ZI vs. M7 Shutter volume

W

Way

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Anyone get to compare these two? I'd like to get a body with AE but would like
something very quiet. The ZI is tempting with its price and features.

Way
 
Thanks for the link, Huck. I did see that before and listened to the .WAV files
and thought it ZI was pretty close to the M6. But I recently read on this forum
that the ZI shuttter sounds like a CL. I have a CL and that seems to me pretty
loud and not like what an M6 sounds like. Maybe I should believe the .WAV and
not what the forum member wrote?

Way
 
Way said:
Thanks for the link, Huck. I did see that before and listened to the .WAV files and thought it ZI was pretty close to the M6. But I recently read on this forum that the ZI shuttter sounds like a CL. I have a CL and that seems to me pretty loud and not like what an M6 sounds like. Maybe I should believe the .WAV and not what the forum member wrote?

Way
Click to expand...

Yeah, don't believe yer lyin' ears . . . ! :D

Seriously, I don't know that I'd make a buying decision based on WAV files posted to the Web however well intentioned.

One significant variable is hearing. I learned this while observing my wife. Our doctor recently recommended she take her temperature regularly (for testing her thyroid) so we bought a digital thermometer. She pops it under her tongue and after about ten seconds it beeps for almost ten seconds before the display lights up. I can hear the beeping when I'm in the next room. She cannot hear it even though it's only inches away from her ears. I surmise she has a gap in that frequency range.

FWIW/ScottGee1
 
The M6 shutter is quieter, as you would expect a cloth focal-plane shutter to be. The Zeiss Ikon is well damped and is noticeably quieter than a Bessa-L, R or R2.

If your primary concern is quiet, then a leaf-shutter camera will be best. My reigning "king of quiet" is a Retina IIIS.

I shoot outside quite a bit with the camera, and no one gives me a second glance when the shutter is released.

In general, the whole thing about the decible level of the shutter receives entirely too much attention. For most of us, there are only a handful of circumstances when you really need a quiet camera. For most shooting, it's not a big deal -- even if you're using a big mirror-slapping SL66.
 
Scottgee1, Mike,

The reason I need a quiet camera is that I take pictures of orchestra rehearsals
and even during concerts (classical). And since I have a only M mount lenses I'm
looking at the M7 and the ZI.

Thanks!
Way
 
I can't speak for the ZI but shooting with an M7 in a small room used by a local folk club, very low light and no amplification only the person next to me commented on the shutter sound, and that was that it was so quiet. Turned out they worked in a local camera store. I'll post some examples if I find them soon. Quite grainy using Delta 3200 at 3200 and a CV 90 Lanthar at F4 at about 1/8th. As I said though light levels were poo.
 
Way said:
Scottgee1, Mike,

The reason I need a quiet camera is that I take pictures of orchestra rehearsals
and even during concerts (classical). And since I have a only M mount lenses I'm
looking at the M7 and the ZI.

Thanks!
Way
Click to expand...

Too bad 'M' lenses aren't backward compatible with LTM bodies. If I recall correctly, those were the ones that established the Leica reputation for quiet operation. Something to do with a judge ruling that cameras were not allowed in his courtroom unless they were "as quiet as a Leica". Or so I recall . . . someone will surely correct me if I'm wrong! :D

ScottGee1
 
Quietest camera I have ever heard, next to leaf shutter cameras, was a CLA'd M3.

My Bronica RF645 is leaf shutter, and totally silent, but for the strange recocking groan - at a mouse's voice level.

M3 is quietest of the M mount Leicas, but you would be easily able to find an even quieter leaf shutter camera.
 
Way said:
Scottgee1, Mike,

The reason I need a quiet camera is that I take pictures of orchestra rehearsals
and even during concerts (classical). And since I have a only M mount lenses I'm
looking at the M7 and the ZI.

Thanks!
Way
Click to expand...
hey at last somebody who has a similar project to mine! I took a look in your gallery, way, you should take a look in mine - I'm about to get really rolling on my project which has another 2-3 years to run.

I use M7s/M6TTL with a variety of lenses; CV, Leica, Konica. I like modern cameras and really love the M7s, one is 0.72 mag and the other 0.85 mag. The cameras are pretty quiet but not silent. I also use a Canonet with a fixed 40mm lens which is also very quiet.

With classical music you really have to choose when to shoot, even during an adagio the Leica can be heard so I've learned when I can take pics and when not - its taking me a long time because I only get to shoot about once every two or three weeks. But it is fun!

If you can possibly manage it, I would get to a store and listen to these cameras yourself, it is worth it!

 
If you're doing orchestra rehearsals, I agree with Shutterflower on the M3. The shutter on that model is very quiet. And finding a clean example of this camera at a good price shouldn't be terribly difficult.
 
Thanks to all for the suggestions!

I will really need to hear the shutter of the ZI and compare it with the M7 in person.
I've compared MP and the M7 and the latter is just a tiny bit quieter. I can live with
the ZI shutter volume being a little more pronounced than the MP but not by much.

The trouble is that I also play in many of the orchestras and so I'm right in the thick
of things. Most of the time I wish I could just roam around freely just to take pics!

Way
 
If you're not wedded to Leica glass, you could consider a smaller leaf-shuttered rangefinder. There are the folding Retinas, particularly the IIa (very compact). There also is the rigid front Retina IIIS -- a very quiet camera with good interchangeable lenses.

Then, moving up, you have the many fixed-lens cameras from the 1970s. An excellent camera is the Konica III -- although it's somewhat heavy.

And of course, there is always a Rolleiflex -- great classic camera and one that would fit very well in an orchestra setting.
 
IMHO, the M7 is quieter. I don't have a Z-I, but have handled one. I do have an M7...and it's quieter. Not by much, mind you, but it IS quieter...and not that either one is loud.
 
I've just seen Lord of War (featuring Nicolas Cage) on the cinema, and at one point he's shooting photos of his future wife with a black Leica camera (the scene takes place in early 90's) and when I noticed the camera I was squirming and giggling excitedly on my seat, and when he started to take photos and i heard the shutter noise I was exulting, smiling wide and with tears in my eyes at the same time, feeling sooooo neeedy!

Ever experienced this? ;)
max
 
Back alley,

I never thought of the half case idea - is there one for the ZI?

Way
 
Way said:
Back alley,

I never thought of the half case idea - is there one for the ZI?

Way
Click to expand...

the liugi leicatime half case.

click on the banner and go part way down the page to 'other' cameras.

expensive but very beautiful.
 
Yes, the half case (like any leather case) does reduce the sound somewhat. But for this type of shooting, I still would opt for a Retina IIIS, the f/1.9 50mm Xenon and f/4 135mm Xenon (both coated) and some TMax 3200.

The Retina IIIS has auto-sensing framelines, a very good rangefinder and that exceptionally quiet leaf shutter. You won't need a 1/1000 speed. 1/500 should be sufficient. And I would want to meter by hand.
 
My Leica CL makes a "WOMP!" My Bessa R3A makes a "CLANK!" But the CL is slightly louder. That's one reason why I like my Japanese made Bessa better than my Japanese made Leica. ;)
 
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