shutter release cable (or, how to deal with shutter of 1 sec to 8 secs?)

[joykafka]

I just tried to shoot some landscape in lowlight with my Bessa R3A and needed a slower shutter speed. Even if there is an Auto-metering mode, I couldn't know my exposure variables before I shoot because the information will show only 1 sec for anything longer than 1 sec, and thus I couldn't know the EV range and couldn't figure out a correct exposure setting.

And at any rate, I couldn't find a shutter release cable to enjoy B mode on my Bessa R3A. How do you deal with this?

Many thanks.

 

[marke]

Have you checked ebay? I picked up a couple nice cloth-encased cables there last month for about $12.

 

[nikon_sam]

You could take a chance and just hold the button in (very sturdy tripod and head needed) or visit your nearest camera shop and get a cable release...
If you think that the camera will meter correctly and allow the shutter to go beyond the 1 second (even though not marked) and if the camera has a self timer put it in Auto mode and use the self timer to trip the shutter...

 

[minoltist7]

I got Hama cable release, and found it useful not only for tripods, but also for night street shooting from hands.

 

[payasam]

Any photo goods shop should have a cable release. As Sam says, the self-timer is an excellent substitute.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I put the camera somewhere solid, such as a wall, trust the automatic exposure and press the shutter release.

The exposure may be 1 second or eight seconds, or anything in between. As you say the viewfinder doesn't indicate any slower than one second, even though the shutter goes to eight seconds.

You may want to do it several times using the +/- exposure compensation as funny things can happen with long exposures.

 

[joykafka]

Thank you all. Definitely I will go get a shutter release cable. I asked the Voigtlander's dealer here if they have one for Bessa. While the answer was negative, I thought there is probably no such thing handy.

marke: your prompt help is really appreciated.

As for the shutter speed estimation, so far I can think of is probably to use large aperture plus high iso first for the meter to tell me the precise number of seconds and then convert this number of seconds to that corresponds to the smaller aperture and slower iso for the long exposure shot.

ClaremontPhoto: using EV compensation is also a good idea since what I wanted to shoot is sakura "light painted" by moving spotlights at night while the mountains in behind are black and the lake in the foreground are dark as well, which added the dificulty for me to locate a precise metering spot.

My tripod is Velbon Sherpa 435, a lightweight gear which I doubt it'll be as sturdy as nikon_sam indicated.

minoltist7: yes! I used a wireless shutter release with my dslr toy on the streets before I upgraded to EOS 5D.

payasam: Yup, I did that with my 5D too. But frankly speaking, I didn't think of self-timer instinctly when using Bessa r3A. Probably unconciously I didn't think this thing exists on Bessa r3A.