M8 is much louder than I expected...

[Gid]

The shutter sound of my M8.2 (using disrceet mode) is at least as quiet as my (now sold) recently serviced M6. It is almost as quiet as my M7. I remember how disappointed I was in the shutter sound of my M8, so maybe they did improve the damping on the M8.2.

 

[Jeff S]

I think the M8.2 upgrade may even be quieter than the M9 from the last time I remember shooting with both side by side.

Two points...

First, although certainly not statistically significant, I tested my 2 M8.2s against 2 M9s at a local Leica dealer a while back. There were 5 people present, including a Leica rep (who brought the M9s). The rep did the clicking (in discreet mode), with others unaware which camera was being used. We (including the rep) unanimously picked the M8.2s as being marginally quieter. Not much, but slightly different.

But, I find discreet mode not practical in most cases and now ignore it altogether. It obviously works once, but then the user must eventually release the button and the motor engages. The flow is gone. And that's the rub. The shutter sound is immaterial once it's dwarfed by that annoyingly loud motor re-cocking sound. Comparing this sound to any film M is therefore ridiculous IMO. Apples and oranges.

I'm in the minority of folks who would prefer a manual (motor-less) re-cocking mechanism in a digital M. I don't think Leica will do this, however, so the days of the quiet Leica film M experience are gone for practical purposes.

Jeff

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Leica engineers spared no expense in implementing the most pleasing mechanically perfect sounding "clack" from that shutter that added 100's to the cost of the M8! And y'all are covering it up?!?! That's like going to a fine sushi restaurant and not eating the rice! Are y'all nuts? You paid good money for that clack!

I think it's like going to a fine sushi restaurant and asking to move away from the obnixious guy blurting out how sushi is caveman's food because it isn't cooked. Like some in Leica-related threads. No, that was not fair: they don't go to as many (Leica thread) sushi restaurants complaining about how stupid it is that it's not cooked and that you have (HAVE!) to eat the rice, and that Burger King is so much better and has so many different menu offerings and they're found much more elsewhere in the world.

 

[LCT]

The shutter sound of my M8.2 (using disrceet mode) is at least as quiet as my (now sold) recently serviced M6...

The M4-2 is still the winner IMO but the digital Ms problem is not the shutter sound but the motor noise obviously. The discreet mode allows to postpone the latter but doesn't damper it unfortunately.

 

[fotomeow]

The shutter sound of my M8.2 (using disrceet mode) is at least as quiet as my (now sold) recently serviced M6. It is almost as quiet as my M7. I remember how disappointed I was in the shutter sound of my M8, so maybe they did improve the damping on the M8.2.

Gid, you've got to be referring to ONLY the shutter sound, as opposed to the neanderthal-industrial-age machinations that take place immediately after the shutter click, which is like starting an old car or lawn mower, and which does not occur with the M6. No offense, but if your M6 sounds anything like an M8, then your M6 needs about 5 CLA's!!

 

[Gid]

Gid, you've got to be referring to ONLY the shutter sound, as opposed to the neanderthal-industrial-age machinations that take place immediately after the shutter click, which is like starting an old car or lawn mower, and which does not occur with the M6. No offense, but if your M6 sounds anything like an M8, then your M6 needs about 5 CLA's!!

Well, yes. I did say shutter sound.😉 The recocking motor is relatively noisy (certainly noisier than my M6 or M7 🙂), but probably on a par with a film motor drive - maybe a bit louder than a Hexar RF, but quieter than my EOS650. However, overall, better than the original M8 and not really problematic for me.

 

[ChrisC]

......the digital Ms problem is not the shutter sound but the motor noise obviously. .....

.......... The recocking motor is relatively noisy........

....... the neanderthal-industrial-age machinations that take place immediately after the shutter click, which is like starting an old car or lawn mower..........

As much as I hate the clacking of my M8 shutter, I have a different experience to the ones above. I find the rewind of my M8 to be utterly
acceptible, and just audible at arms length with any background sound. If the shutter sounded as quiet as my rewind I'd be delighted.

It seems that the Leica whisper-quiet standard of former years has not been replaced with any consistent standard at the factory, otherwise we wouldn't have such differences between different cameras of the same M8/M9 lines. Maybe Leica don't value quiet-camera working as much as some of us practitioners?

.............. Chris

 

[Talex]

After a few more days of shooting with the M8, I'm starting to tune out the shutter clacking and the motor noise... I guess you can get used to anything.

I had an RD1 last year, and I don't remember the shutter sound as clacking. Of course, there was no motor noise either, with that glorious wind lever.

 

[menos]

Hey Talex, congrats - it's a nice camera! I use my M8.2 without reservation next to the M9 and love it.

I am not sure, if this works, but I believe, the later firmware updates on the M8 enabled "discreet mode" with the M8 as well (is this correct?).

You can keep the shutter release pressed after the exposure, to delay the shutter cocking noise - just the "clack" remains during the exposure of course.

I really like ISO speed changing on the M8 actually and largely prefer it over the way, it works on the M9.

With the M8, you just do this:

- press set button twice
- press up or down for each stop of ISO speed up or down, you need
- press set button once
(take a glance at the screen, if needed, to check, if ISO speed has been set, as intended)

This is much quicker and easier, than changing ISO on the D700 + I find it more intuitive than on the M9.

 

[Jeff S]

I am not sure, if this works, but I believe, the later firmware updates on the M8 enabled "discreet mode" with the M8 as well (is this correct?).

Correct, with earlier version 2.004. As long as latest version is installed, all updates will of course apply.

Jeff

 

[brbo]

With the M8, you just do this:

- press set button twice
- press up or down for each stop of ISO speed up or down, you need
- press set button once
(take a glance at the screen, if needed, to check, if ISO speed has been set, as intended)

This is much quicker and easier, than changing ISO on the D700 + I find it more intuitive than on the M9.

On D700, holding down dedicated ISO button and spinning the dial is easier and faster for me. And no need to take an eye from viewfinder. Not that setting ISO on M8 is hard or slow, just saying...

 

[Ronchnam]

To be honest if you want to compare you must consider th shutter sound on both cameras and the sound poduced by the motor on the Digital with the sound of the manual rewind on the analogic.

 

[ndnik]

I must say I never understood why Leica thought the whirring sound of the shutter re-cocking on the M8/M9 was acceptable. Almost all DSLRs I know have silent re-cocking motors/gears (some Rebels do make some noise similar to the Leicas). To me, this is not in the tradition of the Leica M. I fail to understand why they thought they should not have to pay attention to this particular detail. It is simply clumsy and sloppy product design, in my opinion.

 

[Archiver]

Interestingly, the first M8 I tried in a shop was very quiet, and the recocking was a softish 'shoop' sound. The M8.2 that I tried at the same time was louder! And when I got my M9 a few months later, I was disappointed that it sounded more like the M8.2 I handled rather than that quiet little M8.

The M7 is obviously quieter than the M9; no shutter recock and a pleasant 'clok' sound for the shutter. What perturbs me a little is that the Ricoh GXR-M module's shutter and recock is more quiet than the M7! I wonder if the size of the shutter (aps-c vs 35mm) has anything to do with it.

I agree that the recock sound ought to be much more quiet, regardless. How come a DSLR has minimal if any recock sound and yet the M9 sounds like a mechanical 'fshzzzt'?

 

[menos]

On D700, holding down dedicated ISO button and spinning the dial is easier and faster for me. And no need to take an eye from viewfinder. Not that setting ISO on M8 is hard or slow, just saying...

Always had to fiddle, finding the ISO button on the D300 (I think, with the D700, it is as well one of the buttons on the left shoulder) - with the D3, this is slightly improved, but still fiddly, to find (especially with gloves on).

The ISO setting with the M8 is much easier, as you just have to press the one button, that is easiest to find on the camera's back - first button from bottom.

No holding needed, no fuzz, just click, click, click, click, finished, to set a stop.

I am a guy, who constantly changes ISO btw, so this might be a point, that annoys me more than others.

 

[peterm1]

It is loud after using mechanical Ms. But you get used to it. Make sure you have the latest firmware - this at least allows the option to delay the shutter recocking till you remove your finger from the shutter button - which helps a little

 

[Leica0Series]

That's why I got an M4-P Winder for my M4; so it could be as noisy as my M8! 🙂

 

[Talex]

Hi Dirk,

Thanks for the tip! I was in Shanghai last April, and I thought about contacting you to go shooting in the area. But I ran out of time. Maybe next time!

Hey Talex, congrats - it's a nice camera! I use my M8.2 without reservation next to the M9 and love it.

I am not sure, if this works, but I believe, the later firmware updates on the M8 enabled "discreet mode" with the M8 as well (is this correct?).

You can keep the shutter release pressed after the exposure, to delay the shutter cocking noise - just the "clack" remains during the exposure of course.

I really like ISO speed changing on the M8 actually and largely prefer it over the way, it works on the M9.

With the M8, you just do this:

- press set button twice
- press up or down for each stop of ISO speed up or down, you need
- press set button once
(take a glance at the screen, if needed, to check, if ISO speed has been set, as intended)

This is much quicker and easier, than changing ISO on the D700 + I find it more intuitive than on the M9.

 

[menos]

Hi Dirk,

Thanks for the tip! I was in Shanghai last April, and I thought about contacting you to go shooting in the area. But I ran out of time. Maybe next time!

Sure thing - just give me a message ;-)

I just came back from a weekend trip with lots of social photos taken at usual Chinese tourist attractions.
- many PS digitals and a few Canon SLR's.
The M8.2 was by far the loudest.

I was quite amazed by how silent those Canon SLRs were - definitely much less audible than a digital Leica M.
In rather quiet conditions, Leica cameras are no whisperers anymore, be it rattling and klonking digital Ms or the refined cloth shutter film bodies.
Consider the M now a tractor in regards of audible appearance.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I was quite amazed by how silent those Canon SLRs were - definitely much less audible than a digital Leica M.

I have a Leica M8 (original), a Canon 5D, 50D, 300D, and have owned various Canon dSLRs, and used various Nikon dSLRs and an M9-P. My M8 was only noisier, among any of those, only than the M9-P I tried. I also own a Lumix GF1 and it's by far louder than the digital Leicas I've ever used.