At last...a soft release for your Yashica RF!

[Bruin]

I figured out why TomA's excellent soft releases won't fit, but standard cable releases do. The thread size and pitch on all of these are identical, but the screw is conical - tapering to a point. Tom's soft releases simply don't get wide enough to engage on Yashica shutter releases. They work on other cameras because those shutter buttons are threaded for the tip of a cable release. Yashica's engage the cable release at a wider point, further up on the screw.

It turns out Fedka has soft releases with a screw that's fine enough at the tip to fit on your common RFs and wide enough at the base to engage the Yashica shutter releases. They're concave, made in Japan, and $1.75 each.
http://www.fedka.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=49&products_id=517

I have no affiliation with the seller, but I bought a few to try out and they fit fine on my Zeiss Ikon and Yashica GX. (Don't worry Tom, I still use love your Mini Soft Release for my ZI 😉). These new releases are a godsend compared to pushing down on a metal post! Just thought I'd pass on my findings 🙂.

 

[btgc]

Thanks Bruin, I'm tempted to try it on Electro series.

One thing I don't understand is people refer to softies "it's ultra soft", "could be softer" - hey, softness of release is determined by camera mechanics, not shape of release button, isn't ? Only wider area helps pushing it more smoothly?....well, Petri 7s has release button with diameter of almost 1cm, and yes, it's good feeling. But it also shows less internal resistance compared to Electro.....go figure.

 

[bcostin]

Cool. I have a couple of those Fedka soft releases already (they're a great bargain). I'll have to give one a try on my Lynx.

 

[Bill58]

Bruin:

You're a true mechanical genius--did you go to MIT? Thanks for the tip (no pun intended). I'm gonna order some from Yuri.

Bill

I figured out why TomA's excellent soft releases won't fit, but standard cable releases do. The thread size and pitch on all of these are identical, but the screw is conical - tapering to a point. Tom's soft releases simply don't get wide enough to engage on Yashica shutter releases. They work on other cameras because those shutter buttons are threaded for the tip of a cable release. Yashica's engage the cable release at a wider point, further up on the screw.

It turns out Fedka has soft releases with a screw that's fine enough at the tip to fit on your common RFs and wide enough at the base to engage the Yashica shutter releases. They're concave, made in Japan, and $1.75 each.
http://www.fedka.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=49&products_id=517

I have no affiliation with the seller, but I bought a few to try out and they fit fine on my Zeiss Ikon and Yashica GX. (Don't worry Tom, I still use love your Mini Soft Release for my ZI 😉). These new releases are a godsend compared to pushing down on a metal post! Just thought I'd pass on my findings 🙂.

 

[moretto]

I made one myself from an old cable release...but a bit higher than those on Fedka page. It works just fine.

 

[Bruin]

Here's another tip 😉 for everyone: soft releases don't ship well in padded mailers. I ordered some from Tom and Yuri and all the screws punched through the mailers, even through cardboard backing that Yuri was careful to reinforce the mailer with. Unfortunately the ones Tom sent were damaged, but Yuri's survived unscathed.

I suppose if you put enough cardboard layers, the soft release screws won't be able to punch through all of them.

 

[NickTrop]

Just ordered a few of these - thanks for the post!

 

[photo4ls]

soft release

soft release

I have been using one of these on the Fed 2 for quite some
time and I think it is one of the best bargains out there.😎
Kinda had to go wrong @ these prices.

 

[januaryman]

I mentioned this in a similar thread weeks or months ago. I have five (or four) of them. (I tend to lose things) - Handy to keep around. I stored the lot in a plastic 35mm film container.

 

[btgc]

Just ordered couple of releases - and Yuri seems to be right person to deal with. Let's see if using one changes feel of Electro.

 

[Bill58]

Me too-I wonder if Yuri has a clue why there's such a sudden rush to buy his buttons? I just wish they were convex like Tom A's.

 

[btgc]

I just saw T.A.'s "dome" shaped release. It sounds reasonably...Do you get advantage of "dish" shaped release ? I could fill "dish" with something suitable and get "dome" to have idea of both shapes.

 

[Bruin]

IIRC the idea behind the dome shape is that you press the shutter release with the first joint of your index finger, thus the need for a convex surface. With a dish/concave button, you press down with your fingertip.

Overall, I find dome-shaped releases to be more versatile because they can be pressed either way, while the dish type is hard to use with my finger joint. Cameras with the release over the rewind lever axis lend themselves better to a "joint" push, while those with the release further in on the body might require you to reposition your grip to use your finger joint.

 

[btgc]

Got softies from Yuri and even having rather high overseas shipping quote, don't regret it - after some use I like 'em more and more. When starting with RF's I were enthusiastic about specific release buttons, though soft releases wear their name by meaning - release gets softer and comfortable.

 

[Bill58]

I got my Yuri "softies" and put them on, but they're too high for my taste. Can you file off the tip a little and lower them? Anybody tried this?

 

[januaryman]

I agree, they are a bit high. I never thought to try filing the tip, but if it works for you, I'm game 😉

 

[pesphoto]

for that price I'll give it a try.

 

[raid]

Why is shipping so costly there?

 

[btgc]

raid, is it costly also for US addresses?

 

[Bruin]

Why is shipping so costly there?

Yuri is a reasonable guy. I only ordered soft releases so I asked if he could ship them in an envelope with some cardboard inside for padding. Cost me around a dollar IIRC. If you do that, ask him to put at least two layers of cardboard on the screw-side (they'll punch through one). Email him and see if you can work something out for shipping only small items.