Most satisfying shutter sound?

[Sirius Glass]

Is it the Th-WACK of a Hasselblad? The KA-Womp of a Graflex? The Sh-wump of a Speed Graphic? A quiet click of a particular lens shutter? Tell us about your favorite shutter sound.

 

[R.Gould]

the almost sient compur in my Rolleiflex/rolleicord, my retinas and my Ambiflex, and others with the compur, so quite that nobody even standing next to me can hear it, the quite whirr of it in slower speeds is music to my ears

 

[Ian Grant]

The tiny Comound shutter with my1913 120mm Dagor on my home made 6x7 camera. It's quieter and sweeter than the Compur that replaced it.

Ian

 

[silveror0]

The sound of the Compound IV 10/2 shutter that my 360/5.6 Symmar convertible is mounted in. Hear it now, courtesy of Steve Grimes' website.

Copy & paste into your browser:
http://www.skgrimes.com/images/compound/cd.wav

 

[Vaughn]

Another vote for the sound of shutters on Rolleiflex/cords!

 

[Kino]

Kiev 88. Sounds like a barn door slamming...

 

[keenmaster486]

My Zeiss Contaflex makes a very satisfying chunk sound.

 

[k.hendrik]

The very soft and elegant "zz tick" of my C330f.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

For the longest time, I thought "Mirror slap" was the sound of a shutter.

 

[Eric Rose]

Rolleiflex. It's sounds like the swish of a silk negligee

 

[FujiLove]

When I want to be discreet, nothing beats the gentle click of my Rolleicord Vb. I’ve shot it at dinner in restaurants where you get kicked out for wearing the wrong shoes, and nobody batted an eyelid. Unlike almost everyone else in the world, the shutter of my 3.5F did nothing for me. Felt and sounded a bit woolly and distant for my tastes. Maybe it needed a service? Lovely camera. But I prefer the old ‘cord.

I’ve just reacquired a Pentax 67 and have been thoroughly enjoying the THWACK of that huge mirror this afternoon. I’m not sure our dog appreciated being woken from her slumber by it though.

I’m beginning to really appreciate the gentle, and quite sophisticated sound of my Minolta XD’s shutter. It’s got some sort of clockwork ‘zing’ in the background, which I really like.

 

[ignatiu5]

Sort of cheating, but the dual shutter and mirror kick sounds of my Pentax 6x7 are my favourite. When shooting people unaccustomed, the first frame often jolts them awake.

 

[darkosaric]

Most satisfying shutter sound from cameras that I have:
1) Loud - Nikon F801s, together with film advance - very loud, but very satisfying!
2) Discreet - M3 and IIIf

 

[Sirius Glass]

The Speed Graphic focal plane shutter gives a Sh-wump and the lens shutter gives a quiet click so that give me a choice.

 

[Ian Grant]

This is a 1914 Compur #0 shutter, still as accurate as the day it left the Deckel works Compur

Only s asimilar sized Compound sounds better, Copals don't stay as accurate . . . . . .

Ian

 

[DDTJRAC]

OP...I like em as quiet as possible.

If stealth was not a concern, then sure, any nice, solid shutter sound would be nice.

 

[wy2l]

The satisfying "THUNK" of my Pentax 67...

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Maybe it's my imagination, but it seems as if the lens has an effect on the shutter sound; perhaps it's the acoustics.

My plain-prism Nikon F with a pre-AI 85/1.8 sounds very satisfying: a nice ka-chunk.

The Nikon FM and Leicaflex SL sound solid as well.

The chosen shutter speed has a lot of influence on the sound.

 

[AgX]

The sound of an Exa, peculiar shutter, peculiar sound.

(the others started with 35mm ....)

 

[k.hendrik]

When shooting people unaccustomed, the first frame often jolts them awake.

When I want real attention as in "HE GUYS I'M TAKING A PICTURE" I use my Canon AF35M II.

 

[cliveh]

A Leica II at 1/100 is like a gnat’s whisper. However, a Voigtlander IIB at 1/15th is a beautiful sound.

 

[LeftCoastKid]

For stealth: My M4; for "I don't really care if people know I'm taking photos: a motor-driven F3 (A sound so pleasing to the ear that Apple uses it for their iPhone "cameras).

 

[keenmaster486]

a motor-driven F3 (A sound so pleasing to the ear that Apple uses it for their iPhone "cameras).

By golly, you're right. I never knew this!

 

[Theo Sulphate]

... a motor-driven F3 (A sound so pleasing to the ear that Apple uses it for their iPhone "cameras).

Wow. "Imitation is the sincerest of flattery" (*)

(*) Charles Colton (1780-1832), and this is the correct quote

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Probably the oddest shutter sound I've heard is from my Polaroid Image 1200. Unlike the SX-70, if you keep the shutter release depressed, the film won't eject until you release the release (very useful for being discreet and fortuitous if you don't want to eject Impossible film in bright sunlight). Anyway, just pressing and holding the release makes a sound like a one-inch steel ball falling into an empty wooden dresser drawer -- at least that's what it conjures up for me.