The first thing I bought after purchasing my Bronica SQ-Ai (even before the film!) was a threaded cable release. For a photographer who loves long exposure photography, it's a must-have.

If you have used them in the past, you might know they can be a bit of pain: they are always getting lost, and they seem to break easier than an egg.

It's true: I can't remember how many times I had to retrace my footprints in the snow to look for a cable that decided that the great outdoors were a nice place to settle. One of them took me almost 45 minutes of walking in the freezing winter of Indiana (-15F!) to find it. Incredibly, I always find them!

While losing them is my own fault, but fragile cable releases are not.

Do not buy JJC or Fotasy cables. They lasted me just a few days.

The first cables I purchased were rather cheap, around $8... or less. I've already thrown away 2, and I keep another one that is broken as a backup. That third broken cable release was the moment when I said: "enough!".

Following the advice that Gregg gave me on the video "Bronica SQ-Ai kit: what's in my camera bag", I went ahead and purchased a Nikon AR-3 (link to Amazon.com).

The price at the moment was $21 (it's just $13 as I write this, so consider getting yours now!), almost three times the cost of my previous cables. It was completely worth it.

The Nikon AR-3 is a shorter, much better built cable. Totally recommended.

Several months later, I'm using it and it's still going strong. I don't treat it better than the other ones, it's just better quality.

If you were looking for a mechanical shutter release cable, look no further. It might seem like a more expensive cable, but it will save you money in the long-term since it will last much longer than the cheapo ones you can find online.