Stein's Guide To Not Buying Junk - Part One

I am in an excellent position to write on this subject as I have served a long apprenticeship in the trade of buying - and in many cases I have bought junk. Like most people who have done this, there were a number of factors that entered into it: a. I have had money that was burning a hole in my pocket. b. I have felt a vague need for something. c. I have not thought sufficiently about the design of something - or the materials - or the construction. d. I have not had any experience with the goods in question. Only the last in the list had any real validity - the rest were somewhat of a shame on me. But once having gone through the process of buying the junk, and finding out all about it, I could eliminate this in the future. Let me help you out with one little matter from our photographic accessories in the shop - the business of the cable release. In this case it will be specifically the mechanical release. Look on your camera and see if there is a small screwed socket in the centre of the shutter button - if there is, read on... That is where the dear old mechanical cable release screws into. Some older film cameras had a release socket elsewhere on the body but if it is to be found anywhere on a modern digital camera it'll be co-axial with the shutter button. Note that many cameras also have an electronic connection to let you release them without shake and a number of apps exist to let you fire the cameras from your mobile phones or wireless switches. Well, there are mechanical cable releases and there are mechanical cable releases. I have several examples in hand and note that the differences in design and construction do make a difference in their usefulness: a. The material of the cable cover - you can get plastic tube or woven material cables. The former last longer but are much stiffer in operation than the latter. Coupling your shaking fingers to the camera by means of a stiff bit of plastic is a mistake - you may miss out on the main benefits of actually using the release. Choose woven cloth. b. The locking mechanism - every cable release should have one to allow the shutter to stay open on the B setting for as long as you need. The astro-shooters know this one. There are generally two types of lock - a side screw or a co-axial knurled ring. Of the two, the knurled ring is much easier to engage and disengage without joggling the camera. In addition, a finger grip on the end of the release allows it to be used when the outside air is freezing or there is mist. Again the astro-people and landscape shooters know about these conditions... c. The working end - the bit that connects to the camera. If it is a cheap and nasty release, the threads of the end may not be long enough to adequately engage in the shutter socket. If it has a crude square-cut end the central rod may jam in the release or score the camera parts. If it is a good-quality one - like the Hähnel 40 cm release I found in the shop - the threads are the correct shape and the end is rounded. the whole thing works smoothly. Well, you gets what you pays for, and you'll pay a bit more for the Hähnel release...but you won't be buying another one and you won't be paying to repair the shutter button on your camera. And your pictures will be shake-free.