analogic cameras with no (or with little) vibrations of the mirror:a list!

Les Sarile · Aug 31, 2012

Best Yashica . . . Rangfinder, M42 mount, Yashica/Contax mount?
The Yashica FR received a very good review from Popular Photography, Jan 1979 issue.

E. von Hoegh · Aug 31, 2012

You can always go with any body that has a mirror lockup feature. Vibration is rarely an issue; where vibration begins to matter is in close up/macro work, and sometimes it will set up a resonance in a lightweight tripod.

blockend · Aug 31, 2012

The original FR is a great camera.

lxdude · Sep 1, 2012

E. von Hoegh said:
You can always go with any body that has a mirror lockup feature. Vibration is rarely an issue; where vibration begins to matter is in close up/macro work, and sometimes it will set up a resonance in a lightweight tripod.

Well, that and telephoto work. And it's generally more a problem at slower shutter speeds, like 1/30 to 1/2. Depending on the (35mm) camera, I found 1/15 or 1/8 to be worst.

Sirius Glass · Sep 1, 2012

How about a medium format [MF] camera that does not have mirror bounce?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkKcbyh2CrA

E. von Hoegh · Sep 1, 2012

lxdude said:
Well, that and telephoto work. And it's generally more a problem at slower shutter speeds, like 1/30 to 1/2. Depending on the (35mm) camera, I found 1/15 or 1/8 to be worst.

:confused: How the hell did I forget tele lenses? I had coffee, I'm too young to be going senile, I barely drink, don't smoke dope,......:confused:

lxdude · Sep 1, 2012

E. von Hoegh said:
:confused: How the hell did I forget tele lenses? I had coffee, I'm too young to be going senile, I barely drink, don't smoke dope,......:confused:

Maybe you should start....

fstop · Sep 2, 2012

Minolta XD-11 very smooth.

For my macro and tele work I use a Nikon F3 because it has mirror lockup, no vibration at all, some Nikons using the self timer will lock up the mirror before the shutter fires which accomplishes the same as the manual mirror lock up but the mirror motion as mentioned above can set up resonance in light tripods.

peters8 · Sep 2, 2012

thank you.this thread is very interesting.

you're speaking about the Nikon cameras:do you know if the Nikon Fe has this possibility?
I've a Nikon Fe,but i never use it because the movement of the mirror mechanism in this model is particularly noisy; infact in the FE 2 model, Nikon created a
very silent antivibration shutter.
It would be very interesting, although it is a very noisy camera (FE), using the self-timer to reduce vibration.
Regards.

Les Sarile · Sep 2, 2012

On the FE, the mirror will lockup before firing the shutter when using the self timer.

dynachrome · Sep 2, 2012

The Canon Pellix and Pellix QL cameras have pellicle mirrors. These are in Canon FL (manual focus) mount. The Canon F-1N is considered to have a very well damped mirror. It was for this reason that the model did not include a mirror lock-up feature. For macro or long lens work I use an older F-1 or F-1n instead. Where vibration is concerned, some people prefer a camera with a horizontally running cloth shutter. They are often quieter even with the mirror locked up. The odd thing about the Pellix and Pellix QL models is that although they have non-moving mirrors, they have horizontally traveling metal shutters, like the F-1 models. This is because a cloth shutter might get burned if the camera were left pointed at the sun. With the mirrors down, a Nikkormat FT2 is slightly more noisy than a Canon FTbN at the same shutter speed. With the mirrors locked up, the Nikkormat is a little quieter. The Yashica FX-3 is one of the many Cosina-produced cameras. It seems to have about the same amount of mirror induced vibration as the others. The Nikon F2 seems loud whether the mirror is up or down. I can use older manual focus lenses on my Pentax K-x (DSLR) and still benefit from the camera's built-in vibration reduction system.

peters8 · Sep 3, 2012

thank you!
does the pentax k1000 have the vibration reduction system? regards

Chrismat · Sep 3, 2012

I've owned the Yashica FX-3 and I own a couple of K1000s. If you use the self-tmer on the Yashica, the mirror flips up when you press the shutter release button giving you a mirror lock up by default. The K1000 does not have a mirror lock up feature, but you can make the mirror flip up before the shutter trips by quickly 'flicking' your finger over the shutter release button and the mirror will flip up without tripping the shutter. I asked Eric Hendrickson who is probably the best person in the U.S. for repairing Pentaxes if this was alright and he didn't recommend it, the shutter speed chosen may not be accurate.

Peters8- You may want to consider the Pentax KX. It has the same body as the K1000 (which is similar to the Spotmatic) and has a mirror lockup function, a self timer and depth of field preview. You also can see the shutter speed selection and the f-stop in the viewfinder. They can can be obtained sometimes for less money (or not much more) than the K1000 because they haven't achieved the cult status of the K1000.

thuggins · Sep 4, 2012

The OM's are well known for having minimal shutter/mirror vibration. I also take exception to the popular mischaracterisation that RF's have a smoother operation than SLR's. The long, stiff shutter button travel needed to lock and set the exposure makes them far more difficult to hand hold than the OM's.

kivis · Sep 4, 2012

Well I had a Nikon F modified so that I have the option of it having 2 steps when taking an exposure.
[video]http://www.flickr.com/photos/kshapero/5960666971/[/video]

A Rangefinered F? My friend, Pete Smith, turned my shutter button into a two step process. First step takes the shot, then the second punch on the shutter button slaps the mirror. This allows me to, 1. Make my shot almost totally silent and 2. there is virtually no vibration, allowing me to shot at 1/15 or even 1/8 of a second without shake. After that I just press the shutter button again to allow me to advance the shot. Voila it really works very nicely. Of course I can always just shot the old fashion way by pressing the shutter button a little harder for the full deal. Cool?

David Jones · Sep 5, 2012

I had a Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 and it was a bit clunky but it really didn't make a lot of difference. When hand holding I'm sure that your own shakes are worse than the mechanisms. The Yashica had a mirror pre fire when using the self timer for use on a tripod. The Yashica was a very basic and maybe slightly cheap looking camera but the 1.9 lens was very good and I could also fit my Zeiss 50mm f1.7 which really was good. At the moment I have a pentax MX which is very smooth as is my Canon AE-1 Program. My OM-1 is good too and has a mirror lock up facility. If you want sharp pictures use a good tripod and nothing will vibrate. The Manfrotto 055 with 029 head I have is certainly big enough for 35mm and medium format.

Dave

elcabezagrande · Sep 6, 2012

The Konica FS-1 has the smoothest mirror-action of any SLR that I have ever used. The Yashica TL Electro-X and TL Super are good solid M42 bodies have true mirror lock-up, as does the Canon FTbn, in FD mount.

Phalbert · Sep 8, 2012

Hi. I own and use about 40 film SLRs from any brand including late EOS and the one with which I feel absolutely nothing in the hands when the shutter goes is the Minolta 7000, followed by the Canon T90 and the Pentax MZ-M. The Minolta is incredible.

Richard S. (rich815) · Sep 8, 2012

Phalbert said:
Hi. I own and use about 40 film SLRs from any brand including late EOS and the one with which I feel absolutely nothing in the hands when the shutter goes is the Minolta 7000, followed by the Canon T90 and the Pentax MZ-M. The Minolta is incredible.

By chance do you have or have you tried a Contax RX? Easily the least "shutter-feel" in a SLR I've ever felt.

Phalbert · Sep 8, 2012

Hi Tim. OMs have an horizontal (cloth) shutter travel which tends to induce less vibration. (While most of the other have a vertical shutter, which in turn usually gives a faster flash sync speed) Maybe this makes it more difficult to establish what is the amount of vibration due to the mirror. Which RF camera do you mean with a "long, stiff shutter button" ???

Phalbert · Sep 8, 2012

Hi Richard. No I haven't ever tried a Contax RX. I have a 139 which I like for the brightness of its screen. In turn, have you ever depressed a 7000's shutter? It is not my favorite body, but again, I really can't feel a thing when it fires. (But I can hear it, no doubt...)

mohawk51 · Feb 15, 2013

peters8 said:
hi guy...this is the first time I write here,but i read always this fantastic forum.I apologize for my bad english...but I never studied english!
anyway I hope you understand me!

I've always been curious about the reflex cameras with less mirror vibrations and which instead were the worst (i mean reflex cameras with very loud and noisy movement mirror mechanism).I know that the best choice,if you are searching no vibrations or at least less vibrations of the mirror mechanism, are the ragefinder cameras.

But my intention is to catalog the reflexes in three categories:

1)camaras with no vibrations

2)cameras with some vibrations

3)cameras that vibrate too, so reflexes with a very noisy movement mechanism of the mirror.

Do you want to start?

Thanks.

Analogic. I like that word!!

analogic cameras with no (or with little) vibrations of the mirror:a list!

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency