a LESS sensitive Soft Release?

enero

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Hi folks, long time reader, first time poster.

I have a question for all you seasoned Softie users out there. I am a big fan of Soft Releases, Ive been using them for a really long time. I have a few of Tom Abrahamsson's as well as a couple from ebay. My question is, has any one noticed different grades of sensitivity with different soft releases on the market? I ask because I have been having problems where they are just too sensitive for my (new to me) M6. They work fine on all the other cameras, but with the M6, I'm finding that more often then not, when I am just half-pressing to check the meter, I accidentally fire off a shot.

Of course you can say, "then just dont use one!". But then I would respond, "I'm so used to having them on my cameras that it just feels weird not to have one attached."

This also leads to another question, is my M6's shutter button too sensitive?!

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
 
The answer is very simple. Sandpaper your index finger tip daily to INCREASE it's sensitivity. That, by default, solves the problem of a too-sensitive shutter release with immediate feedback. Caution - cease doing this for two days if blood appears on your finger.
 
Train yourself not to use a soft release ... see it as a new project! :D
 
Only have an M4-2 so can't comment on the M6 but.....

The Leica M shutter release is already designed for smooth release without any other accessory, same for the Olympus OM-1 by the way.

If you are standing 3 feet away from me and couldn't hear the shutter release, then by looking at my finger on the shutter button you could not tell when I released the shutter. The movement, after I take up the slack is less than 1 mm., hard to see, even from a short distance and very vibration free.

I've tried soft releases and went right back to using the ball of my finger to cover the M4-2 dish, taking up the slack, and then at the right moment, squeezing off the shot.

But, as they say YMMV (Just who the heck are 'they' anyway)
 
The Leica M shutter release is already designed for smooth release without any other accessory, same for the Olympus OM-1 by the way.

+1

BTW, Nikon copied the Leica style release collars on the F, F2, & F3 (F & F2 being Barnack-like and the F3 being very M-like). .

I've never found any soft release that worked as well as the Leica M / Nikon F3 style release. With these, you release the shutter by changing pressure on the button and collar and not by moving your finger, hence much less vibration.
 
Remember never use your soft release with your fingertip. Use it with the first bend of your index finger.
 
Remember never use your soft release with your fingertip. Use it with the first bend of your index finger.

Yes, I know. Thats actually why I like them. I like being able to hook my finger on to them. Which is why it's been so difficult to go without having one on the camera.
 
BTW, Nikon copied the Leica style release collars on the F, F2, & F3 (F & F2 being Barnack-like and the F3 being very M-like).

Don't overestimate that. The M style release collar (a threaded button with a wider "bowl" around it) was hardly an original idea. It seems to have been pretty much a commodity feature already at introduction - even Zorkis had this style of collar since the mid-1940s.
 
.. is my M6's shutter button too sensitive?!

We should exchange M6's. My shutter button is too mushy. I find that I have to press the button flat to trip the shutter. Shutters on meterless M bodies that I've used previously would fire when the button was half pressed. Perhaps the previous owner of your camera had the shutter sensitivity adjusted to be similar to the meterless M bodies.
 
The M shutter release button travel activation point can be adjusted by a technician, I believe.
 
We should exchange M6's. My shutter button is too mushy. I find that I have to press the button flat to trip the shutter. Shutters on meterless M bodies that I've used previously would fire when the button was half pressed. Perhaps the previous owner of your camera had the shutter sensitivity adjusted to be similar to the meterless M bodies.

perhaps ;)
 
Try a minisoftrelease. The smaller soft releases will make the effort more obvious.

Ive tried both mini and regular size. I'm wondering if those Ginichi G soft releases from Japan Camera Hunter would be better. They seem to have shorter stems then what I have here and what I've seen on most soft releases.
 
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