I bought one of those air releases and it does't work to well. After you squeeze the bulb the plunger doesn't retract by itself. I assume a soft cable release would be just as good. Any recommedations?

-- Alex H (alexh@scruznet.com), February 22, 1999

Answers

Calumet used to sell a very nice release, around 20" I think. I don't know who made it, but the ones I have used have been very durable and reliable. 1-800-CALUMET

-- Sean yates (yatescats@yahoo.com), February 23, 1999.

I have tried a number of releases over the past sixteen years. The brand and length I have found that I like best (because they work consistantly) are the 10cm (25 inch) Linhof releases.

-- Ellis Vener (evphoto@insync.net), February 23, 1999.

I guess Ellis means 25 cm (10 inch).

-- Alan Gibson (Alan.Gibson@technologist.com), February 23, 1999.

Thanks for the correction Alan! What I meant was the 24 inch Linhof release.

-- Ellis Vener (evphoto@insync.net), February 23, 1999.

I like the Nikon releases. I think they only come in one size, about 10" - 12" or so. I like them because they're reliable and, being relatively short, they don't get in the way and can be left hanging from the shutter without worry that they will somehow damage the shutter (this may be a misplaced concern but I have one release that's about 25" long, very well made, but the head or whatever you call the part that you hold in your hand is quite heavy and I'm always afraid that it will snap off a part of the shutter release if it is left hanging in the air so I'm always fooling around with it to set it on top of the bellows or let it rest somewhere so that it isn't just hanging and putting pressure on the shutter release). I know some people think you should have a very long cable release to minimize vibration but I've never noticed any vibration or other problems with the short Nikon releases. They cost around $15 - $20 as I recall.

-- Brian Ellis (beellis@gte.net), February 24, 1999.

The Linhof and Nikon are both excellent. Linhof offers a variety of lengths. Nikon's comes in one, inconveniently short, length, but is very smooth and flexible.

-- Sean Donnelly (smd@alumni.rice.edu), March 01, 1999.