The best release I've used is the old Minolta Cable Release II from back when quality was a priority. Incredibly well made. Covered white cable with heavy chrome ends. They are kind of hard to find. They have gone up on ebay over the last few years as well, but I have four of them now so I'm letting the cat out of the bag... The Minolta is super smooth. The other cable releases from back then are good too. Canon was a little better than Nikon in my opinion. I have a Canon somewhere around here too. The Nikon one used plastic in places, but for a new one they aren't very expensive. I agree with the above posters that say avoid the ones with the thumb screw lock. Those are horrible. The auto locking ones are best.
KEH has the Minolta ones in stock LN. Just picked up a couple they look really nice.
Last edited by Graeme Hamilton; 16-Jun-2021 at 08:59. Reason: Context
A really nice cable release? If buying new, try the Gepe cloth covered ones. Not cheap but worth the money.
Prontors are also very nice but you have to find them on the used market.
Why just one? It's good to have a spare in case you lose one. Personally, I keep a cable release with each of my lenses.
I have never purchased a cable release. I have so many of them...where do they come from?? I think they came attached to shutters or in bags with 35mm cameras along with a bunches of filters and lens wipes...
That makes sense Bob as it is almost identical in appearance. However I took a closer look at mine tis morning and on the top of the locking release it says "Made in Japan." Here's a photo on mine:
The bell handle is metal with the incised stripes red. In addition the top of the bell is thicker with an incised red stripe. The end piece rotates and is reinforced with a buckling spring. Here's a photo of it attached to a 300mm Imagon on a recent shoot showing the action of the buckling spring:
I believe that I saw this at K&S i Palo Alto a number of years back when looking for a cable release (the red stripes ring a bell). But it was too pricey
at the time and I ended up getting another one for half the cost.
Thomas
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