cable release for studio shutter

[jgburton1]

I have a Verito 18" with a studio shutter.The cable releases I have will only partially open the shutter. Anyone know of a cable release with a long enough throw to open the shutter all the way.

Jim Burton

[David McNiven]

Hi, the cable release for the Sinar Copal shutter has a throw of 48mm. but it's also quite a bit thicker than a standard release. And expensive.

Don't know the first thing about Wollensak shutters myself but just googled studio shutter and found quite a few relevant answers to your question on another forum, bulb release was recommended by more than one.

Someone here will know for sure!

[wfwhitaker]

Jim,

Different cable releases have different "throws". Keep trying and eventually you'll find one which works. It probably won't be a new one.

Some Studio shutters came with an air release connection. Others had an adapter which was a piston in a metal tube. One end screwed on to the shutter; the other had a nipple to which to attach an air hose and bulb. If you can find one, they're nice to have. One thing I've noticed is that your exposure time is limited by the amount of "leakage" around the piston. Exposures up to a few seconds are fine, but for longer exposures the air pressure runs out and the shutter closes. For that use a hat.

[Jon Wilson]

Jim,

Different cable releases have different "throws". Keep trying and eventually you'll find one which works. It probably won't be a new one.

Some Studio shutters came with an air release connection. Others had an adapter which was a piston in a metal tube. One end screwed on to the shutter; the other had a nipple to which to attach an air hose and bulb. If you can find one, they're nice to have. One thing I've noticed is that your exposure time is limited by the amount of "leakage" around the piston. Exposures up to a few seconds are fine, but for longer exposures the air pressure runs out and the shutter closes. For that use a hat.

Will, I have a couple Verito lens in studio shutters which have cable release connections which require long throwing cables. They work great. :) However, I have not taken them apart to see if there is piston mechanism in them like the typical ones I have seen with the piston mechanism instead of the cable release unit. Are you saying the ones with the cable release connection have a piston mechanism in them?

Jon

[wfwhitaker]

There was an adapter. I don't know who made it, if it was Wollensak or a third party. No, the Studio shutter which takes a cable release does not have any other connections. This was an adapter which screwed on to the threads intended for a cable release. It was not built in to the shutter.

[jnantz]

i use a degroff air release shutter
and it works very well with my studio shutters ...

the cheap-o the plastic ones on a spool that cost around $15 work too
for a little while anyways ... but they end up breaking ...

[jgburton1]

Thanks for the responses, I have several cable releases and none of them will fully depress the shutter. I don't think the air release will work on this shutter.

Jim Burton

[wfwhitaker]

For the sake of clarification, two studio shutters are shown here. The one on the left has an air release built in. The one on the right has the air release adapter I was referring to. The adapter is shown close-up in the second photo. John's suggestion of a DeGroff is good, and that would be a simple way to go as they seem to be more readily available.

For the pathologically curious, the lens on the left is a 10x12 Tessar 1C; the lens on the right is a 14 1/2" Verito. Both shutters are No. 4's.

http://wfwhitaker.com/tech/studioshutters_1.jpg
http://wfwhitaker.com/tech/studioshutters_2.jpg

[wfwhitaker]

Thanks for the responses, I have several cable releases and none of them will fully depress the shutter...

Does the shutter open fully with the preview lever? If not, it may need cleaning and that certainly would affect how well a cable release works with it, too.

[jgburton1]

Thanks Will for the pics. My shutter lever fully opens the shutter. I took a small drill bit and inserted it into the piston and that fully opened the shutter so it is in working order. Is the device in the lower part of the pic something that comes with the Degroff or is it part of the shutter?

Jim Burton

[wfwhitaker]

The bottom photo is an adapter that allows you to use an air bulb release with the Studio shutter. It is not part of the Studio shutter, but attaches to it as shown in the top photo. I don't know who made it. I acquired it along with the purchase of some other things a long time ago. A DeGroff is similar, but of more recent manufacture. I do not have a DeGroff myself, but have seen them for sale. John Nanian suggested the DeGroff; perhaps he can provide the details on it.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

...For the pathologically curious, the lens on the left is a ...

My sort of pathology!

Sometime soon the DSM-V, a book used to define and diagnose mental illnesses will be released. Perhaps "pathologically curious" should be included.

[jnantz]

the degroff is an air piston sort of like yours.

they look like this:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/images345x345/242137.jpg

and the older ones appear on ebay from time to time ( just the piston ) and
will work with an air hose and bulb ...

[Laura_Campbell]

I'm in a similar situation with an Ilex 4 shutter where I need a cable release with a longer plunger than the cable release I'm currently using. The shutter is working properly and I ran the drill bit test (Thanks Jim) to double check the piston.

[wfwhitaker]

Not all cable releases are made the same, so keep trying. FWIW, I have two cable releases with long enough throws for Ilex's and Studio's. One is marked "France" and the other is a Linhof. Perhaps there's something to European cable releases...
YMMV.

[Steven Tribe]

The cable release for the prontor professional shutter series is both well made and has to deal with a shutter than has a loooong movement to cock and fire in series. I'll check the throw compared with the copal/sinar tomorrow.

[Laura_Campbell]

Just wanted to include an option for a cable release for older lenses. I emailed Jim Andracki at Mpex about options. He reports that the Gepe Pro Cable Release with Zeiss Disk-Lock - 20" has a 21mm throw, so is suitable for my Ilex No. 4. $29 at Mpex.

[jgburton1]

Thank you Laura , that sounds like the solution and thanks to all. What a great forum this is !

Jim Burton

[Steven Tribe]

The throw of the prontor professional release is just over 25mm. A reliable 25mm! These are just still available and are metal interwoven sealed with plastic externally.