd rather pay less, if there's not a huge difference.

Thanks.

Janet

The best ones I found were so-called professional cable releases sold by Jessops in the UK (they have a red cloth cover). Cheap releases kink when you coil them up for storage and the time-exposure locks break. Some kinds of release have hard plastic sheaths which must surely transmit vibration from your hand to the shutter. Another point is that the fitting immediately above the thread that goes into the shutter should be easy to grip - you are going to have to attach the release to a shutter with very cold fingers at some time or another.

 

[Ross Chambers]

I bought a Nikon release when I found that a cheaper one (King) just would not fire my Fuji Fujica GM670.

The problem not overcome is that I suspect every tapered thread will allow the release to fall out and there's an expensive one of mine lying around hidden in the undergrowth of an abandoned industrial site, I wish they made them in day glo colours!

FWIW the Nikon is very flexible and if you have some need to make a knot from it the function is unimpeded.

Regards - Ross

 

[telkwa]

My recommendation is that if you buy a cheap one - buy two. Eventually it will break, and while you wait to get a replacement, you won't want to be without one. Mine tend to last about two years before they break down, and I typically pay $10 or so for them.

 

[jgcull]

>>>My recommendation is that if you buy a cheap one - buy two.<<<

That's just what I did, because you described the situation I've found myself in a couple of times. I've got too many things on my wish list to pay very much for these. Thanks again, all.

 

[jd callow]

ha! the losers win.