Tom Abrahamsson's MiniSoftRelease

[wrenhunter]

1. If, like me, you wind on after shooting you will get pictures of the inside of your bag. The fix for this is to change the habit of a lifetime so I gave up on the Softie.
2. It unscrews itself quite easily. A dab of blue Loctite fixes this, allow it to set before screwing into the release.

I've had an MSR on my Bessa R for months, and neither of these has happened to me.

In fact, regarding (2), Tom's MSR stays on much tighter than a $7 Nikon version I bought at BH -- that fell off within two weeks. With Tom's, every time I go to tighten it, I find it hasn't moved a turn.

As far as utility, I agree they change the angle slightly and give you a bit of extension. Not revolutionary, but quite handy & well worth the money.

 

[markinlondon]

I bought my Bessa R used, I can't say what had been done to the release threads before I owned it.

 

[iñaki]

I use it with my Bessa R, and it works nice for me.

 

[Seele]

Release extensions such as the MSR have been around for a while, and the type of cameras which can benefit most from them are those with shutter release buttons inside a raised surrounding ring, for instance, my Nikon FE and Prakticas.

The reason is that, during the action of pressing the release, the top of this surrounding ring hits the finger way before the release point is reached. It would be fine for beginners as it gives a definite tactile feedback, but for more advanced workers, the use of a release extension like the MSR eliminates the tactile feedback from the ring, and gives the user only feedback from the meter point (first pressure point), and what is beyond that to achieve the release point (second pressure point).

If you try this with a camera like the Praktica BX20 where the shutter release button is set inside what can be described as a "cup" then you will understand this quite clearly.

 

[rbiemer]

I have bought 4 of the Minis. The first was a black one that I promptly lost. I then got three more but in red. I like 'em quite a lot. They don't change the effort needed to fire the shutter but the apparent effort feels less because it is spread over a greater area. I shoot mostly Zorki cameras lately and the Mini makes a big difference in how the camera feels. My only minor problem is the occasional time I want to use a cable release; I then have to remember which pocket I put the release into.
A good, inexpensive add-on to my cameras, I think.
Rob

 

[dberger]

Do you actually use your knuckle, not fingertip?

Or do you rest your fingertip on the release and flex the knuckle joint?

Jon,


You rest the underside of your first knuckle and the fleshy part between the first 2 knuckles on the release. Then flex your finger, kind of like squeezing a trigger on a firearm. (BTW, that is why Tom's convex soft releases work better than concave ones -- more contact.) I can get steadier shots at slow shutter speeds.


Cheers,


David

 

[VictorM.]

I have two that live on Rolleiflex's. They refuse to get lost. I also have a large one that I sometimes use on an M4-2.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

David: Thank you for the explanation even though it sounds a bit freemasonary-like. Jon

 

[dberger]

David: Thank you for the explanation even though it sounds a bit freemasonary-like. Jon

Correct -- you must join our secret fraternal organization if you want to learn the double-secret technique.

😎


David

 

[Justin Low]

Or a screw of the right size.

 

[BrianPhotog]

I've had an MSR on my Bessa R for months, and neither of these has happened to me.

In fact, regarding (2), Tom's MSR stays on much tighter than a $7 Nikon version I bought at BH -- that fell off within two weeks. With Tom's, every time I go to tighten it, I find it hasn't moved a turn.

As far as utility, I agree they change the angle slightly and give you a bit of extension. Not revolutionary, but quite handy & well worth the money.

I've got one MSR (not Tom's but made for Rollei) on an R2 & R2a. It doesn't loosen by itself and I have no shots of the inside of my bag HOWEVER I do have quite a few accidental shots when taking a meter reading 😛

On the plus side, it does help reduce movement with shooting at low speeds.