Double Cable Release Suggestions-repair or replacement

I have found myself in need of a double cable release for my Hasselblad bellows. I'm putting this in a more general forum, though, since AFAIK this is a more or less generic part(even though double releases I know are a bit more on the specialized side) and uses the standard threading.

The bellows I have are the older style non-auto kind(Hasselblad did make newer "Auto" bellows, but given how they work they actually scare me a bit...). For those not up on Hasselblads, the 500-series/V system cameras(the stereotypical Hasselblad) are leaf shutter SLRs. Normal operation depends on a fairly precise coordination of actions between the lens and the body, and I actually am at a loss to think of how to make these work without using a double release(I've worked MLU on RB67s in the past, for example, with two separate cable releases, and for a focal plane shutter camera there are usually ways to stop down a lens manually on the bellows).

In any case, I tried to use my bellows the other day, and was rewarded by the cloth covering on the nice original Hasselblad-branded double release breaking apart on the body side of the release.

I have another double SOMEWHERE-I think the one I have is branded Novoflex, so probably is actually the same as the Hasselblad branded ones(Novoflex made the Hassy bellows), but can't seem to locate it and givne that my camera odds an ends are scatted across 3 physical locations in two different states, it's easier just to buy another sometimes.

My first inclination is to use heat shrink to repair the old one, but I'm having trouble getting it pushed in "tight" enough to feel like it will work correctly and I'm also worried that it either won't hold or the release will just break somewhere else down the way. I suppose I COULD heat shrink the whole length, but don't have any heat shrink of the sort I'd use for this repair that long(can look and see if I can get a long roll). There's also the small concern about sizing heat shrink correctly, as the ends are a bit large to slip the tubing over, and even though I have some 3:1 and 4:1 shrink ratio tubing for those sort of situations, it's SUPER stiff when it actually shrinks that much.

So, the long and short of it-can anyone suggest a way to either repair the existing release, or suggestions for a GOOD quality replacement release? IIRC, some doubles are designed to release one before the other, where this would need to have both release at the same time(although IIRC too most can be adjusted for this). I've seen Nikon-branded ones on Ebay designed for bellows use, and actually wouldn't mind having that as I do have a few of the stop down rings meant to use on the end of bellows, but again don't want to spend the big bucks for the name if it's not fit for my main purpose...

I think the system can be run without the dual shutter release, thinking of it as a view camera the body needs to be opened (fired) with the usual release and then the lens needs to go off. You would fire the body with the shutter release on the body. You may need to hold it in and keep it held with a locking release until the lens shutter is done. Then release the body wind the body and cock the shutter and repeat.

cowanw said:

I think the system can be run without the dual shutter release, thinking of it as a view camera the body needs to be opened (fired) with the usual release and then the lens needs to go off. You would fire the body with the shutter release on the body. You may need to hold it in and keep it held with a locking release until the lens shutter is done. Then release the body wind the body and cock the shutter and repeat.

Click to expand...

As I was typing this post I was trying to think through ways to operate with a single cable release and I'm coming up short.

The problem I think is that normally when the lens is "coupled" to the body all the operations that need to happen in order are able to be kept in sync.

I apologize if you're aware of this, but basically when you trip the release the following happens more or less in this order(I may have some specific steps out of order, but these are the major ones) and in fact the interconnect between the lens and body will stop the whole operation if something goes out of sync.

Basically, though, these are the steps:

1. The lens shutter closes(and aperture stops down)
2. The mirror raises
3. The auxillary shutter(keeps the film from being fogged during viewing) opens
4. The lens shutter opens for its prescribed amount of time and then closes
5. The auxillary shutter closes(actually stays open as long as the shutter release button is held down-even on late bodies there was a caution to hold it down until you were sure exposure was complete to prevent early closing of this shutter.

Bodies do have a mirror pre-release which raises the mirror and opens the auxillary shutter. This seems like it would be able to work, but it also closes the lens shutter without starting the exposure sequence when the lens is coupled.

The basic problem is that there are two couplings on the back of the lens-a big screw that cocks the shutter mechanism, and a pin/pawl that holds it when fully cocked(nearly a 360º turn). If the lens is "tripped" off a body(pushing the locking pin), the shutter will basically just run its course through stop down, closing, opening, and closing again. When attached to a body, the body stops the screw at all the key points along the way(such as closing the shutter for mirror pre-fire but not letting it go further).

The cable release on the bellows essentially just does what you can do if you have an unmounted lens and push the pin with your finger-it lets the lens do its thing, while the second cable readies the body for the exposure.

I did just play with it a bit, and if one is so inclined, it IS possible to hold the cocking knob on the bottom of the bellows(used to recock the lens for the next exposure) and allow it to release slowly so stop down the aperture and close the shutter, then release it again to let the shutter open for exposure. With that said, you would have to trip it, let it down slowly while you watch for the shutter to close, trip the body(or use pre-release) and then let go of the cocking knob to allow the exposure to run its course. I just tried it, and it's quite literally a 3-handed operation, and if you mess it up you're going to either end up with a blank or a double exposed frame-in other words there are several chances to do it wrong, but only one really careful and awkward way to do it right. I don't want to do this for real without a double release.

Ben,

I have one of these Bellows 135 lenses myself.

Real Camera in the UK has one and he's a straight shooter.