How loud is your camera?

Messages
243
Name
Neil
Edit My Images
Yes
I ask because mine seem to be very loud.

In quiet areas when I take a picture it sounds like (volume wise) someone has dropped an entire tray of tin plates, cutlery and some tambourines for good measure. Seems to be more prevalent on the D3 ??
 



There are, among many others, specific features to
cameras to make them shoot at higher FPS rates.
This very feature requires sturdy and fast repeating
movements that produce mechanical noises as for
the single digits Nikons made for performance.

A mirrorless ranger finder body is the quietest camera
one may dream of but it cannot outperform a DSLR in
any other way.

As in everything in photography, it's all compromises!
 
Loudest I ever had was a D4 ... D810 is good :)
 
Leica M8 is quite loud for a mirorless camera - it has a 1/8000 shutter speed compared with the much more quiet M8.2 and M9 which are limited to 1/4000.
 
Old 40D for me...the usual shutter sounds.
But when 2 tigers started play fighting at YWP....well, the collective noise was like Angelina Jolie (other celebrities are available) had just stepped naked onto a red carpet. :LOL:
 
They're all relatively quiet, the eos3 is probably the noisiest, especially on full motor drive. But compared to a Pentax 67 I had years ago, they're silent as an Angels fart. The mirror slap on the 67 could make your gums bleed!
 
The older I get the quieter they get...
Most non DSLR cameras can have all sound turned off.
I actually like a little sound it give some reassurance something has happened.
On my X30, in silent mode, it makes no sound at all.
With it on, you hear a shutter noise that can be set to various levels.
but nothing else.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nog
I have a D700 and when shooting a wedding recently (sitting quietly in the corner taking shots of the bride and groom taking their vows) it sounded like a gun going off! Thankfully the bride's mother's mobile rang during that particular part of the ceremony which created (for me) a wonderful diversion :)
 
My D810 is a lot quieter than my previous D700 but the D4s Ive just got is very very loud, and the quite mode makes virtually no difference.
 
5d3 has a "silent" mode and it is certainly quieter than my 1d (mk 2) on full chat
 
Last edited:
The electronic shutter on the X-T1 is silent. Great for family candids as no one has a clue.
 
Very quiet, and can be silent with the mirror locked up.
 
I ask because mine seem to be very loud.

In quiet areas when I take a picture it sounds like (volume wise) someone has dropped an entire tray of tin plates, cutlery and some tambourines for good measure. Seems to be more prevalent on the D3 ??
get someone else to take a photo with it standing a few feet away i think you may realise its not as loud as you think just that your nose is stuck to the back of it hth mike.
 
There's a distinct but very quiet click by the leaf shutter of the x100. You can hear it if you listen to it, but to most people, it's virtually silent.

In fact, x100 is so quiet, I have used it in libraries and people hadn't noticed!

But nothing beats a satisfying "clunk!" of the mirror. That's the only thing I miss moving to mirrorless. No matter the DSLR, even in quiet mode, they all have that satisfactory "clunk!".
 
no matter how quiet your camera is, it's probably too loud to be rapid firing during a demonstration of how quiet an Owl can fly :)
 
For a comparison with the RB67 consider the noise of two tectonic plates moving at high speed and double the volume. The LF gear is virtually silent but not exactly practical for street. I'm happy enough with the D3100 and the "silent" mode is handy on rare occasions mostly when I forget a shutter release cable.

They're all relatively quiet, the eos3 is probably the noisiest, especially on full motor drive. But compared to a Pentax 67 I had years ago, they're silent as an Angels fart. The mirror slap on the 67 could make your gums bleed!

Yeah, the mirror slap on the Mamiya is not subtle. But the D750 is surprisingly noisy even with mirror lock up. Tried doing some subtle street stuff (long exposure) the other day and it was basically broadcasting for all to hear...

Beat me too it.
 
None of you ever used a medium format SLR inside a church then :eek:

My Bronica ETRS made any 35mm or DLSR I've owned sound like a whisper.

if anything the SQ-A was worse... and, yes, it was often used inside churches, mid ceremony (winces at the thought)
 
I shoot with both a D800 and a D810.

During weddings I notice a huge difference when i pick up the D800 after the D810. The D800 sounds like gun going off compare to the D810 - its one of the advantages the D810 has over its predecessor - especially for weddings.
 
My one time favourite, the Rolleiflex was virtually silent. But I would recognise the sound of winding off of a roll any time.
 
None of you ever used a medium format SLR inside a church then :eek:

My Bronica ETRS made any 35mm or DLSR I've owned sound like a whisper.

Agree,

Used to pre-focus and use the mirror lock up where possible. Still sounded like the hammer of Thor though !

Nikon D81O is virtually silent by comparison especially in Q mode.
 
Hmm. ok then. I will just have to make do with feeling awkward during ceremonies. Or just not take pictures of the ceremony 'out of respect to god/registrar (some would have you think they are the same thing!!)' ........
 
My camera for Weddings has a function marked...

OMG that's noisy but at least you managed a shot of me getting married

It's called shooting the important bits

I could of course be quieter and just not photograph their Wedding, but every Vicar or Registrar I've come across is happy that if I'm not shooting constantly it's ok to make a bit of noise

Dave
 
I don't have many to go against, but both my Canon D400 and Zenit B are to my mind fairly quiet, with the Zenit being slightly quieter than the Canon.
 
Sony RX1 was the best wedding ceremony camera I've ever used. Completely silent and no issues with rolling shutter.

I love the Fuji X-T10 electronic shutter, but it's hopeless in artificial light.
 
The Canon EOS 6D has a great silent shutter mode! Certainly an upgrade over the CLANK the 7D makes when shooting.
 
... the CLANK the 7D makes when shooting.

Ha ha. I can agree with that. I started trying my hand at a bit of nature snapping for the first time with this body. Amused me that the 'clank' of the shutter would at least get the attention of the bird or squirrel etc and it would look in the direction of the noise. A blessing and a curse!
 
Used my D750 at a science talk today for the best part of 5 hours. No idea why many reviews state that the Quiet shutter mode is useless, it makes a massive difference in an environment where shutter noise is very obvious.

It may not actually be much quieter, but it's a lot softer so draws far less attention. I was very impressed despite not having high hopes for it.
 
Used my D750 at a science talk today for the best part of 5 hours. No idea why many reviews state that the Quiet shutter mode is useless, it makes a massive difference in an environment where shutter noise is very obvious.

It may not actually be much quieter, but it's a lot softer so draws far less attention. I was very impressed despite not having high hopes for it.

It's still loud compared to the D810
 
Have noticed my Canon 5D2 has become louder...not sure if it's my ears or what lol ?
 



There are, among many others, specific features to
cameras to make them shoot at higher FPS rates.
This very feature requires sturdy and fast repeating
movements that produce mechanical noises as for
the single digits Nikons made for performance.

A mirrorless ranger finder body is the quietest camera
one may dream of but it cannot outperform a DSLR in
any other way.


As in everything in photography, it's all compromises!

Golly that is a sweeping statement but perhaps you're behind the times.

I suppose it depends on what DSLR and mirrorless camera you compare and by the way the mirrorless camera doesn't have to be a rangefinder style camera as SLR style cameras are available too but generally speaking as mirrorless cameras now run from MFT sensors and indeed smaller through APS-C and on to "FF" I think that the image quality is there and so are many other features and abilities.

Ergonomics and the OVF v EVF debate can be done to death and people will never agree but excluding image quality for a moment I thought that DSLR's only had a clear (or clearish) lead in focus tracking and battery life. Everything else, arguably, may be up for argument :D
 
I ask because mine seem to be very loud.

In quiet areas when I take a picture it sounds like (volume wise) someone has dropped an entire tray of tin plates, cutlery and some tambourines for good measure. Seems to be more prevalent on the D3 ??

My noisiest camera was probably my Canon 20D which sounded like someone throwing an anvil into a tin bath. Out in the wilds this may not be a problem unless you're worried about scaring critters away but it can be very off putting indoors. I remember being in a quiet church once whilst on holiday and a guy came in with a large bodied Canon and proceeded to loudly shoot and with flash too and he just destroyed the peace and quiet. People glaring at him had no effect. Personally I'd never do that and the bulk and ambiance destroying ability of a DSLR and uncaring user is something that I don't want to be a part of.
 
Got a D700 as a backup body recently, sounds like a shotgun!
 
Back
Top