Sanjuro Posted February 23, 2007 Share #1 Â Posted February 23, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) How much of an issue is the new shutter noise been for you? I have been shooting with a M3 for years, and I love the way I can get close to strangers and shoot without them knowing it. A few days ago, I went to my local camera store to handle the M8 for the first time. And while everything else felt normal, I was disappointed by the loudness of the shutter. It sounded to me like I would not be able to use this camera the way I did my other Ms. So does anyone have experiences with the M8 in this regard that they would be kind enough to share? Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 23, 2007 Posted February 23, 2007 Hi Sanjuro, Take a look here Shutter noise. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
larry Posted February 23, 2007 Share #2 Â Posted February 23, 2007 Jack, Â At first I was a little disappointed with the noise level, but now I'm used to it. It's different than film Ms, so if you need to acclimate to it. Â Larry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wparsonsgisnet Posted February 23, 2007 Share #3 Â Posted February 23, 2007 Jack, my reaction has been the same as yours. Others tell me that if you are in front of the camera, it's not a noisy as it seems to the person whose cheek is glued to it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted February 23, 2007 Share #4 Â Posted February 23, 2007 The shutter itself is about as quiet as film M's, it's the immediate electronic rewind which accounts for most of the sound. Like Larry, it took me a few days to get used to it. Even with the extra sound, it's been my experience that the camera is still pretty unobtrusive. I've triggered off single frames in relatively quiet places like coffee shops and not observed any reaction from those around me. Â Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelderfield Posted February 23, 2007 Share #5 Â Posted February 23, 2007 Just remember that the camera is inches from your ear but usually a few feet from the nearest person. Jonathan Elderfield Photography Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfelder2@nyc.rr.com Posted February 23, 2007 Share #6 Â Posted February 23, 2007 I'm probably not the best person to opine on this, but I find it very quiet. I was using a Canon 20D before the M8, and a Canon AT-1 before that. Both very loud. I find the M8 delightfully discrete up close and nearby. Have yet to have anyone notice the noise. Â http://www.SnapshotArtifact.org Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roderik Posted February 23, 2007 Share #7 Â Posted February 23, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) altough it makes more noise then a M6 without winder it is almost the same as one with a winder. so more then acceptable but i was a bit shocked a swell first time i heard it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted February 23, 2007 Share #8 Â Posted February 23, 2007 Simple test is to mount it on a tripod and use either a cable shutter release or the self timer and stand in front of it 3-4-5-6 feet way and see how the noisy is at those distances. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted February 23, 2007 Share #9 Â Posted February 23, 2007 Just for a joke, compare the M8 shutter noise to this movie, at just before the halfway mark: Â Video Canon EOS 1D Mark III - Canon, EOS, 1D, Mark, III - Dailymotion Partagez Vos Videos Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wparsonsgisnet Posted February 23, 2007 Share #10 Â Posted February 23, 2007 I got used to a shutter that made NO sound, usijng the D2 for almost 3 years. Â I don't see why the current state of technology can't give us this same type of capture. We could skip the evf part and just keep the sensor in ready-to-capture mode all the time. Â This is the digiworld. Let's have a silent shutter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
egibaud Posted February 23, 2007 Share #11  Posted February 23, 2007 last month the French magazine "chasseur d'images" compared reflex camera noise (sound not digital).  The most silent digital camera is the Canon 400D with 54db during 290ms Canon 350 D - 54db - 295 ms Canon EOS 30D / 20D 59db - 280ms Canon EOS 5D - 59db - 280ms Leica M8 - 58db - 450ms Leica M7 - 53db - 300ms Leica MP - 54db - 290ms Nikon D50 - 58db - 350ms Nikon D100 - 60db - 290ms Nikon D200 - 58.5db - 280ms Nikon D2x / D2xs / D2h / D2hs - 58db - 280ms  There are many more models....  surprisingly the MP is more noisy than the M7..... proof that photographers are not as objective as they pretend to be :-) most people would bet on a noiser M7 than an MP.  The M8 is surely not the most silent nore the noisest but it is defenetely the one that makes the longest noise, 450ms  Eric Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted February 24, 2007 Share #12  Posted February 24, 2007 last month the French magazine "chasseur d'images" compared reflex camera noise (sound not digital). The most silent digital camera is the Canon 400D with 54db during 290ms Canon 350 D - 54db - 295 ms Canon EOS 30D / 20D 59db - 280ms Canon EOS 5D - 59db - 280ms Leica M8 - 58db - 450ms Leica M7 - 53db - 300ms Leica MP - 54db - 290ms Nikon D50 - 58db - 350ms Nikon D100 - 60db - 290ms Nikon D200 - 58.5db - 280ms Nikon D2x / D2xs / D2h / D2hs - 58db - 280ms  There are many more models....  surprisingly the MP is more noisy than the M7..... proof that photographers are not as objective as they pretend to be :-) most people would bet on a noiser M7 than an MP.  The M8 is surely not the most silent nore the noisest but it is defenetely the one that makes the longest noise, 450ms  Eric  I read that issue, and must take issue (heh) with some of their measurements, or at least with their implications. My (ex) 5D is *much* more noisy than my M8, which is in turn *much* louder than my M6. Some of the other cameras didn't sound right in comparison either. I think that their measurements are strictly technical and fail to take into account the psychology of human perception.  Interestingly, I was in Camera Work today, and a girl was taking pictures with a 300D, and it was surprisingly quiet, more so than my M8. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erl Posted February 24, 2007 Share #13 Â Posted February 24, 2007 Jack, my reaction has been the same as yours. Others tell me that if you are in front of the camera, it's not as noisy as it seems to the person whose cheek is glued to it. Jack & Bill, I totally agree on the first experience with an M8 as being a noisy one, but that is all relative to what you have become accostomed. For me, it is moving from an M6 & an M7. Without doubt, the M7 is a CLEAR winner for quietness amonst those three. Â Yes, pressing your cheek to the camera, you do hear more than anyone else, but that is true for the M7 as well. Comparatively, the M8 is noisy. For absolute stealth, say in a gallery, church, or 'forbidden' area, I would opt for the M7 in a heartbeat. Â Otherwise, the M8 is a WINNER on everything else. It is still quieter, compared to many cameras, measured by human perception (and what else matters?) so I will discipline myself to get used to it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted February 24, 2007 Share #14 Â Posted February 24, 2007 Has anyone bothered to do the test I suggested in my first post to this thread? I did it and all you can hear from infront of the camera is a click, shutter activating, and then another click when the shutter returns to the cocked position. You don't hear the motor noise when your face is not right next to the camera. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddawn Posted February 24, 2007 Share #15  Posted February 24, 2007 I read that issue, and must take issue (heh) with some of their measurements, or at least with their implications. My (ex) 5D is *much* more noisy than my M8, which is in turn *much* louder than my M6. Some of the other cameras didn't sound right in comparison either. I think that their measurements are strictly technical and fail to take into account the psychology of human perception. Interestingly, I was in Camera Work today, and a girl was taking pictures with a 300D, and it was surprisingly quiet, more so than my M8.  the 300D is the same class of camera as the 350D / 400D, and i would presume the shutter is the same, so it would appear that their test result correlates with ur experience! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Sanchez Posted February 24, 2007 Share #16 Â Posted February 24, 2007 Simple test is to mount it on a tripod and use either a cable shutter release or the self timer and stand in front of it 3-4-5-6 feet way and see how the noisy is at those distances. Â just be sure to have someone standing immediatly behind it to act as a 'reflector.' i'm at a photojournalism conference in ft. worth this weekend and have been using the camera as unobtrusively as possible, and i know a few people standing nearby noticed the sound. my MP is incredibly quite by comparison. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainerJ Posted February 24, 2007 Share #17 Â Posted February 24, 2007 Hi, Leica should add a function in the setup: "More silent shutter". Just like with Nikon-Fxxx, where you could do a fast and loud or a slow and not so loud rewind. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted February 24, 2007 Share #18 Â Posted February 24, 2007 Isn't there a menu option to turn the shutter noise off? I know there is on my Panasonic LX-2. Perhaps Leica still have a thing or two to learm ;-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erl Posted February 24, 2007 Share #19 Â Posted February 24, 2007 Has anyone bothered to do the test I suggested in my first post to this thread?I did it and all you can hear from infront of the camera is a click, shutter activating, and then another click when the shutter returns to the cocked position. You don't hear the motor noise when your face is not right next to the camera. Ed, Â Yes, I have tried that, actually used another person to activate the camera rather than a tripod with cable release.. It is not particularly noisy, BUT is definitaly louder than an M6 or M7. I still maintain that the noise in your head when using it to compare with any other camera is valid as they are all equally close. Rocket science is not required to arrive at this conclusion. Metal shutter + motor = louder than manual cloth shutter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry Posted February 24, 2007 Share #20 Â Posted February 24, 2007 The pitch of the noise is another factor. For example, the Contax G1 has a noise level and duration similar to the M8 but at higher pitch, so I find it to be much more noticeable. Â Larry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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