Data cables are very important pieces in the digital workflow. If problems occur you may be out of business -- almost certainly if you don't have a backup. Some shooters go for years on the same cable, some shooters regularly go through several per year. Why the difference and how can you do your best to be the shooter who makes a cable last for years?
Several things help cable last longer. Cables are not ropes; they are not to be used for hauling your camera stand around the studio. Cable connectors tend to be somewhat fragile pieces regardless of what is being connected, the sync to your 4X5 lens or the SCSI cable to your Jaz drive. The data cable to your MegaVision camera can be abused, avoiding that abuse can help keep that valuable data flowing unrestricted and without error. Knowing what constitutes abuse is critical in the avoidance of that abuse. Being kind to the transition where the cable enters the connector at the camera and the computer is a good idea, an idea that I learned about a long time ago.
It starts with a story where I destroyed the sync connector on my 210 Symar almost 20 years ago. My view camera was up high on a tripod and I had stepped on the synch cable where it transitioned from the floor as it ran up to the lens, I stepped right on the bend while I was looking up at the lens. It was a brand new cable, it fit perfectly. Adding to my misery, the synch connector was at the 11 o'clock position on the shutter, so the strain of my stepping on the cable did not allow the PC cable to slip off, so it tore the connector out of my shutter. I got to open flash everything with the lights off until I could get the shutter replaced (of course it was not reparable). To avoid the cable problem re-occuring I installed the following fix:
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1) The fix involves a rubber band. Place the rubber band around cable about 12-18 inches below where the data cable attaches to the camera.
2) Pass one end of the rubber band through the other end and pull.
3) This will result in a cinch knot around the cable with a loop of rubber band sticking out
4) Place the loop over a convienient structure on the tripod head or camera stand, this allows pulling, tugging, stressing & straining the cable without harming the cable connection where the cable enters the connector.
The rubber band can be your choice, I prefer the heavy duty ones that come on broccoli here in the United States. It's simple, easy, cheap, and it just might save you a headache!