Shutter noise?

[ped]

I can't believe it actually puts people off a camera. Can someone tell me why a louder shutter (and, lets face it, none of them are THAT loud) is a bad thing? Presumably people know you are taking a picture if you point a camera at them, and even if they hear the shutter - by that time you have taken the picture? I actually like being able to hear it's satisfying click.

 

[stompyq]

Less damping so you can't handhold the slower speeds. Certainly the case with the bessa R

 

[btgc]

Loud shutter isn't bad thing, just there are cases when silent shutters are better suited. I keep Ricoh XR-2 for opposite cases.

From rangefinders with leaf shutter Yashica Eletro's are known for emitting noise during long exposures - whining, or as some say, mouse fart. Vertical cloth shutters have some special sound, but if sound is what I'd look for, then SLR's mirror and winder is what sounds like a victory.

 

[ray*j*gun]

For example, weddings during the actual ceremony.....any non-posed shots when you want to be as invisible as possible.....etc and then there is the vibration that is usually associated with a loud shutter. My quietest shutters are my leaf shutter 35's followed closely by my M2.

 

[ped]

OK now the vibration issue is something I didn't think about 🙂

 

[oftheherd]

And as mentioned already, sometimes you don't wish to be a distraction to others around you, such as at a play, or other relatively quite places where you are allowed to photograph.

I think my loudest camera is a Yashica TL Super. Anytime, but especially with the back open and dry firing, it could wake the dead. My quietest is probably the Rolleiflex or the Olympus XA. The Kiev, especially at speeds of 50 and below can be quiet; as Keith put it, it sounds like a small animal being strangled. 😀

 

[Matus]

The shutter sound of the Bessa R3A was bugging me enough to put it to classifieds. On top of being lound it is simply unpleasant hard metal sound - sounds more like cutting/braking something than just opening the shutter. Many DSLRs have more pleasant/softer shutter sound. Maybe I am just spoilt as all my other cameras apart from old DSLR have leaf shutters.

 

[emraphoto]

when taking photographs could land you in a heap of trouble.

when taking photographs, with peoples knowledge, changes the dynamics and mood.

 

[t6un]

You can't imagine how loud and disruptive a Leica becomes in the thick silence of a theatre...

 

[Mark A. Fisher]

What a terrific phrase! "...thick silence of a theatre..." And if a Leica is too loud in that environment, my Nikon F100 with motor drive would probably get me thrown out! Sometimes it sounds like a VW firing on 3 cylinders!

 

[Andy Kibber]

Within reason, most shutters are quiet enough. I remember great debates on RFF about whether Bessa and Zeiss Ikon shutters were quiet enough or if only a Leica would do. Having owned all three, I can't imagine a situation in which someone would hear a Bessa or Zeiss shutter but not a Leica.

 

[ped]

Interesting stuff. I know some can be pretty loud, but I was under the impression that most rangefinders (mechanical) were fairly quiet relatively speaking.

 

[Steve M.]

It just detracts from the enjoyment of the picture taking experience. Many people enjoy things about their gear that have no effect on their photos, but why shouldn't picture taking be a pleasurable experience? A lens w/ a smooth, well damped focus, a camera that has it's controls laid out the way you like them, a bright, clear viewfinder. None of these things will directly result in better photos, but a camera you enjoy using is a camera you'll want to take w/ you. Ergo, you'll probably take more and better photos because you enjoy shooting the camera.

 

[oftheherd]

Interesting stuff. I know some can be pretty loud, but I was under the impression that most rangefinders (mechanical) were fairly quiet relatively speaking.

It is I guess relative. Unless they have in-lens leaf shutters, they still have focal plane shutters, albeit minus the mirror slap. But my Fujica ST 901 dampens that pretty well. But it and the focal plane shutter can still be heard.

 

[Gary Sandhu]

Shoot a mamiya 7/contax T/ nikonos and then a F3 with motor drive and then you'll appreciate the difference sound makes.
After that, bessa/ikon/leica comparisons are mostly of aesthetics.

 

[Paul Luscher]

Used to shoot in a very small club--bit toolshed, actually, with a lot of acts performed solo with just an acoustic guitar. That' what got me into using Leicas. Believe me , I learned that under those conditions, an SLR sounds a loud as a gunshot. Remember one night when the artist yelled at a guy shooting pic with an SLR, while I shot away with my Leica, completley unnoticed.

If you people-shoot, most people don't seem to notice or care if all they hear is the quiet click of a rangefinder (if they hear it at all)--quite often even when they see the camera is pointed at them.

So yeah, shutter noise can be an important consideration....

 

[jsrockit]

I never understood this too much on the streets...because the streets are loud. But in a quiet environment, I love my X1... it is the quietest camera I've ever heard.

 

[coelacanth]

Volume of shutter sound is one thing, but the characteristics of it is quite another. Leica's cloth shutter sound is not "camera" like for regular people while many non-photo savvy forks can recognize Bessa or Zeiss Ikon shutter sound as shutter sound because of metal curtains. Barnack leica is louder than M, but because of not-so-camera-like shutter sound, it still works better for candid stuff compared to metal focal plane shutter cameras from my experiences. Leaf lens shutter is the best for this though. I could shoot candid portrait no problem with huge Mamiya 7 because no one could notice I was actually shooting (I was hip-shooting).

 

[swoop]

Nikon's and the original M8 have the loudest shutters ever.

I was once covering a funeral and the photographer beside me had a Nikon and I had my M8 with the quiet shutter. You could hear that Nikon go slap slap slap. My M8 quiet shutter was like a mouse click.

 

[Spleenrippa]

While the Leica 'snick' is something to behold, I'll stand up and say that I actually like the 'CHUNK' of my R and R3A.
Even better is blazing away on the 1D IIn in a crowded square. Almost 10 FPS with a big zoom will have people calling the police for rifle fire.