Does any company make a shutter release cable without these flaws?

[Certain Exposures]

Every cable I have purchased has broken in one of three predictable ways despite gentle use.

1. The flat disk you press down on with your thumb screws off and disappears.
2. The plastic tubing wears out and fails to connect to either end piece.
3. The inner wire wears out.

I generally walk around with two cables because of this. Do you know of a company that makes an 'indestructible' cable? I am willing to spend more for the convenience.

 

[snusmumriken]

Have you tried a Nikon one? I can’t claim to have tested mine destructively, but it’s now nearly 50 years old.

 

[chuckroast]

Every cable I have purchased has broken in one of three predictable ways despite gentle use.

1. The flat disk you press down on with your thumb screws off and disappears.
2. The plastic tubing wears out and fails to connect to either end piece.
3. The inner wire wears out.

I generally walk around with two cables because of this. Do you know of a company that makes an 'indestructible' cable? I am willing to spend more for the convenience.


View attachment 421522

When you get a new one, you can avoid this by doing three things at almost no cost:

1. Use Lok-Tite or similar product inside the button threads to permanently affix it to the plunger. (Wear nitrile gloves, that stuff is gooey.)
   
   
2. Tighten the cord to the plunger assembly. Then use a length of heat shrink tubing running from the center of the silver barrel shown above to about 1 inch down the black cable. Heat with a heat gun or hair dryer until fully shrunk. Not too close or too hot or you'll also melt the cable plastic.
   
   
3. Do the same thing at the other end of the cable to cover the joint where the cable meets the, end again about 1" up. Take care to not cover it so far down to the end that you cannot turn the knurled surface that lets you thread it into the camera.

 

[Vaidotas]

Two cables in constant use for more than 30 years. Minolta (white one) and Linhof.

 

[eli griggs]

The Loc-tite "red", 272, made for metal mechanical joining is expensive but available in tiny tubes and considered permanent strong, needing 500⁰f heat to break the bond.

Buy a pack of needle thin soft plastic ripple tips that deliver miniscule amounts of superglue so you don't end up massively flooding the thread and save your glue for other projects.

There are other thread locks but none that I know of are as strong as the loc-tite red stuff.

 

[xkaes]

I'm a Minolta cable release lover as well. They made three models that I know of, but I mainly use the model II.

• Cable Release -- usable with any camera with a cable release connection. This is a typical cable release with a locking screw on the top with a metal cover.
  
  
• Cable Release II -- an updated, top quality version that appeared in 1976. It's much longer and has a new quick-action, lock/release tab on the top. It lacks the standard locking screw, and has a more convenient locking tab that can be set for ON and OFF by rotating it slightly. In the OFF mode, the cable release does not lock and releases as soon as you remove your finger. In the ON mode, the cable release stays locked, even when you remove your finger. To unlock the cable release, you simply press the locking tab. It has the added advantage of having a thick plastic cover over the entire length of the cable release with white nylon fabric underneath. It is a very rugged cable release that is very easy to use and very comfortable. This cable release was made with the older Minolta logo as well as the new one.
  
  
• Cable Release III -- an updated, version of the cable release II that appeared in 1979 with the introduction of the Power Grip I. It was designed to be used with the Minolta Power Grip I and Power Grip II and was made slightly different from the Cable Release II. First, it is slightly longer, but only by an inch or so. Secondly, the release tip is made slightly wider to fit snuggly into the Power Grip -- the cable Release II will slip out. Third, the Cable Release III has a plastic tip on the end which is undoubtedly designed to work better with the Power Grip in some way. It has the added advantage of having a thick plastic cover over the entire length of the cable release with black nylon fabric underneath. It is a very rugged cable release that is very easy to use and very comfortable. This cable release was made with the older Minolta logo as well as the new one.

 

[DREW WILEY]

I've had the best results with Minolta too.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Another vote for Nikon. I've also had mine for 50+ years with no issue. Lots of them on ebay, I don't think Nikon makes them anymore.

I think the Minolta II - as described by Xkaes - is identical, as is the Pentax branded release.

Somewhere in Japan there is the Urquell Cable Release Co..