The quietest SLR

Ok, I don't know what everyone is smoking but I can't think of any SLR that is quiet in comparison to my M3 or M-A.

Lets start with the Nikon F. Sample of one, I know, but mine is probably the loudest camera I own.
Next, the PZ1p, both of mine are plenty noisy though the noise is a bit less than an F.
I have the LX, three of them in fact, and with mirror lockup they are fairly quiet, but still not as quiet as the Leicas.
I do not own any Oly cameras so cannot comment on the OM-1 or OM-2.
Of all my SLR cameras, the two quietest are the F6 and my rebuilt Contarex. I think the F6 is quieter than the Contarex, though it is very close.
But none of these are as quiet as a properly adjusted M camera shutter.

However, the quietest camera I have ever owned was my Fuji GF670. There were times where I literally could not tell the shutter had fired without looking.
 
Pioneer said:
Ok, I don't know what everyone is smoking but I can't think of any SLR that is quiet in comparison to my M3 or M-A.

Lets start with the Nikon F. Sample of one, I know, but mine is probably the loudest camera I own.
Next, the PZ1p, both of mine are plenty noisy though the noise is a bit less than an F.
I have the LX, three of them in fact, and with mirror lockup they are fairly quiet, but still not as quiet as the Leicas.
I do not own any Oly cameras so cannot comment on the OM-1 or OM-2.
Of all my SLR cameras, the two quietest are the F6 and my rebuilt Contarex. I think the F6 is quieter than the Contarex, though it is very close.
But none of these are as quiet as a properly adjusted M camera shutter.

However, the quietest camera I have ever owned was my Fuji GF670. There were times where I literally could not tell the shutter had fired without looking.
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i don't think anyone is debating that point, unless im reading the thread title wrong...
 
I lusted for an F6, but couldn't afford one. Then I heard about the Minolta AF (Maxxum) 700si, and bought one for $35. Compared to my Nikon F bodies, the 700si is very quiet. But not like my M3.
 
An F6 can be had on eBay for about $800.

The other thing about the F6 is not only the shutter quiet, but the mirror return is quick and the viewfinder blackout just barely perceptible; the shutter lag is also brief (42 ms?). I would've thought that a compromise would have to be made on these competing variables, but on the F6 it appears none were made.
 
As well as being the quietest SLR I've had the F6 also has an amazing meter. As with the F5 I seem to be able to point it anywhere and get perfectly exposed negatives. I shoot in A mode nearly always and it is so consistant.
 
Compared to my F2, my F has a soft and pretty quiet sound to it, I don't find it at all distracting and it doesn't turn heads. On the other hand, the F2 goes CLACK and scatters the birds off of the wires...

I've been shooting my F5 lately and set to Cs it is an amazingly quiet and discrete camera.

Just my two cents worth...

Regards, Simon
 
Ljós said:
Of the unmotorized SLRs I have used so far (Nikon F2, F3, FM2, FE2, FG-20), Pentax MX and Spotmatic, Olympus OM-1, the OM-1 is definitely the most discrete.

Greetings, Ljós
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On second thought, when I thought my Leica R7 was quiet; I did put the batteries in my OM-2S, and pulled the "trigger"; it was very quiet compared to anything I own.
 
I vote for Canon Elan 7e for AF, Olympus E1 for DSLR, and OM1n for mechanical.

E1 is the quietest (D)SLR I have owned, followed by Elan 7e. The OM1n is audibly softer than the Pentax MX, ME Super and Leica RE I have, but it's not that quiet. The E1 and Elan 7e sound more like a whisper, it makes you wonder if they had forgotten to put in the mirror.
 
dtcls100 said:
Yep, F6 shutter has amazingly low vibration and is even quieter than my Olympus 35SP rangefinders, although it is not quite as quiet as my Mamiya 6 medium format rangefinders. The Mamiya 6 has got to be the quietest camera out there (although it is not a SLR), as the leaf shutter makes the softest "snick" sound that is barely audible to user.

Nikon F6 also has an incredibly quiet, low frequency and vibration free motorized film advance. An incredibly refined, yet solid beast of a camera. While many say an F100 is almost as good, my experience with both causes me to strongly disagree. The F100 is a very capable camera, but doesn't have anything close to the the same refinement, solidity, feel, quietness, weather sealing, or viewfinder size and clarity that the F6 does. Also, an F6 can matrix meter with all Nikon Ai and later mount lenses and can take full advantage of all of the capabilities of Nikon's latest flashes for digital cameras. To say that a F100 is almost as good and can do almost everything a F6 can is like saying a Chevy is almost as good and can do almost everything a Ferrari can do. They simply are not in the same league, although a Chevy (or F100) is good enough for almost everyone as a practical matter (including me).
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+1 !
It is exactly that, I completetly agree.
I've bought an F6 with MB-40 and MV-1 data-reader brand new, and it has been my best camera purchase ever.

I've used lots of different cameras and camera types over the last decades.
The F6 ist the most silent SLR ever built!
You only hear the extremely well dampened mirror with a very quiet, low frequent and nice noise.
You don't hear the motor of the film advance at all (!!) when you press the release.
Nikon really did an outstanding job with this camera.
All the design flaws of the F5 and F100 are gone. Nikon listened very attentively to the F5 / F100 critic of professional photographers.
And introduced with the F6 a camera significantly improved in all respects.
Nikon's masterpiece.
 
nongfuspring said:
For me the biggest difference between SLRs and rangefinders isn't so much the viewfinder, but the sound and mirror slap.
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For me it is the ability to focus anywhere on the screen.

nongfuspring said:
So what in your opinion is the most discreet SLR that you've used?
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Nikon F80. (The wedding photographer of my town used to use an F80 professionally). I did try nearly every motorized Nikon except F5 and F6. The most descreet manual winding SLR I have used so far may be a Leica R7. Its shutter sound is not that silent but well dampened and somehow comfortable to listen to. Unfortunately the shutter lag my copies of R7s had (2 items) was horrible. But that is another story.

In general I find the noise a camera produces is only one aspect of descrete photography. Other aspects are the shooting technique, camera size and shape and behaviour of the photographer.
 
jamais said:
Nikon F80. (The wedding photographer of my town used to use an F80 professionally). I did try nearly every motorized Nikon except F5 and F6.
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The Nikon F80 is indeed very silent ( I own and use one, too). And much more silent than a F801, F70, F90X (this one is very loud).
But as explained above, the F6 is even significantly more silent.
Because
- shutter and mirror are better dampened
- less vibrations
- no noise from the film advance motor at all (with the F80 you do hear the motor, although on a low level).
 
I think the word you want to use is "quiet" - not "silent."

Silent means no sound. Quiet means less sound.

In any case, I think the Olympus OMs (single digit models) are quiet cameras. After that, maybe the Minolta XD11 and then everything else.

The Kodak Retina Reflex series aren't too noisy. The Rolleiflex SL 35 E also isn't too obtrusive.

Mirror slap is noisy by nature, so there's only so much you can do with it. And that's why a rangefinder is the better choice for many situations (not macro work or long telephoto lenses, however).
 
I can't imagine that there has ever been an SLR quieter than the Sigma SD1 Merrill.

The throat is closed off by the IR filter. The mirror is dampened by a second motor (two motor design). And the sensor/mirror is only Merrill-sized (which I believe is a bit smaller than APS-C).

It's the best handling camera I've ever had. The software and operation speed is the problem. But it's physically perfect.
 
ZeissFan said:
I think the word you want to use is "quiet" - not "silent."

Silent means no sound. Quiet means less sound.
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Thank you, Mike.
Sorry for my unprecise writing. I am not a native English speaker.

Just as a little further information:
This extremely quiet (for an SLR), well dampened and smooth operation is of course only one of the numerous advantages of the Nikon F6.
There are so much more.
I've worked with lots of SLRs from different manufacturers.
But the Nikon F6 is the best designed 35mm SLR.
It is a real dream camera.
I can highly recommend it, using mine for years.

Some more info about the F6 for those who are interested:

http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/film.../pdf/f6_4p.pdf

http://www.nikon.de/tmp/DE/241986527...3152926346.pdf

Excellent, detailed test report from the German high-quality film photography magazine "PhotoKlassik":
http://www.aphog.de/wp-content/photo...sik_I.2014.pdf

Detailed test from Tom Hogan:
http://www.filmbodies.com/cameras/ca...f6-review.html

Customer reports at B&H:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Autofocus.html

The F6 project:
http://www.nikonf6.net/
 
Olympus E-1 is the smoothest, quietest, I know.. but it's digital..
ananlog, the contaxes are very smooth...
 
I've just realised I never answered my own topic.

Quietest electronic camera I've used is the Contax RX, it sounds like a muffled pair of scissors snipping. Virtually zero mirror slap whatsoever, consistently sharp hand held photos can be had at 1/10 and possibly lower. I can shoot at lower speeds on it more easily than any RF or mirrorless that I've used, though I've never shot extensively on a Leica M.

Quietest mechanical SLR perhaps the OM1, though the 139q is also reasonable (though the shutter is electronically controlled).

I'm curious about all these Canon/Nikon mentions, I'd especially like to give an F6 a go one day.
 
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