Cable Release

[Adam Touffay]

What's a good, durable cable release and source? A plastic or metal/cloth clad type with lock, and also a very simple thin non-locking type? Need to replace mine whose source I can't remember.

[evan clarke]

I like Ebony, sounds expensive, but the one I carry in my pocket has outlasted a dozen cheap ones...EC

[Rick Moore]

Gepe and Linhof both make very good, durable cable releases. The Gepe ones are more economical, but the Linhof releases are Linhof, what more needs to be said.


--
Rick

[Bob Salomon]

Gepe makes both cloth and PVC releases as well as spiral steel and heavy duty steel and mesh steel covered releses. They are available in various lengths and with either a Zeiss type lock or a "T" type lock. Linhof releases are PVC covered and have "T" type locks. Both primarily have turning nipples. What type and length do you want? Gepe and Linhof releases are available from your camera store.

[Daniel Stone]

hit up a local camera show/swapmeet and buy up a handful. I always come home from my local one with about 5-6 for usually 50c-$1/each. Got a Linhof one there last time too :), "for a quata" :D

deals are out there. cable releases are easily lost(at least by me), so I figured why pay bookoo bucks for a nice one, and just get 25 cheapy(some are really nice) ones instead?

just my $.02

-Dan

[John Koehrer]

Some of the better one's you can find are Minolta, Canon, Nikon, Horseman & of course the Linhof.
The Nikon uses a Leica nipple but a hard to find adapter exists too.
Of these I prefer the Horseman it's smoother, very flexible & 20" long with a substantial handle & lock.

[cyberjunkie]

I wanted to open a new thread, but i came to this one, so i take the chance.
I am looking for a shutter release with a "long reach" plunger, at least 25mm, better if something more.
I need it for two applications where ALL my shutter releases are too short:
1) one is a big size Silens shutter, that does have both pneumatic (bulb + hose) and conventional actuation, but the piston that transmits pneumatic actuation is not air-tight anymore, so the use of a flexible shutter release of adequate lenght is the only option. BTW, i have a smaller Silens shutter, that works both with the bulb and with one of my flex releases (that has a slightly longer reach), but the bigger size (75mm hole) does need a plunger a few millimeters longer to be operated.
2) the other is a Compur No. 00, with a Schneider Super Angulon 65mm, which i fitted on a recessed Linhof/Wista board; the "S" shaped metal thingie that came with the (chinese) recessed board was too big, so i had to fit an hand-made adapter, whose only problem is that the shutter release plunger needs to be a few mm. longer than the release i normally use

I was told that a Linhof cable would work, but unfortunately my Linhof cable is broken, i need to find the flex cable, the part that actually screws on the push-button with the two fixing pins (made that way to be able to fit it on the Technika, in two different places).
A friend of mine told me that he has a few of them, but he don't know where to look, so my hope to find one in a reasonable span of time is very slim!
I'd buy one, better if cheap and used, if somebody has one of them.

Another choice could be a cable release attached to some kind of handle, for example the handle of my Mamiya Press Super 23 has a cable with quite a long reach... but i don't want to dismantle my Mamiya, it would a pity to see the camera damaged in its integrity, and it would be more difficult to sell :(

I would be more than happy to find a suitable cable on Ebay, but after all my searches i didn't find a single shutter release whose description included its maximum reach, from fully retracted to fully extended.
I found a reference, time ago, about Prontor cables, and the author of the post reported a longer-than-average reach. I bought a used one on Ebay, for very cheap, but its plunger was not longer than the average chinese cable sold for LF use (the same that is given for free if you buy on Ebay a chinese-made Linhof/Wista recessed board, or bundled with chinese wooden cameras).

When it broke down, the Technika cable revealed some kind of extension tip, fitted on top of the flex cable. Unfortunately it got lost, so i don't know if it was big enough to be used as an extension for a conventional cable release (just glueing it on top of the plunger).

Any advice for a purchase, or any trick that could be implemented, would be very welcome!

have fun

CJ

[Rick Moore]

Gepe releases (at least the ones I have) have long throws. Mine work fine with large Alphax and Ilex Universal shutters, which require quite a long throw to fire.


--
Rick

[John Koehrer]

My Horseman gives a 22mm throw.

[j.e.simmons]

I bought Gepe and they didn't work. I found the Hama short releases (about 12" IIRC) at Badger work with my long-throw lenses, but the longer ones (about 20" IIRC) don't work. The longer releases have much shorter throws. I did get a better fit on the shorter release by running the cable end through a 3mm die to give a straight thread. Don't know if your threads are straight or tapered.
juan

[jnantz]

you can probably find a de groff cylinder on ebay for less than 20$
a blood pressure bulb and hose at a medical supply place
and graphite lubricant ... you will have a release that will last
(another) 100 years. i have one, but i bought it new from a place in chicago
that was selling them for not too much $$$, and i can't imagine
using anything else. the throw is long enough to trip a studio shutter
and a betax shutter and anything else that requires a long throw,
and it will not jam up a shutter that requires a short throw.

have fun !
john

[anglophone1]

http://www.xn--drahtauslser-djb.com/ESITE/

Just what we all need,a cable release specialist.
Have bought from them twice, reliable and fast, recomended!
Clive
www.clive-evans.com
Antibes, France

[Michael Graves]

The Nikon AR-3 is a standard nipple cable release that is a shorter version of the Ebony. Very smooth and has a great feel. I've picked up three new ones for under ten bucks. Another outstanding cable release is the Asahi Pentax. I think it's the same as the Nikon, only chrome instead of black. However, they also made a 22" version.

[cyberjunkie]

Thanks for all your replies.
Please take a measure of the "throw" of your cables, i appreciate your inputs, but i want to make sure if any of the suggested items can reach at least 25mm. from fully retracted to fully extended.
I think it would be quite useful for many other forum members.
Most of the shutters that have a threaded "plug" for both pneumatic and cable releases

have fun

CJ

[Vlad Soare]

http://www.xn--drahtauslser-djb.com/ESITE/

Just what we all need,a cable release specialist.
Have bought from them twice, reliable and fast, recomended!
Clive
Clive, what model have you bought from them? Could you please measure the total reach, from fully retracted to fully extended? They don't give this information on their web site.
Thanks.


you can probably find a de groff cylinder
This may be a silly question, but what's a de groff cylinder? :confused:

[Frank Petronio]

For regular Copal-Compur shutters, I've found short cloth Compur cable releases to be the most flexible and least jarring. I like the short ones because they are easy to leave attached to each lens, plus they are light and impart little vibration to the lens. And not very expensive either. I've had some with T-locks and without any lock. The twist locks seems the least reliable.

Some of the heavy duty releases will last forever except they also can impart more vibration.

[Vlad Soare]

For regular Copal-Compur shutters any cable will probably work just fine. :)
The trouble is with older shutters, particularly self-setting ones. :(
I have two lenses in Ilex Universal no. 5, and one in Betax (or maybe Alphax? I'm not sure and cannot check right now, but I do know it's of the self-setting type, too). I need a cable release that can trigger them all. Unfortunately, on-line stores don't seem to offer any information about the actual physical extension of the cable releases they sell. :confused:

[Vlad Soare]

http://www.xn--drahtauslser-djb.com/ESITE/

Just what we all need,a cable release specialist.
Have bought from them twice, reliable and fast, recomended!
I've asked them about the extension of their cable releases. They said that their "professional" model, code FS-PRKB-50, can be made with a throw as long as 30mm.
That should work with any shutter, I think. :)
But it's 25.60 euros plus shipping. :(

[cyberjunkie]

I've asked them about the extension of their cable releases. They said that their "professional" model, code FS-PRKB-50, can be made with a throw as long as 30mm.
That should work with any shutter, I think. :)
But it's 25.60 euros plus shipping. :(

Thanks for the info.
I sent an email to them, and they gave me the same quote.
The cable with 30mm throw must be purchased as special oder, with a small increase in price over the "normal" professional model, with 50cm. length.
Some time ago i got in touch with another german company, and they also confirmed about the existence of at least one model with "long throw".

I have followed another route, closely watching Ebay auctions, and i could buy one cable for Sinar/Copal shutter, that is somewhat smaller, and with a slightly shorter reach, than the cable that came with the Sinar/Copal shutter i own.
I don't know for which exact model it was made for, but i confirm that it works even with the most stubborn mechanical shutter. It came very cheap, together with a barn-door shade/vignetter for a Sinar camera. All in all, i am very satisfied with the purchase.
I bought it to be on the safe side, because i had just purchased another cable, even cheaper, that came fitted on a plastic handle for some kind of camera.
The reach is slightly less than the Sinar cable, but it should be enough with most shutters. I can't confirm because i still have to remove it from the handle: i got the two cables one after the other, the Sinar one worked, so i had no immediate need to dismantle the handle.

If you can find them cheap, something not very likely, a Linhof Technika cable, or a Mamiya Press handle cum cable, would work as well. If i remember, the latter should have an even longer reach.

As a last comment, i haven't tried so far to use the Sinar cable with any shutter with mechanical/pneumatic actuation.
As mentioned in a previous post, i have two Silens shutters (they resemble Zettor shutters, much better than Packards, IMHO): the small one is very small, and any cable with more-than-average reach should be enough... but it work so well with the rubber bulb, that i prefer to use it that way (probably less vibrations); the big one is very big, with a huge opening and huge shutter leaves, unfortunately it doesn't work with bulb, and i couldn't test it with the Sinar cable because i don't have it at home.
Sooner or later i'll give it a try, and i'll report here.
I would be very happy to use a bulb, instead of a mechanical cable release, but the piston that operates the shutter is not airtight anymore: i can feel the air coming out somewhere, without pushing down the piston. Any suggestion? My guess is that there is some clearance between the piston and the cylinder, maybe because of past overuse. My experience with pneumatically operated shutters is very limited, but i have seen the opposite problem a few times (i.e. stuck or "braked" piston). The solution is simpler, sometimes everything works after a simple cleaning. If the piston is not totally freed, a little graphite powder could help.
To get the opposite result, i can only think about adding a few drops of high viscosity lubricant, but i prefer to ask first :D I am sure that there are many forum users with A LOT more experience

have fun

CJ

[DrTang]

I have not seen mention of straight vs tapered tips.

I know many old shutters work best..if not only work with the older straight threaded shutter releases, and not the more nodern tapered threaded kind

I always keep my eyes open for those at camera swap meets