Night and Low-light Photography Photo Workshop

button that you can press to trigger the shutter

release on a wide range of Nikon cameras. This

single-function remote retails for about $20. Even

though this remote only has one button, it does

lock the shutter open when you set the camera to

bulb mode. Press the button once to open the

shutter, and press it again to close the shutter.

The Canon RC-6 Wireless remote triggers the

shutter on a host of Canon cameras. This remote

has a single button and works by line of site from

the remote to the front of the camera, so when

the camera is mounted on a tripod and you are

trying to trigger the shutter release from behind

the camera, you might have to adjust where you

aim the remote to get it to work.

The simplest Nikon shutter release is the

MC-DC-2 Remote release cord, which is compat-

ible with the newer consumer-level cameras. It is

just a simple button that can be locked open;

when you press the button, it triggers the camera.

If you are a Canon user, check out the Canon

Remote Switch RS60 E3, which brings the single

button remote to the Canon line of cameras.

Regardless of what type of camera you have, you

should check your camera manual to find out

which remote triggers are compatible before pur-

chasing one.

Timers

Chances are your camera has a built-in timer that

can trigger the shutter release a few seconds after

you press the shutter release button. This was cre-

ated so that you could set the camera down, press

the shutter release button, and run back to get in

your own photo. It also offers the advantage that,

by using the timer, the camera doesn’t have any-

thing touching it before the shutter is moved,

which reduces the small vibrations that can be

just have a button that, when pressed, triggers the
camera’s shutter release. Some remotes allow you
to lock the button in place so that when used
with the camera’s bulb mode, the shutter will stay
open as long as the remote button is locked. The
Nikon MC-36, shown in Figure 3-19, has a shut-
ter release button that can be locked open just by
sliding the lock up when pressing the button.

The difference between a shutter release (also
called a cable release) and a remote is that a shut-
ter release is usually attached to the camera phys-
ically while the remote is a wireless trigger. For
example, the Nikon ML-L3 remote has a single

ABOUT THIS PHOTO The Nikon MC-36 is a remote trigger that
can keep the shutter locked open.

3-19