How To Make Your Own Release Cable

DIY is fun.  You get to learn more about your equipment and stick a finger to those companies who sell really expensive equipment.  Besides, nothing beats the feeling of making something yourself.

For this project, I decided to make my own release cable.  A release cable is an extension of your shutter button.  It lets you take pictures without pressing the shutter button on your camera.  It is particularly useful in long exposures because it reduces or eliminates camera shake.  In long exposures, even pressing the shutter button will make the camera move resulting in blurry shots.

Doing an internet search on DIY release cables can give you a lot of results.  This post will show you what I learned and how I did it.

A release cable is plugged directly into the camera's stereo jack.  For my camera, a Canon 500D, the stereo jack is located on the same side where the USB cable is plugged in.  It uses a 2.5 mm stereo jack which is smaller than the common 3.5 mm stereo jacks.

As I've learned, controlling the shutter using the stereo jack is pretty simple.  You just have to connect the tip of the jack to either the middle part (the ring) or the inner part (the sleeve).  Depending on where you connect the tip, you either activate the shutter or the auto-focus.

If you strip off the other end of the stereo jack, you will find three wires.  I had to do some testing to see which wire corresponds to which part of the jack.  A VOM with a continuity test really helped.

After going around looking for 2.5 mm stereo jacks, I finally decided to by a 3.5 mm to 2.5 mm adapter.

I got the 3.5 mm stereo cable with 2 male ends.  I decided on getting these so I can plug one end to the camera and the other end to my switch.   I will keep both ends intact so when the cable needs replacement, I could just buy another one and avoid rewiring the whole thing.

Then, I got another adapter.  This one has a 3.5 mm socket at one end and another stereo plug at the other end.  This will connect to my switch.

Here it is connected to the switch.  I used an AC switch so I had to do some rewiring.  If you want simpler wiring, try using a DC switch just like the ones used in the other tutorials.

Note that I did not connect the focus wire to anything. When I took this picture, I decided not to use the focus wire.  But later, I did some modifications to include the focus.

This is the whole switch assembly. Moving the switch to the "On" position activates the shutter. This connects to one end of the stereo cable.

Connect the other end of the stereo cable to the 2.5 mm adaptor and to the camera's stereo jack.  

And, there you go - my own release cable.  Now, if I could get my hands on something like a key finder, I could probably make this a wireless trigger.

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My Open Source Flash Diffuser

I bought a Metz 48 AF-1 external flash a long time ago. I decided on this other than the Canon Speedlites because of its value for money. I only have two complaints - the reflector card is so small for it to matter and I can't find a diffuser which fits.

A diffuser is a flash attachment that reflects or distributes the light coming from the flash. Without a diffuser, light from the flash causes harsh shadows and gives the photo an uneven look. A diffuser may either be a translucent box that covers your flash head or a reflector just like those big umbrellas you find in photo studios. Using a diffuser gives your photos a more natural look.

And since I can't find any Metz-compatible diffuser in any local shop, I decided to make one myself. To make my job easier, I decided on making a reflector. I read from various DIY photography blogs that plastic bottles make good reflectors. I am calling this project the Open Source Flash Diffuser.  Open source because I'm showing you how it's done and I won't bill you for it.  And, if you have any improvements, you can add on to this post.

For this project, I used an empty bathroom cleaner bottle.

I cut off the bottle's top and bottom giving me a tube.  Using a pair of scissors, I split the tube lengthwise giving me a curved white surface.

I had some stick-on velcro strips and placed them on the bottom corners of the reflector.  I used the velcro's hook side.  This is a random decision and, either way, it wouldn't matter.

Then, I placed the velcro's loop side on my flash head's left and right side.

Here it is with the reflector on.

Later on, I put additional velcro strips at the front and back so I can use it to shoot photos in portrait orientation.

I took my reflector on a test drive at the Manila International Auto Show (pun intended) and it worked well despite its cheapness.  Walking around the auto show, I beamed with pride carrying this around.  I felt I was pretty smart carrying the cheapest reflector in that convention.  That is, until I saw someone with a plastic fan stuck to his flash head and another with a sheet of paper stuck to his.

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