guy Posted September 19, 2007 Share #1 Posted September 19, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) This is really a reiteration of something I said in a post on Luigi's cases, but I thought I'd open it up. Do you have a DSLR as well as your M8? Good. Put them both on self-timer, set them ticking, and go a few yards across the room. Wait for them to go off. Which is louder? Which is more obtrusive? When I was preparing to buy the M8 one of my prime considerations for moving from my Nikon D200 was the unobtrusiveness of the rangefinder. I'd been very heartened to read in several reviews that the M8's shutter, while not "whisper quiet" like the cloth shutters of previous M cameras, was still a huge improvement over the mirror-slapping pigeon-frightening crack of an SLR going off. But in the cold light of day, my own experience with my M8 is that that's very far from the case. The M8 is at least as loud as – and I think a bit louder than – my D200. I had it next to a guy shooting a Canon 5D and 10D a week or so ago and it was embarrassingly louder than those cameras. (The 10D really is whisper-quiet.) The M8 has a lower-pitched sound, but that just means it travels more. Its only nod towards unobtrusiveness is that it's an "old-fashioned" noise that does make you sound less "pro" and threatening – which is a consideration, since the camera looks that way too. But the heads still turned. Fitting Luigi's lovely case over the camera hasn't done anything much to improve matters. So... is it just my M8? Did I get a LOUD LEICA somehow? Or is this your experience too? (And if anyone has any suggestions for quietening the thing down, do share... ) Likewise, any anecdotal evidence of people noticing the M8 shutter noise when you'd rather they hadn't? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 19, 2007 Posted September 19, 2007 Hi guy, Take a look here How LOUD is your M8?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jaapv Posted September 19, 2007 Share #2 Posted September 19, 2007 Hmm... tried it just now as I happened to have both next to me; my 10D is clearly louder than my M8. Individual variations? It may have been different when my M8 was new. It has clearly quietened down over the last nine months. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted September 19, 2007 Share #3 Posted September 19, 2007 I also thought the 10D was quieter. I was shooting next to a 350D shooter once, and that was definitely quieter. A friend's D40 is also quieter, but has a very different sound. My 5D was definitely louder though. I don't know if it is your M8 or the 5D which was different... My M6 is quieter, but not *that* much. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayerische Posted September 19, 2007 Share #4 Posted September 19, 2007 The M8 is not a silent camera. To be honest I didn't think it was going to be as loud as it is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdarter Posted September 19, 2007 Share #5 Posted September 19, 2007 Think about extracting the extra noise of the motor, and the shutter cocking, and you are left with just the shutter firing, which really isn't much louder if any, than that of my M6, and my Leica II's. Listen to an old leica firing, then add the noise of the manual re-cocking - not a lot of difference really. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry Posted September 19, 2007 Share #6 Posted September 19, 2007 Guy, My 10D is a little quieter than my M8 -- but not much. On the other hand, the 20D and 30D (office cameras) are noticeably louder. Larry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmaurizio Posted September 19, 2007 Share #7 Posted September 19, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) My 3-month old is the ultimate test. My D2X will awaken her from her nap. The M8 is barely noticed even when she is fully alert. Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats the Konica 35mm or the Digilux 2. The Mamiya 7 is next. Then, comes Leica M3/MP. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Sanchez Posted September 19, 2007 Share #8 Posted September 19, 2007 i have two M8s and one is louder than the other. (and before you ask, yes, they both have the same, most recent firmware.) it 'klunks' more, like a hammer on a wood block. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Sanchez Posted September 19, 2007 Share #9 Posted September 19, 2007 The M8 is not a silent camera. To be honest I didn't think it was going to be as loud as it is. a big amen to that, brother. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
M6J Posted September 19, 2007 Share #10 Posted September 19, 2007 Yep, my D2X is louder than my M8. My best camera for silence -besides my Minox A- is my Contax T. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndjambrose Posted September 19, 2007 Share #11 Posted September 19, 2007 I've noticed exactly the same thing with mine. There's no doubt that my M8 is much louder than my friend's D80. If we're shooting side by side the difference is sometimes embarassing. And the one and only time I've ever been noticed taking a shot (I'm a prolific street shooter) was using the M8, where the guy I was photographing literally jumped out of his seat and ran over to see why I'd taken a photo of him. By contrast, I've taken thousands of frames with my M6 in complete obscurity. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
guy Posted September 19, 2007 Author Share #12 Posted September 19, 2007 Interesting! Thanks for all the feedback. It sounds (no pun intended) like there's some variation between models, but that mine is probably within the spectrum of normality. I'll certainly nurse the hope that mine will quieten down with use (and stop spattering its sensor with dust and grease, too). The pro I was next to – the one with the 5D and 10D – mentioned that he specifically kept the 10D as his second body because it was so quiet, and it certainly was: I was crouched beside him and it was impressively inconspicuous a sound. So, Jaap, if your M8 is quieter than a 10D, then basically... I want your M8... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
guy Posted September 19, 2007 Author Share #13 Posted September 19, 2007 All of that said, though, one person I shot with the M8 – although she knew I was taking the shot, and knew also that it was a "special" camera that I was proud of – said, "Wow, and it's really quiet". I think that's psychology at work. The lower pitched, older-fashioned sound, combined with the old-style camera, somehow translated in her head to "quieter". That's psychology I'm happy to live with, although the downside is that the subject has to have clocked the camera in order to filter their sense-data that way... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gid Posted September 19, 2007 Share #14 Posted September 19, 2007 My M8 is very much louder than my Olympus E1s and my RD1. It is what it is and no amount of wishful thinking will change that unless the self cocking can be delayed. Check the sound out on a long exposure (1 sec or greater) and you will hear that without the self cocking its actually relatively quiet - that is when there is a delay between the shutter activating and the self cocking kicking in and you can isolate each sound. I know its on the wish list, but it would make a huge difference. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvreis Posted September 19, 2007 Share #15 Posted September 19, 2007 It would be nice to be able to postpone the motor noise... Perhaps in a new firmware release, the clocking could happen only after the release of the shutter button... r. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gesper Posted September 19, 2007 Share #16 Posted September 19, 2007 Why do you still need a physical shutter with an electronic sensor? Shouldn't it be possible to just have the sensor switch on for the duration of the exposure? Or, just have it be on all the time and only record what it "sees" for the duration of the exposure? I'm guessing something similar to the latter is happening anyway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted September 19, 2007 Share #17 Posted September 19, 2007 Hmm... tried it just now as I happened to have both next to me; my 10D is clearly louder than my M8. Individual variations? It may have been different when my M8 was new. It has clearly quietened down over the last nine months. Me too have the impression (not scientifically tested) that my M8 is becoming some quieter as time goes on... well, maybe can be for when new, I realized it was effectively louder than M4 and then got accustomed... but I haven't the feel to manage a noisy camera. I went yesterday night to a choral concerto... a reporter was in and acted with a Canon DSLR : I didn't see which model it was, but surely louder than M8. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted September 19, 2007 Share #18 Posted September 19, 2007 Interesting! Thanks for all the feedback. It sounds (no pun intended) like there's some variation between models, but that mine is probably within the spectrum of normality. I'll certainly nurse the hope that mine will quieten down with use (and stop spattering its sensor with dust and grease, too). The pro I was next to – the one with the 5D and 10D – mentioned that he specifically kept the 10D as his second body because it was so quiet, and it certainly was: I was crouched beside him and it was impressively inconspicuous a sound. So, Jaap, if your M8 is quieter than a 10D, then basically... I want your M8... Or you don't want my 10D... It has been around the block a few times and I have the impression the mirror slap has intensified.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photoskeptic Posted September 19, 2007 Share #19 Posted September 19, 2007 I always felt my D200 was louder, but honestly I don't even notice the M8 shutter anymore. It's just not that big a deal. It elicits the same response from subjects as my M3 - they don't notice it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted September 19, 2007 Share #20 Posted September 19, 2007 I think you can only compare cameras with focal plane shutters but I agree the M8 is too noisy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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