Noisy shutter on M8

R

Robert

Guest
My new M8 has a noisy shutter, well noisier than my M6 and Contax G2 and as noisy as my E1 though a different sound.
The shutter would, I think alert people on the street that a photo has been taken.
I usually walk around with the camera at waist level and the cord in my pocket and fire the shutter remotely, at least I have been doing this with my Contax G2.
Once I get my Leicatime case I will start using my M8 full time.
The shutter gives a re-assuring thud, I like its sound.
 
It is much louder than a film M. My E1 is quieter than my M8 (and the E1 has a mirror to damp). It is a pity that Leica couldn't keep the shutter noise down to film M levels. However, doesn't affect image quality.
 
I've got to say I am not growing found of the shutter noise, I like the shutter of the M7 much better. The on/off lever around the shutter is also quite fragile and the camera sometimes turns on in my bag. This never happened with the M7. But no complaints here... I like my M8 very much!

Did you get the Luigi case with built-in grip? It is a great case; the camera feels very good in the hand.

Gilles
 
To me it's not the shutter sound alone, but more the sound of the shutter immediately followed on by the motor activation that makes the M8 somewhat less discrete than a film M.

I wish that there was a way to manually delay the motor activation. I've used a Motor-M off and on over the years and one of the things I liked about it was that you could keep it turned off, shoot a picture quietly, and then turn it back on so it'd do it's thing.

However, I've noticed that out on the street the background noise pretty much drowns out the M8's sound. Quiet indoor situations is where it stands out.

John
 
I haven't commented on the M8 in a long time...

But the shutter noise is the predominant reason that I don't own at least two of these cameras.

It literally makes my skin crawl.
 
tomasis said:
how does R-D1 shutter sound compared to other cameras? If im allowed to ask this :D
Click to expand...

In absolute terms, IMO, the R-D1 is slightly quieter than the M8. The main difference is the pitch. The R-D1 is higher pitched and more metallic and may cut through background noise more than the M8. I used both the R-D1 and M8 shooting at a book launch recently and both illicited enquiring looks from those very near me in the audience. There was another photog there with a Nikon D200 and flash and compared to him both my cameras were church mice :angel: . Neither the R-D1 nor the M8 are as quiet as a film M.
 
The first time I tried out an M8 in store I was offended by it's sound. But the need for digital drove me to buying one. After time, I've come to tolerate the M8's shutter sound. It has a nice solid clunk. And I like feeling the motion of the motor. The sound is louder than I would like. Definitely not discreet at all. But in the digital arena it's one of the quitest. I compare the sound to that of the Canon Elan 7n. One of the quietest film SLR's. It's not quiet. But it's not so much obtrusive. Especially compared to that of the high end digital SLR's.
 
The first time I hear the M8's shutter I nearly dropped the camera! I come off the street with my M7 into my camera shop and unexpectedly happened to be there when the courier dropped my M8 off. I pressed the button and 'clunk whirrrr!' I thought I'd broken it! But I wasn't prepared to let that stop me buying one. It's definatly noisier than my mates 5D, I don't care who thinks otherwise. All QC and unfixed banding issues aside, I'm happy I decided to give up on the M8. Call me crazy, but like ausDLK above, the shutter sound did make me cringe. It took a lot of the fun out of shooting M-style. And since I'm on a rampage, I picked up a mates M8 the other day to see how my new 35 'lux worked on it. Talk about a cluttered viewfinder! Using the 28mm only when I had mine I never noticed any issues with it being cluttered, but having the 35mm lines come up with the 24mm (if that's what it is,) is just insane. Why didn't they make the viewfinder a standard .72?

Sorry...

And it must be said, I did enjoy the camera overall!
 
>Call me crazy, but like ausDLK above, the shutter sound did make me cringe.
>It took a lot of the fun out of shooting M-style.

Why Leica would allow the discrete heritage of the M camera to be destroyed in this way "in the name of progress" is completely beyond me. But, oh, I have spoken with Leica about this and they have their reasons... Blah, blah, blah.

I have adopted the Hexar RF as my "main battle" camera and even though the motor(s) in this camera both recock the shutter AND advance film, its sound effects are barely more annoying then the M7 that it replaced.

But I will cease and desist in this line of talk lest the M8 Thought Police swoop on me again with their flamethrowers... ;)
 
Hahaha, you guys are all on crack! Or perhaps you just have gigantic ears. Seriously though, the M8 is louder than a film M, but I certainly don't think it is louder than a Hexar RF (yes, I have owned both). In practice, the sound of the shutter does not raise any eyebrows on the street, nor inside in my experience. But everyone has different experiences. And frankly, NYC is a lot louder than most places.
 
I agree Stuart. It is indeed a non-issue. The M8 is an unobtrusive camera, more silent than an M4 with winder.I have used it in churches an musea, and nobody turned his head. And for situations that really need total silence, just buy a used D2, which is totally silent (at least at a distance of two feet.) But I am not the thought police...It is really quite simple. If you don't like the camera, don't buy it. Nobody is forcing it down your gullet......
 
I didn't find M8 shutter louder than on film bodies, from comparing it side to side to an MP that salesman had. Then again, I was surprised when mythical "whisper quiet" shutter on film Ms turned out to be not-so-quiet in practice.
 
The M8 shutter is a bit louder than my M6TTL, but certainly not objectionable, I personnaly thought the MP was much louder than my M6TTL, so there you are. As to the findr, I find it no more cluttered than the M6TTL finder, actually it may be a bit less cluttered. I have found most of the negative hype on the M8 is just that - Hype, sure it is not perfect, but then no digital is, I have a D200 and prefer my R8, and with that would love a DMR to put on it.
 
The shutter noise was really disapointing to me.

The sound is composeded of two parts:
1- The shutter is metal and a bit louder than the cloth shutter in M6TTL. Not as soft in apperance.
2- The motor driven rewind of the shutter curtains.

The first part is no big deal.
The second part is an ugly noise.
Composed the two sounds are not as loud as that of my D2X, but more obtrusive.

It is the length of the noise that makes it bothersome. A short noise is rarely noticed but a long noise is often located. But out on town it might make no difference due to background noise.

/Erik
 
eon said:
The shutter noise was really disapointing to me.

The sound is composeded of two parts:
1- The shutter is metal and a bit louder than the cloth shutter in M6TTL. Not as soft in apperance.
2- The motor driven rewind of the shutter curtains.

The first part is no big deal.
The second part is an ugly noise.
Composed the two sounds are not as loud as that of my D2X, but more obtrusive.

It is the length of the noise that makes it bothersome. A short noise is rarely noticed but a long noise is often located. But out on town it might make no difference due to background noise.

/Erik
Click to expand...

I would like the shutter sound to be quieter but the images that I'm getting from the M8 make the shutter sound a moot point. I'm getting captures that are stunning and very film-like and that to me matters more.

It would be a nice feature if Leica could implement a way to delay the cocking of the shutter via firmware (maybe holding the shutter button down).
 
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