Leica SL Silent Shutter Sensor Readout time

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The Silent Shutter Sensor readout time on my Sony a7rII is 1/12 seconds. This is really slow for taking pictures of moving People. Does anybody know the time for full sensor readout in silent shutter mode on the Leica SL ?

Thanks in advance.

Holger

[geetee1972]

No but I can tell you that the shutter sound on the SL is so quiet you probably don't need to worry about using slient mode.

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[scott kirkpatrick]

To measure the speed with which the electronic shutter sweeps out its image you need a target that changes faster than the shutter moves across the frame.  Fluorescent lamps flicker at twice the power line frequency, giving you 100 or 120 Hz to work with.  The lower the voltage applied, the stronger the flicker component (or rather the less effective the ballast tube is in trying to smooth things out).  So in a room with one fluorescent light on a dimmer, see how many bands of black you find in a picture taken with the all-electronic shutter.  I haven't looked at this in a while, but I remember seeing four bands at 100 Hz, which would suggest 1/25 sec to clear the frame. Please someone check it out and report back.

[helged]

The read/sweep time of the electronic shutter (ES) on the SL is apparently about 1/30 sec, in accordance with Scott's estimate above.

 

The ES can be useful, but have the following drawbacks with the current read/sweep time:

• Banding can be expected in fluorescent light
• A quickly moving subject may/will lead to artefacts
• And as a follow-up to the above, quickly moving of the camera body may/will lead to artefacts.

As a side note & a 'problem' that Leica can easily implement in the next FW update: When shooting with the ES, you hardly know whether you take pictures or not. Everything is silent, only a very quick update of the EVF can be seen. This is, of course, all fine, and a part of the ES package. But I would actually prefer to have an option to activate a little, tiny, sweet biiip-sound for each image taken. In this way, I immediately know whether I am in single, low, medium or high speed shooting mode, or if I nail the timing...

[LocalHero1953]

I did a test, panning the SL across a vertical object. IIRC it was of the order of 1/30s.

 

I disagree that the main shutter is quiet enough to be treated as if silent. Try it in a small recital room or chapel with a couple of unaccompanied solo singers and you'll soon find yourself the centre of attention, especially from your neighbours. It depends on the event, the ambient noise and the expectations of the audience.

Edited November 5, 2017 by LocalHero1953

[helged]

I disagree that the main shutter is quiet enough to be treated as if silent. Try it in a small recital room or chapel with a couple of unaccompanied solo singers and you'll soon find yourself the centre of attention, especially from your neighbours. It depends on the event, the ambient noise and the expectations of the audience.

 

 

Point taken. But if you are under open sky, the slightest ambient sound, whether from leaves, a stream or wind, will easily overrun the sound from the 'silent' shutter. For such circumstances, I would prefer to have the option to activate an audial confirmation that tells me the state of the shutter. 

[Steve McGarrett]

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The read/sweep time of the electronic shutter (ES) on the SL is apparently about 1/30 sec, in accordance with Scott's estimate above.

 

The ES can be useful, but have the following drawbacks with the current read/sweep time:

• Banding can be expected in fluorescent light
• A quickly moving subject may/will lead to artefacts
• And as a follow-up to the above, quickly moving of the camera body may/will lead to artefacts.

As a side note & a 'problem' that Leica can easily implement in the next FW update: When shooting with the ES, you hardly know whether you take pictures or not. Everything is silent, only a very quick update of the EVF can be seen. This is, of course, all fine, and a part of the ES package. But I would actually prefer to have an option to activate a little, tiny, sweet biiip-sound for each image taken. In this way, I immediately know whether I am in single, low, medium or high speed shooting mode, or if I nail the timing...

 

Can you specify "quickly moving" in real word examples?

Not for sports, okay, but how about people, street, portraits...?

 

Thanks

[helged]

Can you specify "quickly moving" in real word examples?

Not for sports, okay, but how about people, street, portraits...?

 

 

For non-active (non-sprinting, non-throwing, non-jumping,...) athletes, I would be very surprised if you see the ES-effect at all. So you can be pretty sure that everything is fine for 'ordinary' people, street and portraits - with the caveat of shooting in artificial light. For the latter, the mechanical shutter should be activated. I would, in any case, make a day shooting with the ES just to confirm that everything is fine (I have done this for my type of shooting, so for flying birds and insects I always use the mechanical shutter; when silence is wanted, I turn the ES on).

Edited November 5, 2017 by helged

[FlashGordonPhotography]

I disagree that the main shutter is quiet enough to be treated as if silent. Try it in a small recital room or chapel with a couple of unaccompanied solo singers and you'll soon find yourself the centre of attention, especially from your neighbours. It depends on the event, the ambient noise and the expectations of the audience.

 

Last weekend a pastor actually pulled me aside to comment on the shutter of my SL's. He wondered if I'd taken any pictures. Just the ambient noise of a quiet congregation was enough.

 

You are correct that it's not silent and it could be heard in some circumstances. It is however, quieter than almost every other mechanical shutter (apart from a film M). Compared to any Canon or Nikon........

 

With IS 1/30 seems pretty acceptable much of the time. I think the A9 Sony is down to 0.15 sec readout.

[scott kirkpatrick]

I encountered an example of the bad old days recently.  We held a ceremony with politicians and donors to kick off a new program. The event photographer (not me) was using two Canons and two largish zooms with bounced flash.  His standard shot was a 5 shot burst, mechanical shutter, each as loud as my old Nikon F.  He walked back and forth across the middle of a room full of people, shooting steadily.  The talks were not very technical and did not require close listening.  There were 3-4 nicely-exposed jpegs with all eyes open and everyone smiling broadly in the hands of the organizer half an hour after the meeting ended, so we were happy.

[caissa]

Last weekend a pastor actually pulled me aside to comment on the shutter of my SL's. He wondered if I'd taken any pictures. Just the ambient noise of a quiet congregation was enough.

 

You are correct that it's not silent and it could be heard in some circumstances. It is however, quieter than almost every other mechanical shutter (apart from a film M). Compared to any Canon or Nikon........

 

With IS 1/30 seems pretty acceptable much of the time. I think the A9 Sony is down to 0.15 sec readout.

 

1/30 is about 0.033 s, so I assume the A9 is faster ? Maybe 0.015 s ?     Is this what you wanted to say ?