Quietest film point and shoot?

[Avotius]

So a few months ago back in the states my aunt gave me her old Ricoh FF-3 AF Super and I gave it a good cleaning, gave it new light seals and such and took it out for a spin and boy was I surprised at this ugly cameras ability to perform.

Good lens, good speed, decent viewfinder, intelligent camera indeed. But...and there is a big but....its louder then any other camera I have ever used before. The whole focus, shutter, film drive mechanism is deafening and no busy loud noisy street can cover up that sound which is a pity because it is such a good street camera it has replaced my Leica M6 as my out the door to the shops camera!

But I digress, I want something quieter and I am sort of in love with this whole automatic film, fixed focal length simple camera. I hear a lot of people giving the Yashica T5 praise and all those others, but having used a Ricoh GR1V and S for a while, I know these types of cameras are not quiet so which one with a fixed focal length do you thing is the quietest?

ps. This is heresy I know but side by side, I think the FF3 is even more responsive then the GR1S 😱

 

[ZeissFan]

I've been using a Contax T VS (zoom lens, sorry), and it's not too loud by most P&S standards.

The one that's mentioned most as being the least noisy is the Hexar AF with its silent mode.

I think these tend to be noisy, because the intended buyer for a point and shoot wasn't particularly concerned with camera noise.

 

[md2008]

The Hexar AF can be used as auto everything point and shoot and is very very quiet. However, it's probably the biggest "point and shoot" out there and not very pocketable unless you have large pockets.

 

[morback]

I recommend the Contax T3, as usual...Quiet, pocketable, beautiful results...

Don't forget that your camera may seem loud to you because it's right against your face...

 

[januaryman]

I just got the Hexar AF and without a doubt the quietest. I'm never sure I got the shot, can't even hear the film advance. Not very small, but it's with me in my commuter bag everywhere I go. Usually. It's not pocketable, but I never wanted to put a camera in my pocket anyway, so that's a non-issue. Results? Wonderful.

 

[Macxi]

Olympus XA
35mm F/2,8 and only one silent "klick"

 

[Roger Hicks]

The quietest camera I've ever used is an Ilford Advocate but it's manual, scale focus, so it probably doesn't fit your criteria. Just a thought.

Cheers,

R.

 

[kdemas]

I'd say the Oly XA and the Leica CM. For an automatic advance camera the CM is so quiet that I have taken multiple exposures and not realized it.

T3 is certainly quiet enough as well, but not as quiet as the other two.

Kent

 

[Disaster_Area]

I'll second the XA... it's so quiet I'm often not sure I even took a picture 🙂

 

[bmattock]

Olympus 35 RC is very quiet and very small. Not as small as the XA, but I like the lens better.

 

[Avotius]

I have used the XA and it is a very quiet camera, but not "auto enough" for me, if I want a camera with manual functions I got a M6 and R2a that fit the bill fine. And I know my camera is loud besides it being by my face because just today I was out and got 3 comments within about 5 photos. Its really a very loud camera.

 

[kywong]

I just got a Hexar AF, I don't have any other film point and shoots, so I can't make a comparison, but the one time I tried the silent mode, in a place with quite a lot of people, it was so quiet I actually stuck with the non-silent mode so I can be sure a photo has been taken. The sound may be more noticeable when there are less people around, but I doubt it'll be in any way intrusive. The only trouble with that mode is that you have to press a button as you turn it on to activate it, but I've been very happy with using it in regular mode.

 

[dmr]

The Olympus Stylus Zoom is very quiet. I sometimes shoot from the hip with it and can barely hear anything when it goes off.

 

[btgc]

Pentax PC35AF has very nice lens and is manual wind. I wish they'd make scale focus version, too.

 

[sevo]

The Olympus Stylus Zoom is very quiet. I sometimes shoot from the hip with it and can barely hear anything when it goes off.

But that goes for almost all of them, as long as their gears are not worn out to the screeching point - the noise level you perceive when a camera is triggered right at your face is way above what everybody else hears, at least unless you are a dentist using a Medical lens for its original purpose...

In my experience, even a 500 C/M or F4 can be fired inside a cathedral and nobody more than five meter away will notice.

Sevo

 

[chambrenoire]

Yashica Electro 35 CC [35mm f/1.8], very quiet!

 

[david.elliott]

You can scale focus a Rollei 35 and treat it as a point and shoot. Super quiet.

 

[250swb]

I'd say the Olympus XA as the quietest I have ever used or heard.

Steve

 

[Burlap Jacket]

Yashica T4 Super is extremely quiet. Moreso than my Olympus Stylus Epic.

 

[MatthewThompson]

Olympus 35 RC is very quiet and very small. Not as small as the XA, but I like the lens better.

I'll back this opinion. Also small and plain enough to be dismissed as non-threatening by the great unwashed. 😉