Cable release problems with my Bronica SQAi

[mooseontheloose]

I have a problem. I have a Bronica SQAi and for whatever reason, any and all cable releases I have do not like to stay screwed into the cable release socket. If I can get it to stay on, letting go of the cable release will cause it to disconnect. Tripping the shutter also causes it to disconnect. In the past this was never a big problem for me since most of my exposures were done within the limits of the shutter, but now I want to do some more long exposure photography into minutes and possibly hours, and I just can't trust the release to stay on the camera and keep the shutter open for the required length of time.

Is this something anyone else has dealt with? The threads look okay to me, but I just can't figure out why the release won't stay put. Would appreciate any and all advice here.

 

[Daire Quinlan]

Screwthreads could be shot on the socket I suppose ? From what I recall it's just a normal cable release socket. If you're doing exposures stretching into the hours though you're probably better off using the T setting, which is on the lens. Depending on whether or not you have an S or PS lens it's either really irritating to fiddle around with or merely fiddly.

 

[mooseontheloose]

You're probably right. Nothing I do seems to make it better.

I have both S and PS lenses and have tried the "T" setting when I had a SQA...which is one of the reasons I upgraded to an SQAi.

I would prefer not to have to replace the body again...anybody know how to fix (or in modern parlance "hack") the screwthreads so that using a cable release could be a viable option?

 

[Alex Muir]

I have the same problem with a SQ-a body. The only release that works is an old, inexpensive one with cloth covering and about 10cm long. Even then, it is unreliable. I wonder if Bronica marketed a cable release for these cameras. The other body I have is a SQ-am that uses a simple electric release. I tend to use it for long exposures.
Alex.

 

[mooseontheloose]

I have 5 different cable releases, none of them works. The only one that kind of does sounds similar to yours - simple, cloth-covered, about 20cm long. It has the best chance of staying in, at least until the shutter is tripped, but then it falls out.

I also had the idea that maybe Bronica had its own proprietary cable release for its products, but I haven't found anything like that.

At the moment I'm seriously considering permanently glueing a cable release to the socket.

 

[John Koehrer]

How 'bout a wrap or two of Teflon tape on the release? It's used to seal threaded connections & the additional couple
of thousandths thickness may be enough to hold.

 

[mooseontheloose]

I've never heard of Teflon tape before -- that might work, I just need to figure out where to get some here in Japan (or even how to ask for it in Japanese!)

 

[Truzi]

I've never heard of Teflon tape before -- that might work, I just need to figure out where to get some here in Japan (or even how to ask for it in Japanese!)

You could try to find it with plumbing supplies. It is used like pipe dope, if you've heard of that (just don't use pipe dope on your camera).

 

[DWThomas]

One wonders if that cable fitting is another Bronica vulnerability. My first SQ-A body worked fine for a while, then somewhere along the way I was unable to fire it from a cable release. At first, the button on the front still worked but eventually things got even more hung up. At the time, I thought the screwed-in cable release appeared not quite perpendicular to the housing, as though perhaps it had bumped into something and tilted the socket. (I now always remove said release before transporting the camera.) The cable release would stay in the threads OK however. Never have fixed (or attempted to fix) that body -- actually bought two more bodies, as they were cheaper than accessories like the WLFs! In my case it may just be a need for a bit of CLA on the body.

Cable release threads are pretty fine, and appear to be tapered in diameter, so I suspect they could be pretty easy to bugger up. The taper means as soon as they back out a little they begin losing grip in the socket. So far, on my newer SQ-A, any release I have tried has worked OK. I have a folder with a threaded hole in a strut to take a cable release; part of the front standard bracing. On that, the threaded portion of some releases pokes too far through the strut and interferes with double exposure prevention. I don't doubt there are standards for those threads but have no idea how much attention makers pay to them.

 

[1920]

+1 for the teflon tape. a roll is $0.69 at Home Depot. you should only need a wrap or two.

 

[mooseontheloose]

Thanks everyone. I'll try to head to the Japanese version of Home Hardware in the next day or two and see what I can find.

Otherwise, this just might be the push for me to finally get rid of the Bronica system to help finance the much lighter Mamiya 6 system.

 

[paul_c5x4]

I've always known the stuff as PTFE tape: http://www.screwfix.com/p/ptfe-tape-each/76841

If you get stuck, I can mail some along with a negative next time I go to the post office.

 

[DWThomas]

I've always known the stuff as PTFE tape: http://www.screwfix.com/p/ptfe-tape-each/76841

Good point - Teflon is the Dupont Corp. (originator of the stuff) brand name -- and for some reason, polytetrafluoroetheylene never caught on in popular usage.

 

[WayneStevenson]

Commonly called plumber tape as well as teflon tape.

At any rate, aside from the threads being stripped, there are two common varients of cable release threads. The ones where the taper starts earlier (small diameter up to bigger diameter) works with all cameras, and the ones where the taper starts later (little stubby screw where the diameter starts larger already), will not catch enough threads or go on at all on a lot of cameras.

I think the Holga release has an early taper and is inexpensive. That's the only brand name release I can think of at the moment. Optek I think has the larger one. Used ones are a crap shoot as there are so many different ones and not all are branded.

 

[mooseontheloose]

I haven't been able to find any plumber/teflon/ptfe tape yet, but there are a couple other stores I can try out.

As for cable releases, I think the larger taper would work better here, as all of the other releases won't fit (too small) for the Bronica. I did go to the camera store today to see what they had, but their supply of threaded cable releases is quite small - might run to Osaka and see what I can find there.

 

[John Koehrer]

I can send you a couple of feet if you like.

PM me if you'd like some.

 

[mooseontheloose]

Thanks John - that's really nice of you. Like I said, I'll try to find some here, but if I can't I will definitely send you a pm.