RapidSofties

The Classic Softrelease; since July 23, 1998 & MiniSoftrelease; since Feb. 22, 2002

Sometimes the simplest of things makes a big difference. There have been many variations of the Softreleases made over the years, but they were either too tall or even worse had a concave surface. This “directed” the finger to the center of the Softrelease and, of course, pushed the camera downward.

The Abrahamsson Softie has a convex surface that allows you to touch the release at the edge for fast shooting (no more hunting for the center) and more importantly – you can “hook” your finger over the convex surface and, as with target shooting, use the 2nd joint of the finger to control the pressure on the release.

After some training you can gain as much as 1 stop in slow speed shooting and with some luck, up to 1.5 stops. It is possible to shoot at 1/8 sec with a 50mm lens and get sharp images. Wider lenses work even slower, down to ½ sec.

The material used for the Abrahamsson Softie is aerospace alloy. This allows multiple colors to be produced. Can also be used for “coding” film. Tri X –green softie, Ektachrome – blue Softie, etc.
The alloy also allows engraving.

The Softie works basically with any camera with a standard cable release thread. The “Mini” version of it was a response to customers wanting to use the Softrelease on other brands of cameras as well as with the Leicas.

For slow exposures you "hook" the finger over the Softie - using the second joint to squeeze it down. Once perfected you gain at least 1 f-stop in hand-held speed. Please see picture of Tom showing this below.

Please e-mail us regarding delivery cost to your location/country and your payment method (VISA/MC & Paypal-charges)

We accept payment by Paypal, VISA, MasterCard, International Money Order (IMO) and personal check drawn on North American Bank. Please make IMO's and checks payable to "One-Off Industrial Designs". Please send VISA & MC- information in two e-mails; first one with VISA or MC-number and second with exp. date. Charge for payment with Paypal and VISA and MC apply.

The Abrahamsson Softrelease is a simple device that can help you get sharper pictures by smoothing out your shutter release technique. It is a dome-shaped "button" that screws into the regular cable release (using the same thread as the cable release).

There have been a lot of these done over the years: dish shaped cast aluminum ones (notorious for breaking off in the thread), small plastic ones with camera names on them, and of course, the Leica one; a complex, tall spring loaded device that forever got caught in straps and stood ¾" proud of the camera (it is also a highly collectible device, easily costing $50 at the trade shows).

I decided to design my own Softrelease - I disliked the dish shaped version, it required that you use the tip of your finger to release the shutter - not conducive to a smooth action. By making the top dome shaped you can use the joint on your finger to squeeze the release - very much akin to firing a target-pistol or a rifle. The diameter is the same as the cup surrounding the M release button. The edge is knurled so you can easily unscrew it if required. It is machined of aerospace alloy on a CNC (computer numerically controlled) machining center. It comes in a variety of colors (some users indicate film-type with the different colors).
Nothing is of course perfect - the Softrelease is also prone to releasing the shutter every time you put it in a camera bag, but in my estimation, that's a low price to pay for the sharper image that you get, at least when you are shooting in the very slow range. Without the release I can probably get a 50% success rate with a 50-mm lens and 1/15th speed. With the Softrelease I can get down as low as ¼ or 1/8 of a sec and still be reasonably sure of getting sharp images. It is amazing what you can get on film with a 50/1 and Delta 3200 film.

Both the Classic (diameter 15mm) and MiniSoftrelease (diameter 10 mm) fit a Leica or any other camera with a standard cable release.

- R4M
- Rollei 35
- Pentax (not Pentax LX)
- Fuji 645 (rangefinder)
- Nikon FM
- Nikon FE2
- Nikon F3/T
- Nikkormat FTN
- Nikkormat FT2

-Canon P (according to Karen Nakamura)
- Koni-Omega Rapid (which means it should fit the Rapid M, 100 and 200 models as well)
- Kodak Retina IIIC (so-called "Big C" - should fit the IIIc as well)
- Kodak Retina Reflex
- Bessa L
- Bessa T (the early models only?)

The MiniSoftrelease fits according to user/shooter info:

Voigtlander Bessa L, T, R, R2, R2A, R3A, R2M, R3M
Voiglander Bessa R4
RD-1
Rollei 35
Rollei TLR's including the GX
Rolleiflex
Leica R 6-2
Canon F1, FTb, FL, L1, etc. (manual focus SLRs)
Nikon FM2, FE2, FM3A (not original FM and FE)
Pentax Manual Focus SLRs such as K1000, ME, MX
Fuji GW series
Seagull 4a-107
Zorki 3m
Super Ikonta C
Super Ikonta III
Agfa Super Isolette
Leica M Rangefinders (not screwmount Leica rangefinders)
Olympus OM series (not Pen F, FT, or Pen half frames), Olympus 35 SP, Olympus 35 RC
The MiniSoftie fits most mechanical fixed lens rangefinders, including the compact '70s rangefinders. A notable exception is the Minolta 7sII.
The Mini does not fit Pentax Spotmatic (too small for it) or Contax S2.
Will the MiniSoftrelease Fit YOUR camera? IF your round shutter release button has a threaded socket for a mechanical cable release, the chances are the MiniSoftrelease will work.
The MiniSoftrelease will NOT fit cameras requiring a cable release adapter which fits OVER the shutter release (instead of screwing INTO the shutter release), such as Nikon rangefinders, classic Contax Rangefinders, Nikon F and F2, and Leica screw mount rangefinders
"It works like a charm on the ROLLEIFLEX 2.8GX and should work well on the E, F, and T", Terry Cioni reported.

"The Minisoftrelease I bought a while ago for my Spotmatic F now fits perfectly on my Minolta Hi-Matic 7. It's a useful tool, since the shutter release of the Minolta is very deep and demands a strong squeeze. It helps spreading the pressure a little bit on the finger", Michel emailed on June 29, 2007
Dr Gabor Samjeske gabor@cat.hokudai.ac.jp In Hokkaido,Japan just e-mailed us the following

"I just had a look at your web site again, regarding which cameras the soft release will fit. I tested the Mini-Softie with my Hasselblad 500 C/M and it works !! It screws into the thread and the shutter can be fired. Can take a photo later after work today and mail you so you can put it on your web-site."

Problem fits with Classic Softie

- Canonet G-III QL17 and Konica Auto S3. (On these two, the SoftRelease threads don't seem to screw all the way in?)

The Classic Softie does not fit Yashicas we are just being informed.

The classic on Pentax 67II does not work. The threads go all the way in and never catch

Suggestions how not to lose the Softrelese in case of crude cable release attachment:

The reason for the loosening of the Softie is that the thread in the cable release attachment is very "crude" - it is only about 2 ½ turns from loose to lock and that makes it difficult to tighten the Softie down hard. It's a good habit to check once in awhile that your Softie is tightly screwed in. - I occasionally have also used some LocTite on some of my Softies to keep them in place. This does work well, but if you use it you have to be careful when you apply it, or you could have a permanent locked shutter release.- Another trick that seems to work also is to paint the thread with nail polish and let it dry until it is slightly sticky and then screws it in. The Permatex works the same way as the LocTite, or even white glue, allowed to dry prior to screwing the Softie in.

We also make laser-engraved Softies for various purposes (LUG - & LHSA-meetings we attend, etc.). Please contact us about getting your own engraved Softie(s) at TTAbrahams@aol.com Our engraver prefers to work in batches of 100 and you will supply the Adobe Illustrator (AI) file for the engraving.