Embrace the Noise! Who has the loudest shutter?

Pioneer · Jan 5, 2015

I was out a few weeks ago taking some pictures at a high school football game with my Pentax Spottie when suddenly it dawned on me. I am surrounded by hundreds of hyped up moms and dads (mostly dads) and high schoolers, and I can still hear the shutter of my camera. I know that I took a picture! This is great!

I was reminded of this the other day when I was reading a thread about the quietest SLR shutter. Suddenly it occurred to me, who cares! Are you a courtroom photographer where the sound of your shutter could get you removed? Are you trying to sneak photos in the Basilica in Rome, where photography is not allowed? If not, why do you care if you can, or cannot, hear your camera shutter?

I realize that I actually love the sound of a shutter going off. I know that my Spottie can't be the loudest camera out there. Ditch that Leica! Forget the quietest shutter! Who manufactures the camera with the most beautiful, and noisiest, shutter sound?

I am going to have to see if I can record the sound of my Spottie sounding off and post it here. Appreciate anyone who can post, or link to, a quick and easy way to post your camera's shutter noise to the thread.

Alan Gales · Jan 5, 2015

Dan, I don't know about 35mm shutters but the loudest shutter I ever heard was my old Bronica EC 6x6. It was so loud that the first time I used it I thought I broke something! I even heard the tale of a wedding photographer getting kicked out of a wedding by the priest or preacher for using an early Bronica.

Steve Smith · Jan 5, 2015

Bronica here too. My S2 is loud, as was my ETRS.

The RB67, not so loud.

Steve.

zanxion72 · Jan 5, 2015

I think that my Zenits are hard to beat on this. You can hear their shutters' clap even in crowdy places

blockend · Jan 5, 2015

My Yashica FR is loud and resonates like a bell for seconds afterwards. The Canon T70 shutter isn't too loud but the film advance should have guidelines for ear protection.

Tony Egan · Jan 5, 2015

Horizon 202 panoramic camera. On slower speeds it conveyed all the drama of a stick of dynamite about to explode. Heads always turned and brows were furrowed.

film_man · Jan 5, 2015

I think the Canon EOS 3 has to be very near, if not at, the top when it comes to 35mm cameras.

Theo Sulphate · Jan 5, 2015

Try taking a motorized Hasselblad to a quiet wedding ceremony with the selector in "A" mode. True, you're hearing a lot more than the shutter: mirror, baffles, film wind - the aperture and shutter activation is silent by comparison.

railwayman3 · Jan 5, 2015

I used to have one of the early, very basic, Exa 35mm cameras. The first opening part of the shutter was formed by the slr mirror, then closed with a metal flap. On slow speeds it made a delightful kerrrrrrrrr......PLOP! noise.

AgX · Jan 5, 2015

30 years ago there was a test done by a german photo Magazine. The variation between models was huge.
The loudest was a Minolta X500, the second most quiet was a Praktica.

ruby.monkey · Jan 5, 2015

My old Pentax SV's mirror action sounded like iron plates being slammed together. Don't think I have anything left that could compete with it.

gone · Jan 5, 2015

You're just the man to appreciate the Bronica S camera. If there's a camera with a louder shutter, I don't want to hear it.

https://www.google.com/search?q=bro...enza_Bronica_6%25C3%25976_focal_plane;425;500

Nick Merritt · Jan 5, 2015

Certainly the Bronica S series is on the list. No one has mentioned the Pentax 67, and that is a strong contender. In the 35mm world, the Konica Autoreflex T series is pretty loud, as are the Nikkormats -- all with the Copal Square shutter.

benjiboy · Jan 5, 2015

Pioneer said:
I was out a few weeks ago taking some pictures at a high school football game with my Pentax Spottie when suddenly it dawned on me. I am surrounded by hundreds of hyped up moms and dads (mostly dads) and high schoolers, and I can still hear the shutter of my camera. I know that I took a picture! This is great!

I was reminded of this the other day when I was reading a thread about the quietest SLR shutter. Suddenly it occurred to me, who cares! Are you a courtroom photographer where the sound of your shutter could get you removed? Are you trying to sneak photos in the Basilica in Rome, where photography is not allowed? If not, why do you care if you can, or cannot, hear your camera shutter?

I realize that I actually love the sound of a shutter going off. I know that my Spottie can't be the loudest camera out there. Ditch that Leica! Forget the quietest shutter! Who manufactures the camera with the most beautiful, and noisiest, shutter sound?

I am going to have to see if I can record the sound of my Spottie sounding off and post it here. Appreciate anyone who can post, or link to, a quick and easy way to post your camera's shutter noise to the thread.

I 'm surprised that photograph is allowed in U.S courts , It certainly Isn't in British ones.

Sent from my KFOT using Tapatalk

flavio81 · Jan 5, 2015

AgX said:
30 years ago there was a test done by a german photo Magazine. The variation between models was huge.
The loudest was a Minolta X500, the second most quiet was a Praktica.

AgX,

I would LOVE to see a scan of this test. Do you have it?

flavio81 · Jan 5, 2015

Nick Merritt said:
Certainly the Bronica S series is on the list. No one has mentioned the Pentax 67, and that is a strong contender. In the 35mm world, the Konica Autoreflex T series is pretty loud, as are the Nikkormats -- all with the Copal Square shutter.

Agree. My Canon EF is my loudest 35mm SLR, it also has the Copal vertical shutter.

The quietest one is the Minox 35, and by far !!

Truzi · Jan 5, 2015

I don't have enough experience to compare, but my Bronica GS-1 is not terribly quite. Actually, the shutter is extremely quiet in my opinion, but the mirror is loud.

While my Sears KS-2 is not quiet, this summer I learned it was quieter than the shutter noises coming from people's cell-phone cameras

Les Sarile · Jan 5, 2015

I started a first casual pass at recording some of my cameras. Since it seems they are all relatively equal in volume, I realize it must be the automatic level controls on my phone doing this so I will have to revise with one that doesn't have this. Also comes to mind are with or without lenses and condition of the camera. More food for thought but fun for now.

ciniframe · Jan 5, 2015

No wide personal experience but the loudest 35mm SLR I have is either a Vivitar 220 or, surprisingly, a Fujica ST 605n.

By far, the quietest 35mm camera I have is an early Olympus Pen viewfinder camera. This camera's wind on and shutter release sound are nearly silent.

PS: The first Pen viewfinder cameras are all manual with a Copal, 2 blade, 4 speed + B shutter. Most folks think of the much more common Pen EE series, they are a little louder, both in wind on and shutter sound.

DWThomas · Jan 5, 2015

My Bronica SQ-A is certainly louder than any of my 35mm gear; the mirror and the baffle behind it are way more size and mass. I'm usually on a tripod and use the MLU to flip the mirror up (which is the big noise) before the exposure, the actual shutter is a leaf type you can barely hear outdoors. If I tried street shooting with the grip and not using the MLU I'd be afraid of drawing in a SWAT team these days! (I can't imagine taking shots at a wedding with it.)

I have a small assortment of Canon FD bodies, they make a satisfying ka-chunk, but don't seem that terribly loud. My old Konica FP had a Copal Square metal focal plane shutter, but alas, hasn't worked since about 1981, so I can't compare.

dynachrome · Jan 5, 2015

I have plenty of noisy cameras and some more quiet ones too. The issue with medium format SLRs is that most of the sound is mirror slap. The models with focal plane shutters add even more noise while the models with leaf shutters produce very little actual shutter noise. Adding battery powered winders or motors will make for a lot more noise. In some cases this is because the film is also advanced, the mirror may also be lowered and the shutter cocked. I find my Mamiya M645/1000S/J cameras noisier than my Bronica ETR/S cameras. I do not have any 6X6 or 6X7 SLRs with focal plane shutters but i have heard the racket made by such cameras. I disagree about the Minolta X-500. My U.S. version, the X-570 is not particularly loud. It sounds the same as the X-700, X-370 etc. These all have cloth shutters. The Minolta XD-11 is not very quiet but is not as loud as the SRTs. I agree that most cameras with the Copal Square shutter are loud. This is especially true of the Ricoh TLS-401. I have a Minolta XE-5. The sound it makes is more of a dull thud. It makes me wonder whether the shutter speed is right. It was recently overhauled and is working perfectly so I know the speeds are right. Some of the cameras with built-in motors like the Konica FT-1 or the Nikon N2000 or the Nikon N90S are pretty noisy but they are convenient to use so that makes up for it for me. The quietest cameras must be the leaf shutter rangefinders and TLRs. What about my Bronica GS-1 and Mamiya RB/RZ cameras? These are very capable cameras but unless the mirror is locked up, they are not used when very quiet operation is desired.

dynachrome · Jan 5, 2015

Dave T, Greg Weber would be happy to repair your Konica FP [gweber@webercamera.com]. I have two nicely working FP cameras with shiny 52/1.4 lenses. The FP is no lightweight and yes, it is loud. I like the beautiful finder and enjoy using them.

winger · Jan 5, 2015

My Pentax 645N has to be a contender. The sound is part shutter, part mirror, and part motor winder, but it's easily heard from a distance. I used it and my PZ1p in a class several years ago and the rest of the class told me they could always tell which one I was using even if they could barely see me. The 645N got the nickname "Thumper".

Ixtl · Jan 5, 2015

I'd have to second the 645n. If you're using a shorter lens with the continuous motor drive, your subject would have a hard time talking over it. It's mostly the motor drive, though. It sounds like an old Xerox machine.

wiltw · Jan 5, 2015

I have a sound level meter which was originally purchased for balancing multichannel speakers for home theater. I just did measurements using A-weighted scale, all cameras set to 1/60 f/4, at a distance of 12" from front of camera body to sound level meter.

Olympus OM-1: 69 dB (cloth horizontal travel shutter)
Canon 5D: 69dB (metal vertical travel shutter)
Canon 40D: 69dB (metal vertical travel shutter)
Olympus OM-4: 71dB (cloth horizontal travel shutter)
Bronica ETRSi: 71dB (MF leaf shutter)
Topcon D-1: 72dB (Copal Square metal vertical travel shutter)
Topcon Super D: 72dB (cloth horizontal travel shutter)

Embrace the Noise! Who has the loudest shutter?

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