CLE quietness - similar to a M?

It is not a loud camera, but I think an M2 is quieter. Or at least the noise is elsewhere in the audible range. I would call the CL's shutter sound a "clik" and the M2 a "thp". If you want to go really quiet, your Rolleiflex T is the way to go (80mm lens & crop) or a Hexar AF (35mm lens only). One can also rent a blimp, which is a box filled with egg-carton type foam for 35mm camera with a motor drive. Very quiet/stealthy.

Good luck.
 
Sorry, at a concert the quietness of the shutters of various rangefinders is irrelevant...it is the flash that is disconcerting to people. Most Heavy Metal Bands will never notice the sound of a Leica.
 
mr_phillip said:
My CLE sits between my two Ms (M2 and M6) and Bessas in terms of noise, and is closer to the M6 than the Bessa.
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I agree with mr_phillip! I have owned all three. The Bessa (R2 in my case) sounds more like a SLR shutter than a Leica M2 for instanse. CLE shutter is very discreet.
 
I do not have a CLE- but have a CL with a recent clean/lube/adjust. It is much quieter than my Bessa R2. Not as quiet as the M3 or M2. A Luigi case for it would dampen the sound somewhat.
 
Steve Bellayr said:
Sorry, at a concert the quietness of the shutters of various rangefinders is irrelevant...it is the flash that is disconcerting to people. Most Heavy Metal Bands will never notice the sound of a Leica.
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Well, it depends on the kind of music performed, doesn't it? Chamber music isn't exactly like heavy metal, you know...
 
Rogrund said:
Well, it depends on the kind of music performed, doesn't it? Chamber music isn't exactly like heavy metal, you know...
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Indeed, the most relevant aspect is the kind of music and who you wish not to disturb -the seats beside you or the musicians. Flash is out of question here (that's why we enjoy fast lenses anyway!?). I quite often shoot acoustic (no amplification, no electricity) classical music, both western and non-western, performed by semi-pro musicians, that means that I often can get very close (less than 3 meters) to the artists, things are quite informal. I have a Canonet, a CLE, a R-D1 and a Canon DSLR 350D (I think it is labelled "XT" in the US): I soon left the Canonet at home, the camera is so cool and virtually silent, but I couldn't focus reliably in available darkness... Now, 3 cameras. I am rude enough not to care too much about disturbing people around me while shooting (no flash, no shooting when the volume of the music is low), but I have the greatest respect for the musicians. What they told me:
- the CLE is loud, it produces a short "clack" that does not blend well with any music (what a shame! I love this camera!)
- the Canon 350D is the quietest, well maybe not but it means that the combination of actual sound + its pitch is the less objectionable, but the camera + the lens I use (tamron zoom 17-50 f2,8 - not a "beast" by any mean) make it quite noticeable and somewhat disturbing even though the musicians are informed that a guy would be around taking pictures...
- the R-D1 is not louder than the Canon 350D in absolute terms but its pitch is higher resulting in a less comfortable blending with the music; anyway it is much less noticeable than the CLE; but they prefered that camera + lens anyway because of its "modest" look that I would translate by traditional film camera look: you can't really feel threatened by this kind of old looking thing, can you? And the autofocus is silent since I am silent!
Remember, all this is within a 3-4 m perimeter...
 
the CLE sound type is close to an M. Quieter? I don't know, but probably not, just based on build materials. It might be a moot point, because I don't know if you can get quieter than an M or a CLE, unless you go with a fixed lens RF. The CLE is a good choice, for the reasons you state, and if you need to sneak a camera into a show.

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I hesitate to say this and thoroughly enjoy my film cameras, BUT -- had to switch on the sound on the pocket-sized Canon A560 digital to know when the shutter tripped.
Now I have to go home and face the disapproving, reproachful looks from the CLE and the M4-P. I feel so dirty.

Sometimes you have to choose your moment in the music.
 
mackigator said:
Aah, well, my old experiment continues to be relevant.

Hear it for yourself. CLE noise comparison: http://www.clarkmackey.com
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I remember this. I appreciate that you include the film advance. That's always the overlooked part of camera noise. I always hated the "disposable" camera film advance sound of the XA. It's an interesting experiment, because they all sound about the same volume, and my recollection of the R2 was that combined with the film advance it was much more noticeable.


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Gonna have to repeat myself. I love my M's, but you all are just going to have to give up the myth of the silent M. Quieter than any SLR? Sure. BUT, for film cameras, a leaf shutter (Rollei TLR, Yashica Electro, Konica Hexar AF) is just damn near silent. No M comes close. If you can live with the single lens, the Konica Hexar AF in silent mode is a true marvel.
 
Benjamin Marks said:
Gonna have to repeat myself. I love my M's, but you all are just going to have to give up the myth of the silent M. Quieter than any SLR? Sure. BUT, for film cameras, a leaf shutter (Rollei TLR, Yashica Electro, Konica Hexar AF) is just damn near silent. No M comes close. If you can live with the single lens, the Konica Hexar AF in silent mode is a true marvel.
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That's nothing new, really. 🙂 It's well known that leaf shutter cameras are amongst the quietest. 🙂 I don't think anyone has claimed that the M is silent, either. 🙂 I don't believe such a myth exists. Besides the comparison here is CLE and M.

I think the one thing to factor in, even with leaf shutter cameras, is the film advance, which is just as important as the shutter. When added to the equation, the film advance can make a leaf shutter camera just as noisy as an M mount. Listen to the film advance of the XA in the sound recordings compared to the XA's delicate sounding shutter. That film advance kills any advantage gained by the quiet shutter. I believe the HAF + silent mode is the one exception, but it has a fixed lens (a damn good one!) and 1/250 top speed (aargh!).

BTW, I just compared my RolleiFlex with my MP. Rollei's shutter is quieter, but to my ears, the long crank of the film advance is louder than the shorter throw of the MP's film advance. Combined, it's a toss up to me.

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mackigator said:
Aah, well, my old experiment continues to be relevant.

Hear it for yourself. CLE noise comparison: http://www.clarkmackey.com
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Thanks for this. One thing this reinforces for me is the notion that, save for the mototrized film advance, the Hexar RF is fairly quiet, especially compared to the CLE. (The original CL, if memory serves, is less noisy.)

Of course, that Panasonic smokes almost everything short of a Hex AF in terms of quiet...


- Barrett
 
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