Bosk
Make photos, not war.
Hi again Tom,
Since you are someone who manufacturers soft-releases and knows a great deal about Leicas and cameras in general, I was wondering if we could get some of your views on soft-releases please?
Are all soft-releases pretty much the same thing or are some 'better' than others?
Approximately how much extra 'hand-holdability' are they usually good for?
Thanks!
Since you are someone who manufacturers soft-releases and knows a great deal about Leicas and cameras in general, I was wondering if we could get some of your views on soft-releases please?
Are all soft-releases pretty much the same thing or are some 'better' than others?
Approximately how much extra 'hand-holdability' are they usually good for?
Thanks!
Tom A
RFF Sponsor
Bosk
There are many variations on the soft releases and some are easier to use than others. Leica used to make a tall, complex version to be used when you had meters or finders on the camera. They are now a bit rare and they also can cause unnecessary strain on the threads for the release.
The biggest problem I found with the commercially available Softies was that they either had too small diameter and/or were concave. This forced you to use the tip of your finger to release and excert a 'downward" pressure on the camera and if you were doing slow speed exposure, you could push the camera during exposure.
When I started to design my own version, 10 years ago, I knew i wanted a larger diameter and a dome shaped top. There was a lot of filing involved with the first ones to get the shape of the top correct! For the sake of esthetics i also wanted the diameter to match the "dish" on my M's as well as giving it a knurled edge.
Once the primary design was done and the correct alloy was decided upon, it was just a matter of getting my friend to crank up the "turning center and running them.
The alloy is a critical part of the product. If you use a too soft an alloy, it can snap and get stuck in the cable release thread (common with " pressed" or cast Softies, usually made in China - cheap material and once you have the die, cheap to produce).
If on the other hand you go to something like stainless steel, the thread gets very sharp and can cut the softer, chromed brass in the M-release thread. This can cause the thread to "lock" and if you try to unscrew it with too much force - the whole release shaft can come out!
A side benefit of using alloy was also that I can have it engraved and anodized in a variety of colors. Some of the users (me inluded) use the Softie to indicate what film is in the camera. My choice is usually : green for Tri X, red for 100 ASA and blue for special film (tech pan, color etc).
There are two ways of using the Softie:
For slow speeds, you hook your finger over it so that the second joint applies the pressure. This is very much like firing a target rifle, you can feel the 'trigger' point of the release.
I find that I generally gain a stop this way. I have a steady trigger finder and can usually pull a sharp shot at 1/15 with a 50mm. With the Softie I can get away with 1/8's sec and occasionally even a 1/4 (though that is more of "hope over experince" and good luck!).
It takes a while to train yourself in using it, but once you got it, you be surprised at the improvement in hand held shots.
The other way of using the Softie is when you are shooting "fast and furious". You dont have to have the finger right on the release . You can release the shutter by "tapping" the Softie anywhere.
Quite a few of our customers are photo journalists and they like this feature. One, friend and Magnum shooter, described it as "you just wave your finger in the general vincinity of the release and it goes click".
yes. it does go click too, if you put it in your back with the shutter cocked - or if you work with 2-3 cameras at the same time. Elbows and arms tend to release the dangling cameras! I find it a mall price to pay for the benefit though. Of course, I always keep the cameras in my bag uncocked ( if you believe that - I have a cheap bridge to sell).
One day I will print up a series of 11x14's - totally black or with odd, out of focus images and call them "Pictures Of The Inside Of My Camera Bag!"
The Mini Softie was created for cameras that doesn't allow enough clearance between the shutter speed dial and the release, but it functions exactly the same, though I am partial to the "Classic" Softie and every M I have has one in place.
It works well on the M8 and if you want to try the M8 with a Visoflex III you need it as the arm on the Viso III and the release on the M8 dont align exactly.
There are many variations on the soft releases and some are easier to use than others. Leica used to make a tall, complex version to be used when you had meters or finders on the camera. They are now a bit rare and they also can cause unnecessary strain on the threads for the release.
The biggest problem I found with the commercially available Softies was that they either had too small diameter and/or were concave. This forced you to use the tip of your finger to release and excert a 'downward" pressure on the camera and if you were doing slow speed exposure, you could push the camera during exposure.
When I started to design my own version, 10 years ago, I knew i wanted a larger diameter and a dome shaped top. There was a lot of filing involved with the first ones to get the shape of the top correct! For the sake of esthetics i also wanted the diameter to match the "dish" on my M's as well as giving it a knurled edge.
Once the primary design was done and the correct alloy was decided upon, it was just a matter of getting my friend to crank up the "turning center and running them.
The alloy is a critical part of the product. If you use a too soft an alloy, it can snap and get stuck in the cable release thread (common with " pressed" or cast Softies, usually made in China - cheap material and once you have the die, cheap to produce).
If on the other hand you go to something like stainless steel, the thread gets very sharp and can cut the softer, chromed brass in the M-release thread. This can cause the thread to "lock" and if you try to unscrew it with too much force - the whole release shaft can come out!
A side benefit of using alloy was also that I can have it engraved and anodized in a variety of colors. Some of the users (me inluded) use the Softie to indicate what film is in the camera. My choice is usually : green for Tri X, red for 100 ASA and blue for special film (tech pan, color etc).
There are two ways of using the Softie:
For slow speeds, you hook your finger over it so that the second joint applies the pressure. This is very much like firing a target rifle, you can feel the 'trigger' point of the release.
I find that I generally gain a stop this way. I have a steady trigger finder and can usually pull a sharp shot at 1/15 with a 50mm. With the Softie I can get away with 1/8's sec and occasionally even a 1/4 (though that is more of "hope over experince" and good luck!).
It takes a while to train yourself in using it, but once you got it, you be surprised at the improvement in hand held shots.
The other way of using the Softie is when you are shooting "fast and furious". You dont have to have the finger right on the release . You can release the shutter by "tapping" the Softie anywhere.
Quite a few of our customers are photo journalists and they like this feature. One, friend and Magnum shooter, described it as "you just wave your finger in the general vincinity of the release and it goes click".
yes. it does go click too, if you put it in your back with the shutter cocked - or if you work with 2-3 cameras at the same time. Elbows and arms tend to release the dangling cameras! I find it a mall price to pay for the benefit though. Of course, I always keep the cameras in my bag uncocked ( if you believe that - I have a cheap bridge to sell).
One day I will print up a series of 11x14's - totally black or with odd, out of focus images and call them "Pictures Of The Inside Of My Camera Bag!"
The Mini Softie was created for cameras that doesn't allow enough clearance between the shutter speed dial and the release, but it functions exactly the same, though I am partial to the "Classic" Softie and every M I have has one in place.
It works well on the M8 and if you want to try the M8 with a Visoflex III you need it as the arm on the Viso III and the release on the M8 dont align exactly.
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Bosk
Make photos, not war.
Thanks very much for your in-depth response Tom!
I'm rather surprised no-one else has replied to this thread as I've got the feeling in the past that softies are very much an "in thing" here at RFF.
If I could ask you one more question it would have to be: given that the usefulness of soft-releases is pretty much an accepted fact as you've described - why aren't the camera companies making them?
You mentioned how Leica did make them in the past, it seems a bit strange to me that they haven't introduced them (maybe as part of the a la carte program?) when surely they could crank them out in bulk pretty cheaply.
Thanks again for answering my original post!
I'm rather surprised no-one else has replied to this thread as I've got the feeling in the past that softies are very much an "in thing" here at RFF.
If I could ask you one more question it would have to be: given that the usefulness of soft-releases is pretty much an accepted fact as you've described - why aren't the camera companies making them?
You mentioned how Leica did make them in the past, it seems a bit strange to me that they haven't introduced them (maybe as part of the a la carte program?) when surely they could crank them out in bulk pretty cheaply.
Thanks again for answering my original post!
S
Simon Larbalestier
Guest
I have Tom's softies on all my M's and my MF cameras (Fuji's and Plaubel) . I do expose the odd blank frame with the M's but their speed and feeling of precision outweighs the loss of the odd frame!
Tom A
RFF Sponsor
Bosk
Nikon made them for their Rf's and SLR's. The AR-1 works well, but again it sticks up quite a bit. The problem is most likely that to do the Softie of the type I make, they would have to go into some pretty fancy machining and metallurgy.
The alloy I use is a highly specialized aero space alloy and it is not cheap, By the time it is machined and anodized, packaged and shipped - the margins are thin.
As a small operation with overhead consisting of cat-food, heat,film and coffee, we can get away with it! A larger Corporation would have to support far more people.
Through the Softie we have been in contact with 1000's of "shooters" all around the world. This ranges from " Can you have a couple FedExed to Moscow?" to "I cant survive without them - Send more!".
Of course. there are drawbacks. Tuulikki has informed me that if I invent another small thing that needs to be packaged and labelled - I will suffer serious trauma! So much for making an improved version of the Nikon SLR's and Nikon Rf's Softie. ;-)
Nikon made them for their Rf's and SLR's. The AR-1 works well, but again it sticks up quite a bit. The problem is most likely that to do the Softie of the type I make, they would have to go into some pretty fancy machining and metallurgy.
The alloy I use is a highly specialized aero space alloy and it is not cheap, By the time it is machined and anodized, packaged and shipped - the margins are thin.
As a small operation with overhead consisting of cat-food, heat,film and coffee, we can get away with it! A larger Corporation would have to support far more people.
Through the Softie we have been in contact with 1000's of "shooters" all around the world. This ranges from " Can you have a couple FedExed to Moscow?" to "I cant survive without them - Send more!".
Of course. there are drawbacks. Tuulikki has informed me that if I invent another small thing that needs to be packaged and labelled - I will suffer serious trauma! So much for making an improved version of the Nikon SLR's and Nikon Rf's Softie. ;-)
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Pablito
coco frío
Simon Larby said:
Agree completely with Simon.
oscroft
Mentor
Yep, I've got Mr A's softies on my cameras too, a big one on my M6 and small ones on my R4A, my CL, and my Olympus OMs (in the UK you can get them from Peter Walnes). I really like them, because I much prefer squeezing the shutter with my finger joint rather than jabbing it with my finger tip - and I really don't care too much if I fire the occasional accidental shot.
mike goldberg
The Peaceful Pacific
Thanks so much for the detail, Tom. I have your small Softie, and it's everything you say it is. I never thought of hooking my finger over it, and squeezing the shutter down with the middle joint of my index finger.
There is a downside to soft releases... depending on the "profile" of given cameras. On some, the shutter button is elevated more than on others. Perhaps, I just got used to the shutter button on the M2 the way it is, having made 10,000 and more shots. Then again, using a Softie is like learning a new skill, and it just takes practice.
Cheers, mike
There is a downside to soft releases... depending on the "profile" of given cameras. On some, the shutter button is elevated more than on others. Perhaps, I just got used to the shutter button on the M2 the way it is, having made 10,000 and more shots. Then again, using a Softie is like learning a new skill, and it just takes practice.
Cheers, mike
principe azul
Ian
Tend to leave it at home unless I know most of my shots are going to be in the 1/15 to 1s (interesting...) range.
Nice to have something well made and inexpensive, as photogear goes.
Nice to have something well made and inexpensive, as photogear goes.
Laforet
Nowhere Man
Hi Tom, nice thread. I understand that you prefer a convex tipped softie over others. Although I am happy with my Nikon AR-9 and two large, unbranded brass tees (both concave) , I do find that applying your technique of squeezing the release with finder joint a great help to stablity when hand-holding.For somebodies this even works without a softie provided that the shutter release is tall enough.
Some RFs and SLRs has a shutter button with a very tiny surface of contact with fingers and a tight, long travel down to trip the shutter, for example the minolta 7sII, snap away two rolls them and you will have a sore index finger with the shutter button's impressions That is when I find softies very necessary.
IMHO, soft releases were made for the reason above to improve the ergonomics of their camera. Later when more elaborate and comfortable shutter buttons are made onto the bodies, there is less of need for a softie. Compare the Nikon FM/FE to FM2/FE2 and the difference in the design intention is obvious. The Nikon AR-1 stovepipe was made likewise to the leica example to keep the shutter release at the same height with the speed dial. Also, Nikon has been makig AR-9 until recente, when D100 and FM3A, probably the last Nikons to accept a standard cable release, was unfortunately discontinued.
Some RFs and SLRs has a shutter button with a very tiny surface of contact with fingers and a tight, long travel down to trip the shutter, for example the minolta 7sII, snap away two rolls them and you will have a sore index finger with the shutter button's impressions
That is when I find softies very necessary. IMHO, soft releases were made for the reason above to improve the ergonomics of their camera. Later when more elaborate and comfortable shutter buttons are made onto the bodies, there is less of need for a softie. Compare the Nikon FM/FE to FM2/FE2 and the difference in the design intention is obvious. The Nikon AR-1 stovepipe was made likewise to the leica example to keep the shutter release at the same height with the speed dial. Also, Nikon has been makig AR-9 until recente, when D100 and FM3A, probably the last Nikons to accept a standard cable release, was unfortunately discontinued.
sim
Newbie
I find Mr. Abrahamsson's softie most useful on the M8 which has a relatively rougher shutter button than the film Ms (for my film Ms at least).
existrandom
Established
Mr. Abrahamsson's softie is permanently on my M4, i have clumsy fingers on shaky hands (coffee, alcohol, etc you know) it helps a lot in my experience. Thanks Mr. Abrahamsson for bringing this for us a product that answer to user needs
i gave one to my brother to try on his OM-2, he could not get used to it though... like other said, the shutter fires unexpectedly sometimes
i gave one to my brother to try on his OM-2, he could not get used to it though... like other said, the shutter fires unexpectedly sometimes