Sunday, February 28, 2010

Holga Cable Release


This is just a quick post on some basic (maybe common) knowledge about the Holga Cable Release. I had an issue with mine, and have heard of a few others having this same problem so I thought I'd just do a quick recap.

How it works is pretty straight forward, but it seems to have an 'auto lock' feature to it so that when you depress the button, it will stick there.


The issue I had with mine, first of all was that the little round portion on the top fell off.  I didn't realize it at the time, so when I went to use it, this is what it looked like.  It was very uncomfortable on my finger! And I also was a bit confused to what was going on, and thought it was broken or not working correctly.


After some examination, I realized maybe I was missing a part.  Later on, luckily I found it on the stairs!


Great! So I put it back together.  I still do not like the auto lock feature though (maybe it doesn't do that on all of them, but I've heard of at least a few that auto lock).  In order to release the cable, you need to press the circular metal piece that is in the middle.

(please excuse my dry Canadian winterized skin and nails)

It releases a bit harsly for my taste, almost like a jolt.  I thought I'd try using a different cable release that I used to use on an old Minolta film camera, which was smoother and didn't stick.  Only after I got back my film with a bunch of blank photos did I realize that they are not the same length.

Lesson - if you decide to use a different cable release, make sure the end that you push in and out is the same length as the one specifically made for the Holga.

Here is a comparison, the Holga Cable Release is the one on top:


The rest of it is pretty easy to use.  You place the square plastic mount over the lens of the camera, and screw in the cable release.  Set your Holga to "B" and you're ready to go.

Now, I'm wondering for all of you out there who have one of these - does yours do the 'auto lock' thing?  If so, does it bother you?  Has it given any sort of camera shake when it releases?

Please share with me your experiences, thoughts, additional tips, or if you have any questions please post them in the comments!

And don't forget to vote in the poll at the top of the page! Thank you to everyone so far who has voted!!

12 comments:

  1. Ok I *think* I sent you this over twitter, but I don't know.

    If you want to not have to press the release button - push it in then twist it round. Then it should release when you release your finger.

    Also - newer cable release accessories will work with new and old holgas. However the old one will only work with old holgas... Unless you do a little minor sawing :)

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  2. Mine does the autolock thing as well and I find it annoying! Good to know about different sizes though, b/c I'd been thinking about trying a different cable release. I haven't noticed any blurring from the jolt but mine is fairly new and I've only used it w/ my pinhole holga...not my normal holga.

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  3. Hey lovely,

    Does it twist at all? Because most cable releases that lock (not just Holga releases) have a lock and a normal mode if you twist it clockwise (I think)

    And yeah, Lomo are clever in that you have to spend £xx amount on a cable release that's just that bit longer rather than spending a few quid on a generic cable release. Annoying as we sell cable releases for about £3!

    Glad you managed to fix it though!

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  4. Mine auto-locks too - I wish I'd had your how-to pictures when I first got it :-) I haven't noticed any blur from motion when releasing it.

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  5. I thought mine may have been defective & no one could help me until I asked Jen & she shared this with me. Still not loving the locking but thanks @squarefrog, that worked!

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  6. squarefrog and CherryBlossom~ Thank you! That probably has solved alot of peoples problems :)

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  7. I've got a cheap cable release without a lock, the round nub, or the plastic T. Could be worse I suppose. At least it's long enough to work with the holgas.

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  8. Thanks for highlighting the difference, either I have a lot of Holga cables or I've just been lucky!then again that would explain why i only got 2/3rds of a pic on my WPC120! I'm going to check.

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  9. Thanks for this! My release was stuck in the locked position and your tip to press the center ring worked a charm! I was convinced I broke it. :p

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  10. Hi all, hope you can help. Im keen to take long exposure photos, like light trails, car lights at night, you know the pics i mean?

    I know digital slr camera's are way expensive! Is there a simple cheap, and i mean cheap normal old style film camera that can do this, or with the help of a release cable?

    I dont really know if these release cables work on all old film camera's??

    Any advice is much appreciated

    thanks

    ian

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  11. Hi there! I'm not an expert on all cameras but I would think that any camera that has a "B" or bulb exposure option, as well as a place to screw in your cable release would work just fine. The next issue would be to learn the proper exposure times for the type of film you choose. I would google tips for light trails, etc and I'm sure you will find loads of help! :)

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  12. I had similar problems with the Holga cable release. I lost the button and replaced it with a golf ball marker, which didn't work very well. I also experienced kinking of the cable and reinforced the ends with gaffer's tape. Finally, I just pitched the cable and bought a nice long 40 inch cloth covered cable release from Adorama for about 15 bucks.

    ReplyDelete

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