Shutter Release cable

I'm after a shutter cable or a remote for my MZ6 i ordered a pentax one from Amazon but they have delayed the delivery until mid August and i've been waiting 3 weeks already so i've cancelled it. So what i want to know is has anyone bought any of the other brands from E-Bay. I've seen a few from China, Hong Kong & Germany and i would be interested to know if they are O.K. or not.

Richard

Richard, I bought a hands-free cell phone cable, cut-off the mike and it works GREAT. It has the 2.5mm jack NOT the 3.5 and I use the quiet button to trigger the shutter.

Got it from RadioShack for 3 bucks I think - don't know what side of the pond you're on.

Whilst you are at it, get a male and a female in-line stereo plug combo (from Maplins). Cut the remote cable in half and solder in the combo. Now if you want an extended lead you just pop out and buy a stereo headphone extension and plug it in the mdiddle. I modified a Minolta remote and it works a treat for me.
Graham

And don't feel limited by the length of cable you can use, mine's a total of 26 metres (85 feet), which is a short cable release, a 6m extension and an extra 20m extension. It means I can set the camera up in my garden, run the cable along the path, up in the kitchen window, through into the lounge, where I can sit with a cup of tea, waiting for a mouse to come out.




I wasn't sure that length would work, but it's fine. Handy for getting wide angle shots of nervy Starlings too.




Dan

Nice shots, Dan. And good advice, though I suspect you are close to the limit in terms of cable length.

G

These are excellent shots Dan - the mouse is a WOW category. Hmmm, I'm gonna try getting something that long - don't feel like making one.

Please, please don't tell me you have that camera on a remote turntable...lol

Remote turntable... Mmm, something to think about

The mouse was a regular visitor to the peanut feeder hanging on the end of the stick. Everytime he came out, he'd pause at this spot for a couple of seconds, then carry on for a snack. I'd had the idea of setting this shot up for a couple of weeks, and then one day I was out in the garden getting some pics of the starlings, when I looked round and he was there, just by the feeder. I took a couple of him:



istD, Tamrom 300mm f/2.8

In fact, you can see my house in his eye!




But, he didn't really look comfortable, so I set the camera up and went inside for said cup of tea. Ten minutes later, he was back in place, luckily my prefocusing was spot on.

I was very pleased when I downloaded the image

Cheers,
Dan

I bet you were pleased! Great shot

Looked around for off-the-shelf but can't find any. Did you make this yourself, at that lenght or off-the-shelf?

Any of the Canucks know where I can get this?

Hi
Try http://www.digicaminfo.btinternet.co.uk/hmcablerelease.htm

They have sufficient instructions to make your own. You can get all the required bits from Maplins - should cost about a fiver for a handy sized job, but obviously a bit more if you want a very long lead. All you need is a steroe jack plug, a couple of push buttons, a box to house the push buttons, and a length of 3 core (stereo) wire - and of course a soldering iron but keep it away from the camera. The deluxe version I referred to earlier simply has an inline male/female connecter that can be broken to fit an extension so you can have a short lead then extend it if the need arises.

The first one I made was for a Minolta and required the cannibalisation of a CD ROM lead. All the bits came from the "bit-box" - the switch box was an old 35mm film case - total cost zero. The final de luxe version used a plastic connection box from Maplins about the size ot a 10 pack of cigarettes - total cost about 6 quid.

I think the above site actually gives you the connections, but they are simply 2 push connectors utilizing a common return - hence three (stereo) wires.

Note, when positioning the switches consider the best position. You probably will want to be able to roll your thumb over the two buttons.

Graham

Hi JC,

I got my length of cable from Maplins (mine was the brown cable, although I see they've discontinued it), don't know whether they have shops over your way. Radio Shack, if you have it, would probably have similar.

I used burglar alarm cable, which was actually 4 core, but you only need 3, so I used 2 together. Then just soldered the 3.5mm stereo jack plag on one end, and socket on the other. It's then just an extension for the normal release.

Hope that helps,
Dan

Thanks Dan, Graham and all. I found some on ebyebye (Item number: 110011082369) but will look to make my own longer version.

Radio Shack in Canada (now called Source) sucks big time and they don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. You ask for a 2.5mm and they show you a 3.5mm urghhhhh.

Thanks for the links.

Oops, yeah, I said '3.5mm', perhaps I could get a job at Source

I didn't notice but at least you KNOW the diff.

Finally got my 2x12' extensions today but neither work. Can you think of any reason! Don't have anything else with a 2.5 on which I can try them.

I have the earpiece and a canon timer which are working perfectly on the istD so I know it ain't the camera - any ideas?

Thanks