Why No Bulb or Cable Release Socket?

Jim wrote:

By the way, the fine manual for the D90 says that you can leave the camera
at bulb for up to 35 minutes.

Exactly!

Try keeping a pneumatic bulb squeezed for 35 mins. And once you've
developed the muscular strength to do that, try and find someone who
makes camera pneumatic releases which can hold air pressure for 36
mins :-)

There are still plenty of old cameras around in attics and junk shops
which have these features. And there are still some old guys shooting
with them.

I guess it's like the old philosophical debates about how many legs a
spider had. It's so much more fun to argue all day about it than to
find a spider and look :-)

--
Chris Malcolm

jim evans wrote:
On Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:04:33 -0500, Cynicor
wrote:

jim evans wrote:
Why do most digital cameras have no Bulb ability? Why no provision
for using a cable release?

I have a DSLR-like digital camera (Panasonic FZ50). It has a focusing
ring and a zoom ring on the lens. In essentially all ways except the
pentaprism it has the functions of a DSLR, but it's absent these
useful features. I've owned 5 digital cameras, none had these
features.

Simple film cameras had them. Why do most digital cameras not have
them?
Five point-and-shoots, right? Because every DSLR I've had provides bulb
ability.

So you figure camera manufacturers leave these features off in order
to cater to elitist snobbery?

No, they make you buy a special remote so that you can add that
functionality for a small fee (IE: The purchase price of the remote.).

Chris Malcolm wrote:
Jim wrote:

By the way, the fine manual for the D90 says that you can leave the
camera at bulb for up to 35 minutes.

Exactly!

Try keeping a pneumatic bulb squeezed for 35 mins. And once you've
developed the muscular strength to do that, try and find someone who
makes camera pneumatic releases which can hold air pressure for 36
mins :-)

You've never used a cable release, have you? On most of them there's
a screw that locks the release for long exposures.

And unlike digital cameras, the interface for the cable release was
pretty well standardized by the '50s if not before--there may have
been some that used a different thread for it but I never encountered
one.

I agree that the electrical release has many advantages, but I do wish
that the camera manufacturers would come up with a standard interface
for the thing.

Nonetheless a cable release should cost pretty much nothing to
add--it's just a screw thread on the shutter release that allows the
pin on the cable release to press down on the underlying mechanism.

I suspect that the real reason that the cable release was removed and
replaced with an electrical release is that nobody was willing to pay
45 bucks for a cable release with a "Nikon" or "Canon" sticker on it
when a perfectly adequate one could be obtained for 5 bucks as a
generic. But if the connector is proprietary then they can force
anyone needing a remote to pay 45 bucks for a switch and a wire that
if not for the proprietary connector could be cobbled up from Rat
Shack parts for that same 5 bucks.

This is one area where I'm of the opinion "three cheers for the
Chinese".

There are still plenty of old cameras around in attics and junk
shops
which have these features. And there are still some old guys
shooting
with them.

I guess it's like the old philosophical debates about how many legs
a
spider had. It's so much more fun to argue all day about it than to
find a spider and look :-)

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

dj_nme wrote:
jim evans wrote:
On Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:04:33 -0500, Cynicor
wrote:

jim evans wrote:
Why do most digital cameras have no Bulb ability? Why no provision
for using a cable release?

I have a DSLR-like digital camera (Panasonic FZ50). It has a focusing
ring and a zoom ring on the lens. In essentially all ways except the
pentaprism it has the functions of a DSLR, but it's absent these
useful features. I've owned 5 digital cameras, none had these
features.
Simple film cameras had them. Why do most digital cameras not have
them?
Five point-and-shoots, right? Because every DSLR I've had provides
bulb ability.

So you figure camera manufacturers leave these features off in order
to cater to elitist snobbery?

No, they make you buy a special remote so that you can add that
functionality for a small fee (IE: The purchase price of the remote.).

And they make you buy a more expensive camera that allows use of the
electrical remote. We have several cheaper Nikon DSLRs that do not have
sockets for the Nikon remote cable. Still, they are fine cameras.

"J. Clarke" wrote in message
...
Chris Malcolm wrote:
Jim wrote:

By the way, the fine manual for the D90 says that you can leave the
camera at bulb for up to 35 minutes.

Exactly!

Try keeping a pneumatic bulb squeezed for 35 mins. And once you've
developed the muscular strength to do that, try and find someone who
makes camera pneumatic releases which can hold air pressure for 36
mins :-)

You've never used a cable release, have you? On most of them there's
a screw that locks the release for long exposures.

And unlike digital cameras, the interface for the cable release was
pretty well standardized by the '50s if not before--there may have
been some that used a different thread for it but I never encountered
one.

I agree that the electrical release has many advantages, but I do wish
that the camera manufacturers would come up with a standard interface
for the thing.

Nonetheless a cable release should cost pretty much nothing to
add--it's just a screw thread on the shutter release that allows the
pin on the cable release to press down on the underlying mechanism.

I suspect that the real reason that the cable release was removed and
replaced with an electrical release is that nobody was willing to pay
45 bucks for a cable release with a "Nikon" or "Canon" sticker on it
when a perfectly adequate one could be obtained for 5 bucks as a
generic. But if the connector is proprietary then they can force
anyone needing a remote to pay 45 bucks for a switch and a wire that
if not for the proprietary connector could be cobbled up from Rat
Shack parts for that same 5 bucks.

This is one area where I'm of the opinion "three cheers for the
Chinese".

There are still plenty of old cameras around in attics and junk
shops
which have these features. And there are still some old guys
shooting
with them.

I guess it's like the old philosophical debates about how many legs
a
spider had. It's so much more fun to argue all day about it than to
find a spider and look :-)

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)


Yes, the cables all had that locking method. But, why use this cable method
with a camera that has the Time function? Press the shutter once to open
the shutter. Press it again to close the shutter.
The S2, the F2, and the F3 will stay open forever.
Jim

Cynicor wrote:
[Sorry, original posting missing, therefore replying to yours]
jim evans wrote:
Why do most digital cameras have no Bulb ability?

Probably because long-term exposure of digital sensors produces too much
noise anyway.

Why no provision for using a cable release?

Because for digital (=electronic) cameras they have been superseeded by
wireless and wired remote controls which for many cameras not only
trigger the shutter but allow basic camera control from the remote. And
doing that from a distance, where no outdated cable release could ever
dream about going.

Simple film cameras had them. Why do most digital cameras not have
them?

Because they are outdated. Why would manufacturers add an additional
microswitch and that threaded hole when an outlet for the remote control
adds much more features?

What _I_ don't understand is why manufacturers are using proprietary
connectors for the remote controls instead of the already existing
USB-connector with ideally a standardized protocol.

jue

"Jim" wrote in message
...

"J. Clarke" wrote in message
...
Chris Malcolm wrote:
Jim wrote:

By the way, the fine manual for the D90 says that you can leave the
camera at bulb for up to 35 minutes.

Exactly!

Try keeping a pneumatic bulb squeezed for 35 mins. And once you've
developed the muscular strength to do that, try and find someone who
makes camera pneumatic releases which can hold air pressure for 36
mins :-)

You've never used a cable release, have you? On most of them there's
a screw that locks the release for long exposures.

And unlike digital cameras, the interface for the cable release was
pretty well standardized by the '50s if not before--there may have
been some that used a different thread for it but I never encountered
one.

I agree that the electrical release has many advantages, but I do wish
that the camera manufacturers would come up with a standard interface
for the thing.

Nonetheless a cable release should cost pretty much nothing to
add--it's just a screw thread on the shutter release that allows the
pin on the cable release to press down on the underlying mechanism.

I suspect that the real reason that the cable release was removed and
replaced with an electrical release is that nobody was willing to pay
45 bucks for a cable release with a "Nikon" or "Canon" sticker on it
when a perfectly adequate one could be obtained for 5 bucks as a
generic. But if the connector is proprietary then they can force
anyone needing a remote to pay 45 bucks for a switch and a wire that
if not for the proprietary connector could be cobbled up from Rat
Shack parts for that same 5 bucks.

This is one area where I'm of the opinion "three cheers for the
Chinese".

There are still plenty of old cameras around in attics and junk
shops
which have these features. And there are still some old guys
shooting
with them.

I guess it's like the old philosophical debates about how many legs
a
spider had. It's so much more fun to argue all day about it than to
find a spider and look :-)

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)


Yes, the cables all had that locking method. But, why use this cable
method with a camera that has the Time function? Press the shutter once
to open the shutter. Press it again to close the shutter.
The S2, the F2, and the F3 will stay open forever.
Jim

Because the Time function on your DSLR won't stop-down the lens that's six
inches away on the front of your bellows?

Deep

On Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:04:33 -0500, Cynicor
wrote:

jim evans wrote:
Why do most digital cameras have no Bulb ability? Why no provision
for using a cable release?

I have a DSLR-like digital camera (Panasonic FZ50). It has a focusing
ring and a zoom ring on the lens. In essentially all ways except the
pentaprism it has the functions of a DSLR, but it's absent these
useful features. I've owned 5 digital cameras, none had these
features.

Simple film cameras had them. Why do most digital cameras not have
them?

Five point-and-shoots, right? Because every DSLR I've had provides bulb
ability.

I have not played with very many of them, but all the real
DSLR's I have handled do have bulb and remote release (electrical
switch not mechanical). It only makes sense to use electrical
switches on these cameras.

On Sat, 17 Jan 2009 22:55:58 -0600, TrentTarkins
wrote:

On Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:42:58 -0500, Dave Cohen wrote:

....

Wholly incorrect.

"Bulb" refers to the "flashbulb" shutter speed.

I take it you have never used a air release?

On Sun, 18 Jan 2009 13:44:33 -0500, wrote:

On Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:04:33 -0500, Cynicor
wrote:

jim evans wrote:
Why do most digital cameras have no Bulb ability? Why no provision
for using a cable release?

I have a DSLR-like digital camera (Panasonic FZ50). It has a focusing
ring and a zoom ring on the lens. In essentially all ways except the
pentaprism it has the functions of a DSLR, but it's absent these
useful features. I've owned 5 digital cameras, none had these
features.

Simple film cameras had them. Why do most digital cameras not have
them?

Five point-and-shoots, right? Because every DSLR I've had provides bulb
ability.

I have not played with very many of them, but all the real
DSLR's I have handled do have bulb and remote release (electrical
switch not mechanical). It only makes sense to use electrical
switches on these cameras.

The Nikon D40, which I count as a "real" dslr, has an accessory
electronic remote, but it only works from in front of the camera.
That, to me, is not a "real" remote.


--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida