cable release

[Old Jim]

I have a cable release I used on my Rollieflex TLR, and tried to use it on a Copal 3 shutter. Threads are different. What do I need for the Copal?
Thanks

Jim Fuller

[Bob Salomon]

Any cable release sold in any camera store.

[Old Jim]

Well, Bob I bought the one I have in a camera store. Albeit many years ago, but it won't screw into either of my Copal 3 shutters..

[Jim Noel]

YOu probably have straight threads and you need the more common tapered threads.

[Bob Salomon]

Well, Bob I bought the one I have in a camera store. Albeit many years ago, but it won't screw into either of my Copal 3 shutters..

Just order a Gepe release.

[xkaes]

Just order a Gepe release.

Right, go out and spend extra money when you don't need to. Great advise. Any "standard" cable release will fit a Copal #3. But there are different types or styles of cable releases. The common cable release as mentioned above is slightly tapered. You can get these as cheap as $5 -- even cheaper used. Or you can go out and buy a big name cable release for $50 if you have more money than sense. Make sure your cable release has a lock on the top. The REALLY cheap ones don't. Don't buy into the "NAME GAME".

[Old Jim]

thanks folks, I will get a new release, mine has a lock on it and I got used to using it, so I will just see about getting another one.

[John Layton]

I happen to like 20" cloth covered releases...long and supple enough to isolate me from a shutter - but I, for one, have had it with the el-cheapo's, so many of which have let me down at the wrong time. So a little searching led me to the Pentax cloth covered releases. A little more expensive without being ridiculous - and built for the long haul. I highly recommend them!

[Vaughn]

Having to supply cable releases for a few dozen cameras, I found that cheap did not cut it...at least with student use, and also with my own use. Bought a bunch of cloth-covered Hamas one time...got a good batch. And in red and in yellow! Took the students a little longer to lose them!

I tend towards the clear plastic covering. The screw locks (perpendicular to the cable) work nicely, but eventually break off before the cable ever goes bad...fortunately "T" works on all my LF shutters, so no big deal. I prefer the collar-lock. Twenty inches is a nice length for me.

[biedron]

I happen to like 20" cloth covered releases...long and supple enough to isolate me from a shutter - but I, for one, have had it with the el-cheapo's, so many of which have let me down at the wrong time. So a little searching led me to the Pentax cloth covered releases. A little more expensive without being ridiculous - and built for the long haul. I highly recommend them!

+1 on the cloth-covered Pentax releases.

[John Kasaian]

I find that Gepes aren't very expensive (and I am a tightwad.) There are far more expensive cable releases out there. Gepes really earn their worth if you have a double action shutter like an Ilex Universal, as they have a longer "throw" needed to cock and fire the shutter in a single depression.
That lock 'at the top' is a Zeiss Disc-lock. The cheaper locks have a little knurled screw to hold the cable (and shutter it's attached to) open.

Nearly two decades ago I followed Bob's advice and tried a Gepe. I'm glad I did since most of my shutters are double action.
You can look for Gepes and other cable releases with a track record for service in used baskets---if found they'll represent quite a bargain.
Until I started large format I bought cheap cable releases---they'd work for awhile then I'd wear them out and get a cheap replacement. That can certainly work for you until you run into double action shutters or go on trips where your cable release takes a dirt nap 8 miles from the trail head. Then quality (notice I said quality, not expensive or trendy) becomes more of a consideration to be taken seriously.

I built my 8x10 kit on a woefully tight budget. After awhile, once a year I'd treat myself to upgrading a piece of sorry equipment (preferably purchased either used or on sale)---loupe, light meter, filters, dark room stuff, etc...and for a couple of years it was a Gepe release. I have to say my modest assortment of Gepes have and continue to serve me very well.
Thank you Mr. Salomon!

[Alan Gales]

I used to buy monorail kits to part out and sell on Ebay. I ended up with a bunch of German Prontor cable releases which I kept. They are high quality and have a long throw which works great on old Ilex shutters. You can't buy them new but you can find them used on Ebay. Prices are all over the place so you have to be patient.

I like the cloth Gepes too. I'm a cheapskate like John but sometimes you get what you pay for and it's worth a little more to get something good. You have to decide for yourself if it's worth it to you.

Don't buy the elcheapo crap though. I've run across those and I would just include them in a camera that I was selling. It was either that or the trash bin.

[Keith Pitman]

I've bought Nikon AR-3 cable releases on Ebay recently. There are well made and very smooth. About $11-12.

P.S. Old Jim: You need to carry more than one cable release. They are easy to lose and some times break. I usually have one for each lens I carry.

[Old Jim]

Thanks all,
Keith, I had just ordered a release from B&H before I got all the posts. So I turned around and ordered another, simply because I believe in having a spare if I am trying to shoot waterfalls or such that require some travel. I think it would be foolish on my part not to have an extra.
Jim

[John Layton]

I dedicate a cable release to each lens - basically keeping them permanently attached so I'm not constantly attaching/detaching (inviting wear) and/or misplacing them. Cloth (Pentax) cables wrap conveniently around lenses when not in use. Definitely worth the investment!

[Jac@stafford.net]

[...] I believe in having a spare if I am trying to shoot waterfalls or such that require some travel. I think it would be foolish on my part not to have an extra.

We grow our own. Here's a freshly picked bouquet of releases. They are planted by the dental floss and spaghetti crops. I'll try to get a picture of our tripod trees next.

162863

[Richard Wasserman]

Jac, do you use the same pygmy pony to harvest the dental floss and cable releases? Zircon encrusted tweezers?




We grow our own. Here's a freshly picked bouquet of releases. They are planted by the dental floss and spaghetti crops. I'll try to get a picture of our tripod trees next.

162863

[Richard Wasserman]

Jac, do you use the same pygmy pony to harvest the dental floss and cable releases? Zircon encrusted tweezers?

For those of you who don't know Frank Zappa— https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ialhaxhr7iA

I'll leave this discussion alone now...

[Jac@stafford.net]

Jac, do you use the same pygmy pony to harvest the dental floss and cable releases? Zircon encrusted tweezers?

I did until black-ops from Linhof, Rodenstock, et al conspired to make my hardware garden illegal, and when they could not they sprayed my garden with bio-chemicals containing Asian DNA from which sprouted inferior copies. I gave up with an angry letter to some guy with the initials of BS.
.

[ben_hutcherson]

Threads like this make me enormously grateful for having a wonderful "old timey" used camera store locally.

Were I in the OP's situation, I'd take the lens in and root around in one of the many boxes of releases until I found one that fit. I'd probably keep looking until I found a second, then maybe grab a couple of nice looking standard ones to add to it. I'd then dig through the filter drawer, the darkroom shelf, and the expired film. All said and done, I'd end up with a nice pile of stuff then pass a $20 bill over the counter to pay for it(usually what I end up getting charged when I put together a pile of odds and ends).

BTW, I visit that store weekly.

[Willie]

Too many of the plastic covered releases crack and have problems in the cold. Get too stiff and at times the plastic pulls away from the end piece.
The better cloth covered cable releases as noted - last and work well. A good one that lasts is worth a lot more than a bunch of cheapies that break as you use them.

[John Kasaian]

Threads like this make me enormously grateful for having a wonderful "old timey" used camera store locally.

Were I in the OP's situation, I'd take the lens in and root around in one of the many boxes of releases until I found one that fit. I'd probably keep looking until I found a second, then maybe grab a couple of nice looking standard ones to add to it. I'd then dig through the filter drawer, the darkroom shelf, and the expired film. All said and done, I'd end up with a nice pile of stuff then pass a $20 bill over the counter to pay for it(usually what I end up getting charged when I put together a pile of odds and ends).

BTW, I visit that store weekly.
Lucky man!

[David Karp]

If you go almost anywhere I have ever photographed, you are likely to find one of my lost cable releases lying around. :-)

[Jim Andrada]

I carry an extra "just in case" one in the little belt pouch that holds my phone and my spare hearing aid batteries:(

+1 on the ebay Prontors - I buy a couple every few months to replace the ones that have "escaped". Everybody refers to the "Gepe" releases but as far as I can find out they're actually made by a German outfit called "Gebruder Schreck". Regardless of what they call them they're excellent.

[ben_hutcherson]

Lucky man!

My bank account disagrees :)

There are also incidentals like the little stuff I trip over, pick up, say "Hey Chuck, how much is this" and end up buying it. Most recently(a few weeks ago) it was a Nikon F Photomic(very first one) with a 50mm 1.4. I'm not a Nikon guy but couldn't pass it up. A week or two before, it was a Rolleiflex Automat II. I have one that is in every way identical(including the coated 7.5cm Schneider Xenar), but this one was a LOT nice so it went home with me. He knows that I'm a Canon F-1 junky, so likes to pull stuff out of his office and show it off. Last week, it was an F-1n with a Servo EE finder(gives shutter priority), a 250 frame back, a motor drive, an as if that wasn't enough he had a 55mm 1.2 Aspherical stuck on the front of it-I couldn't get him to price it.

As an aside, this place has completely spoiled me on filters. I don't think I've ever bought a new filter in my life, as previously most of mine had come from Ebay lots. This store has a card catalog cabinet with filters of virtually every size. The general price is $3 for standard and $5 for polarizers. There are two or three drawers crammed full of common sizes like 52, 55, and 72. I loaded up there when I needed 67s for my Bronica, and then again with Series VIIs for my Speed Graphic. I've been directed to a box in the back room where I can probably find some Bay-1s, but haven't made it back there yet(I don't have a 2.8 Rolleiflex so don't need Bay 3s, but unfortunately he goes straight to Ebay with those when they come in since they bring big money). A handful of filters along with expired sheet film and darkroom stuff usually falls into the "$20 flat rate for clearing out crap that's taking up space" price.

[Bob Salomon]

"......Most recently(a few weeks ago) it was a Nikon F Photomic(very first one) with a 50mm 1.4. I'm not a Nikon guy but couldn't pass it up."

Sorry, but the first Nikon F cameras had a 58mm 1.4. Not a 50mm. I know because I bought one new on our honeymoon. Unfortunately the Photomic finder was not available when the F was first released.

[Serge S]

[QUOTE=Bob Salomon;

Sorry, but the first Nikon F cameras had a 58mm 1.4. Not a 50mm. I know because I bought one new on our honeymoon. Unfortunately the Photomic finder was not available when the F was first released.[/QUOTE]

Bob,

Do you still have your Nikon. Quite a momento, and collectible as well

Serge

[Bob Salomon]

Bob,

Do you still have your Nikon. Quite a momento, and collectible as well

Serge

No, it is long gone, along with an awful lot of stuff that would really have value now. When I bought that Nikon new in Jamaica in 1963 it cost me $300.00. I could have bought a Leica M3 with DR Summicron or an Exacta VX with the Biotar for the same amount.

[ben_hutcherson]

"......Most recently(a few weeks ago) it was a Nikon F Photomic(very first one) with a 50mm 1.4. I'm not a Nikon guy but couldn't pass it up."

Sorry, but the first Nikon F cameras had a 58mm 1.4. Not a 50mm. I know because I bought one new on our honeymoon. Unfortunately the Photomic finder was not available when the F was first released.

I'll have to check when I pick the camera up from lay-a-way. I know it's a pre-AI lens and is a 1.4. In all honesty, my main interest was the first gen Photomic and not so much the lens, although I bought it with the lens since the only F-mount 50(ish) lenses I have are 3.5 Micros(or Macros to everyone else in the world). Plus, he was only going to knock $25 off the price if I didn't take the lens.

I've been hunting for my FL mount 58mm 1.2-I think I know where it is, but getting to it is a different story. I actually used to use it as loupe more so than as a lens as it's a heavy beast and doesn't really start to look good until 5.6 or so. Even there, it's worse than the later FD 50mm 1.4(whether breech lock or or "pretend it's not breech lock" mount) wide open. Stop down metering isn't a bad thing on a body designed for it(FT, Pellix) or even on some earlier FD bodies like the FTb and the(original) F-1 since the stop down lever is by your right forefinger with a normal hold. It can be a royal pain, though, on most later FD bodies(even "pro" bodies like the New F-1 and T90) where the stop down lever is at the bottom of the lens mount(admittedly easy to reach with your left hand cradling the bottom) and locks automatically. All of that aside, when you're shooting in low ambient light, that extra half stop made a difference. When I was in high school and still stubbornly clinging to film(mostly because even "cheap" consumer DSLRs were well over $1K) and cheap FD mount equipment was plentiful, I got a lot of mileage out of that lens shooting Tri-X pushed to 800 or 1600.

I used my Pellix for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and found myself wishing for that 1.2 lens. The pellicle mirror costs about a half stop, so a 1.2 acts like a 1.4. With that said, I don't know if I'll ever use the camera again-it has a serious defect in top of the mirror that shows up on the film. Even with a 1.4, the viewfinder is dim and I found it difficult to focus-the 1.2 would help with that, but of course wide open focus is critical.

All of that aside, I've seen photos from both the 55mm 1.2 Asp. and 50mm 1.2L and they are fantastic wide open. Aside from the other fun things on that F-1 I mentioned earlier, I'd love to just have the 55mm Asp. off of it.

[Bob Salomon]

I'll have to check when I pick the camera up from lay-a-way. I know it's a pre-AI lens and is a 1.4. In all honesty, my main interest was the first gen Photomic and not so much the lens, although I bought it with the lens since the only F-mount 50(ish) lenses I have are 3.5 Micros(or Macros to everyone else in the world). Plus, he was only going to knock $25 off the price if I didn't take the lens.

I've been hunting for my FL mount 58mm 1.2-I think I know where it is, but getting to it is a different story. I actually used to use it as loupe more so than as a lens as it's a heavy beast and doesn't really start to look good until 5.6 or so. Even there, it's worse than the later FD 50mm 1.4(whether breech lock or or "pretend it's not breech lock" mount) wide open. Stop down metering isn't a bad thing on a body designed for it(FT, Pellix) or even on some earlier FD bodies like the FTb and the(original) F-1 since the stop down lever is by your right forefinger with a normal hold. It can be a royal pain, though, on most later FD bodies(even "pro" bodies like the New F-1 and T90) where the stop down lever is at the bottom of the lens mount(admittedly easy to reach with your left hand cradling the bottom) and locks automatically. All of that aside, when you're shooting in low ambient light, that extra half stop made a difference. When I was in high school and still stubbornly clinging to film(mostly because even "cheap" consumer DSLRs were well over $1K) and cheap FD mount equipment was plentiful, I got a lot of mileage out of that lens shooting Tri-X pushed to 800 or 1600.

I used my Pellix for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and found myself wishing for that 1.2 lens. The pellicle mirror costs about a half stop, so a 1.2 acts like a 1.4. With that said, I don't know if I'll ever use the camera again-it has a serious defect in top of the mirror that shows up on the film. Even with a 1.4, the viewfinder is dim and I found it difficult to focus-the 1.2 would help with that, but of course wide open focus is critical.

All of that aside, I've seen photos from both the 55mm 1.2 Asp. and 50mm 1.2L and they are fantastic wide open. Aside from the other fun things on that F-1 I mentioned earlier, I'd love to just have the 55mm Asp. off of it.

The original Photomic had a small black tube that can be screwed over the cell. When not used it screwed into the side of the finder that faces the shutter speed knob.

[ben_hutcherson]

The original Photomic had a small black tube that can be screwed over the cell. When not used it screwed into the side of the finder that faces the shutter speed knob.

This one does have the tube screwed into the side and the photocell on the front of the finder.

[Bob Salomon]

This one does have the tube screwed into the side and the photocell on the front of the finder.
Enjoy it, but the batteries are under that side holder and they are no longer made as they were mercury cells, PX 13.

[ben_hutcherson]

Enjoy it, but the batteries are under that side holder and they are no longer made as they were mercury cells, PX 13.

I'm no stranger to the PX13, as it was quite common in 60s and 70s SLRs-I have a lot of Canons that use it, along with my Nikkormat and my grandfather's Konica. I've always used a type 625 Zinc-Air hearing aide battery. These give the correct voltage(1.35V) and are stable over their lifetime(like Hg batteries), although the downside is that they only last a couple of months. They are cheap, though-about $10 for 8 and last ages in storage. I'm working out of a stash that I bought in 2008 or so, and they will come right up to 1.35V within a few minutes of pulling the plastic tab. There's a commercial product called the Wein cell that is a 625 in a metal ring to replicate the size and shape, but I usually just let a 625 rattle around in the chamber. For two battery systems(like the Photomic or the booster for my FT/Pellix), I generally wrap two in scotch tape and then poke some hols in the joint to allow air circulation.