motor drives and cable release

[joseph_ho]

does the MD-1 have a standard threaded cable release socket to fire

the camera with? or can i use the socket on the camera and still have

the camera wind automatically, if the socket is even acessible with

the drive attached? if not, is there another MD mount set-up i can

look into to allow me to hook up an air release to a motor drive camera?

 

if you are wondering where tha hec i am going with a motor drive

camera and an air release, i want to suction cup a camera to the

outside of a car and trigger it from inside without having to park and

get out to wind it every shot.

[fmueller]

The socket on the camera can be used and is accessible. It is on the left-had side of the lens mount, and it is a standard threaded type fitting a regular cable release. The MD-1 fits the X-700, X-570, X-500, XG-M - possibly also the X-300 and related cameras.

 

Other setups you could use are any of the above cameras and any XG series camera with winder G, as well as any XD series camera with winder D.

 

Something like a XG-1 with winder G might be your best option in case the suction cup fails at full speed on the highway ;-)

 

Finally, air releases suck! I know for sure that you can use an electric cable release to trigger an XD. No battery is required. An XD will fire if you short-circuit a contact inside the cable release socket against the threaded outside part. That means you can use the tip of an old cable release, make sure that the inner part touches the contact on the camer, but not the outer part, and use two long wires each of which are connected to the inner and outer part of this contraption respectively. These wires you lead inside the car, and if you touch one with the other, the camera will fire! A button would make the last part more elegant ;-)

 

The same might work with an XG or the X-700 etc, but I am not 100% sure.

[drjedsmith]

Why not get the infra-red release from Ebay or KEH? It's not too high priced, and works pretty far away.<BR>

Jed

[rokkor fan]

A more affordable option is the Minolta remote release cord L. It has a 16.5 foot cord which should be plenty long enough for your needs. B&H has them new for $39.95 (but they are currently out of stock). If you need it urgently I have one here that you can have for $35 inc. postage to the USA (I am in Australia). Wasn't planning to sell it but I can always replace it later if I need to.

 

Regards,

 

Antony (www.rokkorfiles.com)