New: Komaru titanium soft release

A new Komaru titanium soft release was announced by French company Taos Photographic (importer of Match Technical Service and Tom Abrahamsson soft releases). The price is €58,90 ($80).

Update: Komaru soft release buttons can be now purchased at the Leica Store Miami.

Additional information:

For a more sensitive and precise release

Komaru (‘little circle’ in Japanese) is a titanium soft release button with an innovative dual contour. Each Komaru is individually machined, partly by hand, in an aeronautical-grade engineering workshop in Toulouse (France).

Dual contour innovation:

Don’t forget that the aim of a soft release is to enhance precision and stability at release, sometimes gaining more than one aperture stop. Up until now, soft release buttons were either concave or convex, depending on the manufacturer. For the first time, Komaru is offering a dual contour button, convex on the outside and concave in the centre. This more ergonomic solution is inspired by the keys on a flute, both domed and hollowed out to provide a better fit with the musician’s fingertip. In this way Komaru instinctively and immediately centres the finger, and therefore the release pressure.

The sensual feel of titanium:

Titanium and the skin go together hand and hand. Hypoallergenic, it is used in medical applications but also jewelry for its sensual contact and because its surface, insensitive to perspiration, always remains flawless.

Security of the universal conical screw:

Komaru offers better thread locking, due to the unique hardness of titanium TA6V. The thread cannot be mis- threaded and can be screwed in tightly. This reduces the risk of unscrewing through vibration (leading to loss of the soft release). What’s more, Komaru’s short conical thread is compatible with all bodies, old or new, such as the latest Leica M models.

Design and special finishes:

By perfecting Komaru’s innovative design, Patrick-Borie-Duclaud, photographer and main importer of soft releases, has also chosen to use his personal passion to evoke the purity of Japanese graphic culture. The button’s discreet knurling and its ideal 15 mm diameter blend harmoniously with the lines of different makes of cameras. To this end, Komaru is available in two original finishes: