Alphatracks

Sept. 16, 2009: A remote shutter release should be considered a necessary photographic accessory, particularly if of you are working with a tripod. A remote release allows you to trigger the shutter without jarring the camera, vastly increasing your chances of capturing crisp, sharp images.

In the old days, we used simple mechanical cable releases, but digital SLRs use electronic triggers. Electronic releases work great, but they cost a whole more than the old cable push buttons.

I have a excellent Minolta RC-1000S electronic shutter release that works just fine on the Sony Alpha. The nice thing about this release is that the cable is nearly sixteen feet long, so you don’t have to be standing near the camera to fire the shutter.

The bad thing about the Minolta release is that the cable is sixteen feet long. This leaves a puddle of cord coiled on the floor when you are working with the optical viewfinder. The cord wraps around tripod legs and light stands, as well as your feet. If you don’t trip and fall, there is a real possibility of knocking the tripod and camera over. For this reason, I want a second, shorter release for when I am working up close with the camera.

I considered buying a short release, but the idea of custom making my own remote cable release has caught my attention. I like DIY projects, and I could create just the length and style I want.

Sony Alpha shutter release on Instructables.com

I found a nice Instructable showing you how to create a wired remote shutter release for Sony Alpha cameras.

I may try to cobble up a short release using this idea. The only thing that bothers me is the rather skimpy wiring diagram includes a warning to the effect that you “cannot activate the shutter without auto-focus on.”

I’m not sure what that is all about, my Minolta release has no trouble triggering my Sony Alpha in the manual focus mode. It has a two position switch that acts just like the camera itself. You press the switch part way and it arms the camera and triggers AF. (If you have AF turned on.) Then you press the button all the way down to take the image.

I use manual focus quite often when shooting in the studio. It is almost mandatory for macro closeups. It is also a necessity when you are creating special effects like HDR images where you don’t want the camera to refocus between shots. If this release won’t allow you to use manual focus, it won’t be very useful.

Despite that, I may try to hack together one of these, and try to figure out just how to make it work with manual focus. If nothing else, I can toss it into my camera bag, so I’ll always have a release handy, while my 16 foot Minolta release is safety stored away in the studio.

Make a Wired SONY ALPHA DSLR Remote – More DIY How To Projects

Second Option: Photoblogs DIY Sony Alpha release

I found an second online design for a Sony Alpha wired remote. Check out the Photoblog DIY shutter release cable for Sony’s Alpha dSLRs. It is a similar concept to the Instructable above, but it the author doesn’t say anything about not being able to use manual focus. If I decide to go this route, I may use elements from both designs to create my own custom release.

Sony Alpha release: the wireless option

The ultimate option would be a wireless version. I like the idea of having no cable to get tangled and I can trigger the camera from anywhere without worrying about wires. You will find the details on how to build a Wireless camera remote for Minolta 5D. It is a little more involved, but it’s probably the superior way to go. I expect that the same device should work for any Sony Alpha, since the wired release Minolta sold for the Maxxum 5D will also trigger any Sony Alpha.

Hopefully this will “trigger” your own creative DIY impulses and give you some ideas on how to build the perfect Alpha remote release. If you do try to tackle one of these designs, why not take a photo and send it to me. I’ll start a gallery showing al the different ways Alphatracks readers approach building a hand made shutter release.

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Is your Minolta SRT model looking a little rough? What about your old reliable XD-11? Does it still look pristine? Maybe your XG-7 could use a little refurbishing. If you got an old, but well loved Minolta SLR, you can make into something very special. With a little elbow grease and a replacement leather kit from CameraLeather, you can turn your run-of-the-mill SLR into a one-of-a-kind show camera.

While CameraLeather won’t necessarily make your camera take better photos, it will definitely increase your pride in ownership. I’ve always found that when I value a special instrument, I tend to work harder at getting a result that matches the quality of the tool. So in the end, these kits might just improve the caliber of your photos after all.

Make your classic Minolta a real standout. CameraLeather offers a wide variety of colors and textures as these SRT models demonstrate.

Photo: CameraLeather, used with permission

CameraLeather, as the name implies, offers a line of leather kits that any handy DIYer can use to resurface the grip area on their classic SLR. DSLRs, with their molded, composite bodies probably don’t lend themselves to leather covering. The older metal bodied cameras, on the other hand, are the perfect target for one of these leather kits. Since CameraLeather offers a wide range of colors and styles, you an customize your aging SRT or XD-11 to look better than new. Best of all. the kits are inexpensive, ranging in price from to $10.50 for synthetic materials to $44 for the exotic kid skins. Most of the pre-cut covering kits for 35mm SLRs are less then $20.00. The biggest investment required in the time you invest to remove the old overing and apply the new one.

CameraLeather offers an incredible array of coverings.

Photo: CameraLeather, used with permission

To my mind, these leather coverings evoke an earlier era, when wealthy people would tote beautifully crafted classics with them on far flung-travels. I could imagine seeing one of these aboard the Orient Express or on a trip up the Nile in one of Agatha Christie’s novels. These cameras wouldn’t look out of place in a stateroom on the Titanic, either.

Too British for you? How about a fellow named Gatsby slinging one of these over his shoulder, bound for a day of yacht racing off Newport, Rhode Island. I would think a leather endowed XD-11 would be just his thing.

Ok, enough romanticizing. These leather covered cameras are uber-cool, but are they practical? I don’t want to lock my camera up in a display case — my cameras are for taking photos. How well will these coverings hold up?

That is one of many questions I had for Morgan Sparks of CameraLeather. Following are my questions and the answers provided by Sparks::

How difficult is it to recover Minolta SRT and X series SLRs?

How well does the leather stand up in use? Can someone use the camera regularly without damage from sweaty palms or oily skin?

Has anyone tried your fabric on lens barrels? After long use, some of the rubber grips on my Rokker lenses have stretched or come off completely. It might be interesting to buy a matching fabric sheet and cut it to fit the lens, making the lens and camera match. Impractical? What do you think?

Hmm. This seems like a very interesting project. There are a couple of hitches, however. First, it’s been years since I actually shot film. I still have some of my old SLRs and it might be fun to take one out and play with it now and then, but the film train has pretty much left the station. And she ain’t ever coming back.

Secondly, I am at a loss to think of which of my old SLRs I would want to cover. My old SRTs are pretty well used. They have been dropped, nicked, exposed to all manner of hard use — one has even been run over by an errant race car.

Other metal bodied Minolta SLRs, like this XD11 are also good candidates for the leather treatment..

Photo: CameraLeather, used with permission

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not careless about my equipment, but sometimes getting the shot is more important than keeping the camera in pristine condition. So these scars are a badge of honor as far as I’m concerned. But I’m afraid an immaculate leather covering would clash with the scared metal housing. I would have to distress the leather to make it match — that doesn’t seem like a very good idea.

I do have a mint Minolta SR-7 and I’m sure a leather covering would look great on it. CamaeraLeather doesn’t offer a kit expressly for the SR-7, but it is so close in appearance to the later SRT series that I think I could adapt a SRT kit. If not, CameraLeather sells uncut sheets of the adhesive backed leather so I could go that route and custom make my covering.

But as I said, the SR-7 is in mint, nearly unused condition. It probably isn’t greatly valuable today, but I would guess in the coming years it might be worth something. But it I remove the original hard covering and replace it with leather, the camera probably will not have any real value to a collector. Sigh.

Maybe I could look around for an old XD-11 on ebay. It would lend itself well to the refined look of leather and Minolta made enough of them that they wouldn’t be as much of a collector’s item as the older SR model.

Leather is precut for every supported camera model.

Photo: CameraLeather, used with permission

I wonder what it would be like to shoot film again? I’m going to have to think about that. I would never return to film in place of digital for my professional work…but it might be fun to haul around a leather bound film SLR for family events and the like.

While I’m studying on the problem, if you have a suitable candidate for a leather treatment, check out the CameraLeather website.

If you do try your hand at recovering an old Minolta SLR, send in some photos so I can share with other Alphatracks readers. Who knows, maybe we can spark a revival of classic Minolta SLRs.

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Minolta SLR
film camera
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camera mod
Tom Bonner
Alphatracks

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