# $110 for a piece of wire?!



## Mitch.Conner (Mar 16, 2016)

http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/extension-cord-et-1000n3

Why?


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## kphoto99 (Mar 16, 2016)

Mitch.Conner said:


> http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/extension-cord-et-1000n3
> 
> Why?



Look at it as $3.33/ft, that does not sound as too much


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## Mitch.Conner (Mar 16, 2016)

I'm tempted to just upgrade to the wireless remote/timer. At least then I'll hate myself slightly less if I drop some cash.

I'm stunned that a small cable could cost this much. It's not like it's super high mega quality home theater cable that is uber shielded.


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## privatebydesign (Mar 16, 2016)

I've got an unused one, got it when I got my 1VHS's and here were no other options.


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## neuroanatomist (Mar 16, 2016)

Just pick up a hähnel Giga T Pro II or Vello equivalent. Wireless is the better choice!


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## old-pr-pix (Mar 17, 2016)

It's out of stock anyway so you need to seek an alternative. Go wireless!


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## Valvebounce (Mar 17, 2016)

Hi Mitch. 
I have been using a Phottix wireless remote and I also have their wired timer remote, all I could find at the time, I see they now do a wireless remote with timer built in which is what I really wanted originally. I don't use it professionally or very often but it always works fine for me, very reliable, batteries seem to last for ages, getting replaced occasionally (yearly or there abouts) as a means to avoid leakage rather than because they are flat. 

As for the extension cord, I don't think it is the wire that is expensive but the plug on the end with Canon moulded in, I think they are very rare as I tried to find one to make my own lead, rare as chickens teeth.

Cheers, Graham.


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## neuroanatomist (Mar 17, 2016)

FWIW, the Canon 33' cord is $75 in stock at B&H. There's a 10' Vello cord for $40. Still recommend a wireless, I have the hähnel, works great.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Mar 17, 2016)

Whle its possible to find cords that use the N3 connectors that dco not properly lock in place, finding one that locks like the Canon one does is difficult. I've tried to find a source for the connector so I could make my own cable.

For most of us, wireless is a good option.


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## Mitch.Conner (Mar 17, 2016)

Wireless it is. I noticed nobody recommended the Canon LC5. Is that because of the price compared to how much less competitors' offerings cost? Or is the LC5 an inferior product?

Also, am I imagining it or does the LC5 have no timer function?


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## rfdesigner (Mar 17, 2016)

Mitch.Conner said:


> http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/extension-cord-et-1000n3
> 
> Why?



You should generally expect to pay for cables that have any sort of power or bandwidth capability on a square law basis... 10x length = 100x cost.

If you double the length you need to halve the loss per unit length.. in power cables that means double the copper per unit length, for high speed signalling/RF that simply means half the high speed loss which often means fatter, more copper, better insulator etc.

Having said all that, I don't think there's much bandwidth or power requirement.

One intersting thing though, we have a 30m "USB" cable at work.. which isn't actually USB all the way as it would never work, instead it's 30m ethernet & ethernet to USB adapters at either end. It's bloomin useful!


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## bwud (Mar 18, 2016)

rfdesigner said:


> for high speed signalling/RF that simply means half the high speed loss which often means fatter, more copper, better insulator etc.



Yah, you're not kidding, especially about RF. I visited a supplier a while back while looking for some phase stable high power coax. They put a siggen at one end of a room and a scope at the other, and to demonstrate stability, they used the cable as a jumprope. Must have been 12m long. What I eventually procured had a funny blind-mate connector on one end, but it was under a meter, and it cost a painful amount. I can't imagine what 12m would run.


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## dickgrafixstop (Mar 26, 2016)

As my daughter explained when I complained about the cost of her skimpy bikini, "Dad, it's not the fabric you're paying for, it's the engineering!" Don't forget, this is the same Canon that asks $29.00 for a $4.00 lens hood that should have been included with the lens.


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## Don Haines (Mar 26, 2016)

rfdesigner said:


> Mitch.Conner said:
> 
> 
> > http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/extension-cord-et-1000n3
> ...


Yup.....

We bought 200 meters of Andrews HJ11-50 cable at $200 per meter...... Then there was out 6K "extension cord" plus the step up and step down transformers to get power to our Satcom system in Eureka...... Cable can get very expensive......


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## retroreflection (Mar 26, 2016)

Sometimes a high price is the polite way to say, "I'd rather not bother with this product."


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## rfdesigner (Mar 28, 2016)

retroreflection said:


> Sometimes a high price is the polite way to say, "I'd rather not bother with this product."



Actually it's the polite way of saying "you're doing it wrong".

you want signalling over 100+ meters.. maybe radio is better.

you want power over 100+ meters.. maybe an extra battery pack is better.

you want power to your city that's a 1000km from the national grid, maybe you want your own stand alone power stations (Perth Aus)


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## AcutancePhotography (Mar 28, 2016)

Why?

Perhaps for the same reason a dog licks himself... down there. 

He can, and it feels good. 

They charge $110 because some business analyst determined that they could not sell it for $115.


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## LDS (Mar 28, 2016)

Mitch.Conner said:


> Why?



Because.

After all it's one hundredth of this:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/02/09/perfect_your_mp3_listening_pleasure_with_this_bonkers_ethernet_cable/


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## Don Haines (Mar 28, 2016)

rfdesigner said:


> retroreflection said:
> 
> 
> > Sometimes a high price is the polite way to say, "I'd rather not bother with this product."
> ...



And sometimes you have no choice because you can't put those 200KW transmitters at the top of the antenna tower....

and sometimes you are already on your own stand alone power grid and it is impractical to try and fuel a generator on a mountain top 6K out of town, particularly in the winter in the high arctic, so a 6K extension cord really is the cheapest solution.....

and sometimes the RF spectrum is so saturated that wireless does not work reliably.....

A specialty cable for $110 is peanuts....


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## KeithBreazeal (Mar 29, 2016)

Cables are a trip hazard anyway. I had a Raven fly off with a video cable. Life is too complicated. Go wireless.


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