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02-27-2010, 01:00 AM   #1
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silent shooting

Another day I was at a university seminar and did some shots with my new FA 50/1.4. Although the light was excellent, the AF noise made everybody laugh. I'm glad I have the DA* 16-50/2.8 as well, which is silent.

However, the mirror/shutter noise is still there. Can it be reduced somehow?

02-27-2010, 01:29 AM   #2
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Nothing you can do to reduce the noise the shutter makes, other than maybe insulating the camera inside of something made of fabric perhaps? Regarding the focus noise...just focus manually, makes no noise at all!


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02-27-2010, 01:51 AM   #3
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I have a really hard time believing this.
My experience is that camera noise is completely drowned out by background noise by the time you are more than a few feet from the camera.
Sorry, but I'm suspecting a troll on this one.
02-27-2010, 01:54 AM   #4
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Yeah obviously he hasn't tried the uber silent K-7...

02-27-2010, 02:49 AM   #5
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Well focusing is simple matter, manual focus.

Shutter and mirrorslap is much more difficult, noise is there, and I disagree that background noise makes noise unhearable from few meters away, it makes the noise less noticeable but I can tell you a true story from last summer when I still had my K10D (Yes I know that my K-7 is much silenter, but itīs not noiseless)

Well I was shooting timelapse at local festival here in Finland. I setuped my K10D to the back corner of a large hall that was converted to a club during the festival and using pclix setuped my camera to take photos at 1sec intervals. Well even when there were lots of music played hard (it was a club afterall) I could hear the mirror slap to other side of the hall. I started sweating as i wondered if that noise bothers someone nearby camera because I heard it still in club situation 20 meters away.

Well people near camera certainly noticed it, but thankully they werenīt that angry . And also interval makes the noise more annoying than a single mirrorslap, so I would have been okay just snapping still pictures.

End of story, but yes most time in silent situation mirror slap is a problem, best way is to try and time your photos so that it wonīt annoy the rest of the people

-Juho
02-27-2010, 05:49 AM   #6
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It happened to me too, when I used the FA 50mm at a conference. The sound was weird, so I resorted to manual focus. Easy.
02-27-2010, 06:18 AM   #7
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I am a newspaper reporter and I know that mirror slap noise is a problem. Shooting in theater and music events, I must be very careful to shoot only when there is applause, cresendos, loud action or a break in the scene. I have had dirty looks from people seated around me when firing a DSLR. I have looked into getting the Panasonic GH1, but the high ISO is not ready for prime time.

02-27-2010, 08:12 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by braver Quote
Another day I was at a university seminar and did some shots with my new FA 50/1.4. Although the light was excellent, the AF noise made everybody laugh. I'm glad I have the DA* 16-50/2.8 as well, which is silent.

However, the mirror/shutter noise is still there. Can it be reduced somehow?
Maybe they were laughing at the professor.
02-27-2010, 08:27 AM   #9
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Anybody serious about shooting quietly should use a blimp case.
02-27-2010, 11:56 AM   #10
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During film times, there was a box for cameras which they used to shoot movie stills with as live sound would pick up the shutter sound of the SLR.
I haven't seen any of those being used on digital anymore.
02-27-2010, 01:30 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by GerryL Quote
During film times, there was a box for cameras which they used to shoot movie stills with as live sound would pick up the shutter sound of the SLR.
That's called a blimp case.

QuoteOriginally posted by creampuff Quote
Anybody serious about shooting quietly should use a blimp case.
Or an underwater enclosure stuffed with cloth?

Silent cameras exist: non-motorized rangefinders and TLRs (film); point-and-shoots; new EVIL systems should be noiseless. SLRs, by their very design, make noise, as do coupled motors, like those driving autofocus in non-SDM lenses, and film advances. Maybe anyone with only noisy systems should learn to sketch?
02-27-2010, 07:45 PM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by RioRico Quote
That's called a blimp case.
Thanks! Didn't know what it was actually called.
I only knew what is was and how it worked.
Anyway, since I already know now what it is actually called, a quick Google gave me this: How to make a sound blimp for your camera | Picturedujour.com
Your own DIY blimp case.
I think it would be better though just to tolerate the sound that lug this around in church.
I would understand it you where shooting movie stills, then this wouldn't be awkward.
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