remote shutter release

Overall Rating: ( 2 reviews )

1. ( 0 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Feb 28 2008

   someone asked for feedback about the generic remote that fits the FZ50 that can be found on eBay-- well, I ordered one that was made by JJC for $20, plus another $20 in s&h from a seller in China and though it took 2 weeks to get it--it works perfectly with my Panasonic Lumix FZ50 digital camera! So if you don't want to shell out twice the amount of money, and don't mind a little wait for delivery, go search eBay for the remote!!!

2. ( 8 of 8 found this review helpful ) Posted: Dec 25 2006

   The Panasonic Lumix cameras don't ship with remote controls. So if you're doing nature or other types of photography where you want as much control over the moment of exposure as possible, you either risk the self-timer or buy this vastly over-priced item. What it boils down to is that if you want a vibration-free exposure at a moment of your choosing (disregarding the inherent delay of the camera) it's the DMW-RSL1 or nothing. At least the product does what it supposed to, even it it is grossly over-priced. I'm sure you could build one yourself for far less, but I haven't been inclined to try to figure out how. Jerry

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Overall Rating: ( 5 reviews )

1. Posted: Dec 11 2007

   I got this product yesterday, I found that it perfect for night shots over a tripod, I used it with the FZ50, and this camera doesn't have a bulb, and this remote is like the shutter button in your thumb nail without touching the camera over the tripod and without setting the self timer to the 2 seconds position every time to avoid camera vibration, about the lenght of the cord length it is about 3 feet (90 cm), which I think it is good enough. So I recommend it strongly for all FZ50 owners that use it in night shots with low shutter speed over 0.5 seconds over the tripod, and there is no need to pay more to get the RSL1 especially that the FZ50 doesn't have bulb as I said before.

2. Posted: Sep 21 2007

   Product works great but is too short. I even went online to the Panasonic web site to find a longer one but I guess they don't make them any longer. I wanted to use it to get my camera closer to a bird feeder and be able to stand out of sight to shoot the pictures - no way.

3. ( 2 of 2 found this review helpful ) Posted: Sep 8 2007

   This remote cable release works perfectly for the FZ50 and has held together during my rough and regular use in wilderness conditions for several months so far despite getting continually dropped, squeezed in the legs of my tripod and accidentally tied in knots.

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Overall Rating: ( 1 reviews )

1. ( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jan 21 2008

   Quick turnaround with my product! But I've tried 2 times to contact the seller of this product and have not heard back from him! I would like to exchange this product for a wireless remote, and have not had any success reaching the seller!!

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Overall Rating: ( 5 reviews )

1. Posted: Mar 29 2008

   Overpriced by a factor of two, but it's the only game in town. I use it for getting a certain kind of shot. I put the E-3 at the end of my monopod, point the live view screen down, and hoist the whole thing high over my head. This way I get shots from the perspective of a 12 foot tall person... helpful in some situations like parades, crowds and riots. I have never seen anything poorly made from Olympus. But I have seen them take advantage of us by charging way too much for proprietary bits and pieces. Oh well... you know if you need a cable release, and if you do, this is the only thing that will work for the E-1 or E-3.

2. Posted: Feb 27 2008

   This is the standard electronic cable release for the E-3 body (as well as some older models). It attaches very securely to the dedicated socket on the side of the E-3 body. Like the old fashioned style, it features a lock mechanism for bulb exposures. Otherwise, it is a duplicate of the on-camera shutter button. My main gripe with this well built device is the length of the cable: too long. The whole thing is some 50 inches! To took mine apart and shortened the cable to a more manageable 12 inches or so. This is not for the faint of heart, as the moulded stress reliever end is bonded to the wire. After cutting it to length, I drilled down through the stress reliever and then pushed the wire back through it. This, of course, requires opening up the body of the remote and doing some soldering. But it works fine! I am happy to finally have an Olympus body with a wired remote, even if the RM-CB1 is a tad long...

3. ( 5 of 5 found this review helpful ) Posted: Dec 9 2007

   The RM-CB1 is used on multiple Olympus cameras. I'll break the review into a tecnical review first and a fun stuff section you can omit. DSLR cameras have some unique advantages in the scientific and research fields which the RM-CB1 opens up to you such as bulb exposures without vibration, long term sequenced shooting, multiple camera syncing, and event syncronized timing. Lab geeks will have a blast. Technical summary: The RM-CB1 is relatively simple - a copy of the shutter release on your camera, plus a mechanical lock that holds it down for bulb exposures (on a tripod), a one meter high quality cable, and a 3 pin screw-down plug for the camera. The jack/plug are nonstandard so you won't find them at the local electronics store, however, the back of the handle can be removed with one screw, and you can solder wires there where the cable comes in to attach your own trigger systems (I have one that captures lightning strike photos - the camera is preset, the shutter button is halfway pressed with a toggle switch, and when the moment arrives, my preset manual exposure and infinity focus settings are used to capture the event) How it works: There are two stranded wires in the cable plus a shield for a total of 3 conductors. The brown conductor is the "half press" equivalent when connected to the ground / shield. After this has happened, the camera will focus, so I put a toggle switch on it to hold the camera ready for the shot (have dual batteries or an AC adapter if you plan to wait a long time). Connecting the red lead to ground takes the exposure. Depending on the model, you can take multiple exposures by multiple closures between red and ground without opening the brown to ground circuit - you need to test the "half press" logic in your camera. CAUTIONS / MISC applications After the E300 the remote cable release became a usb device and has a different part number. I don't own one of these backs because I didn't know how the USB version worked, but my friends do and have engineered similar interfaces, so you're not left out in the cold if that's what you have. As of the olympus E3 they switched back to the RM-CB1 plug again, which was one of the reasons I bought an E3. Making your own exposure control means you need to know the various delays - I use an Agilent frequency counter that can be set to count 1/10,000,000ths of a second from start to stop (one ten millionth of a second - way more than you need). Don't pay attention to more than the first 1000's of a second thogh - there are delays in relays between two poles when you run a clock that fast and the camera will vary depending on its temperature. The E300 has different delays depending on what you want it to do - if you PRESET exposure, focus, and just trigger it you can expose it in under 0.09 seconds (9/100's or 90/1000's of a second) on an E300 which is fast enough for lightning. I use a fast shutter speed and photograph the agilent timer to see when the exposure was taken. E300's go for $187 now on ebay so you can buy several and use sequential timers between them for mini-high-speed photography. If you know when an event will happen - you start the first camera at -0.090 seconds on the first timer (omron makes these and can be found at grainger's industrial section) - timer output two is triggered by the first then fires the second camera at +0.020 seconds while timer three and camera three fire at +.040 seconds giving you 3 exposures only 2 hundredths of a second apart which can capture rapid motion inexpensively. Most of the hardware can be found on ebay to wire this up except the RM-CB1! The omron timers can be accurate down to 1/1000 second. The Bullet and the Apple - can you shoot that? In theory, yes. If your camera takes .094 seconds from the red circuit closing until it opens the shutter, then you need to know how far behind the apple to put a detector for the bullet about .1 second before it hits the apple and use it to trigger the camera (don't forget the time needed to detect the bullet). I haven't done this but I'd recommend very slow bullets or else long ranges to shoot! You could even condense this somewhat because it takes time for a gun to fire from the time the hammer falls which is to your advantage and another way to accomplish this. Moving the apple gives you some help too. Other options are a nightime bulb exposure and just syncing a flash on the apple based on how fast it fires which can be measured again with an Agilent frequency counter. The RM-CM1 is your entry into electronic, time lapse, high speed, automatic exposure, astronomic shots and a whole lot of fun beyond "normal" picture taking. Because I use my E300's in a lab I've done alot with this part. I like the fact that olympus cameras can be acquired inexpensively and take 8MP+ scientific photos under $1000 and still be used for "normal" portraits or bulb photos stabilized on a tripod with the remote release. Fortunately the digital format gives you the result immediately and you can adjust if you just miss a shot to get it the next time. Be sure to bring a bushel of apples!

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Overall Rating: ( 41 reviews )

1. Posted: Jul 25 2008

   I bought this cable release to use with my Nikon D300 and the Custom Idea GeoPic II - Direct Connect Geotagging GPS Unit for Nikon & Fujifilm Digital SLRs. The Geo Tracker plugs directly into the 10 pin connector of the Nikon - which blocks using the normal Nikon cable release. However, the GeoPic has a connection to add the Canon or compatible cable release. The combo works great together. Bill

2. Posted: Jul 23 2008

   This remote is great. When I first got it, just testing it out makes my life easier for photography. It's much more easier than pressing the shutter button and causing even more shake. Simply, it works the way it was made. Some reviewers have given this item a low rating because they figured it was intended for self portraits, etc and the cable was not long enough (cable is around 1 1/2'). I don't believe this switch was intended for that but whatever. I'll primarily be using this for macro photography and astro photography and this is a major help to that. This shutter release also has a locked position so you can relax while the shutter is opened for longer periods (astro photography). Very cheap and very handy (although it seems Amazon has raised the price only a couple days after I bought it. $17 to $24?). Only con? Mistook the size. Smaller than envisioned. That's about it. Buy this if you're deep into photography and you won't regret it.

3. Posted: Jul 15 2008

   Not exactly what you would call a remote. It's a shutter release switch. Wish the line was longer.

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