Dampening shutter noise???

[miccro]

Hi there, just wondering if any of you guys know of a way to dampen shutter sound. I have been spending more and more time in hides and getting to within 5-8 m of smaller birds, However i have found the birds are starting to get disturbed by the shutter sound.

- i use canons and ive shot in live view when possible to minimise noise but not always appropriate.

i use full frame bodies as well which do tend to have a kick in the shutter compared to crop sensors...

any tips on how to dampen the noise/ overcome issue?

many thanks
mike

[nightshade]

Try using a bean bag instead of a tripod, it will reduce it a little, the only other way is to use a soft bag to enclose the camera body

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by miccro

- i use canons and ive shot in live view when possible to minimise noise but not always appropriate.

I've heard that Canons have 'clackerty' shutters. I guess there's not a lot you can do about it. How does 'live view' minimise shutter noise - it surely only reduces mirror noise!

Jim

[miccro]

seems to disturb the birds less, maybe the digital click surrounding the shutter is less harsh to them...dunno, all i know is it disturbs them less.

ill experiment with wrapping the camera i guess, its only an issue on certain occasions where the birds are really close with silence.

[nightshade]

Is it a well used camera?
My mate who still uses 35mm Canons has his cameras serviced frequently to cut down shutter noise and make sure all is well (after a shutter jammed progressively during a national car rally)

[Tobyh]

It's not just Canons that have the noisy shutter. My Nikon D300 seems very noisy to me too. Other than either having a beanbag over the top which helps dampen the sound or to have something wrapped around the body, it's hard to do much about.

I understand that some of the later bodies that are coming out now have a noise reducing option for exactly this reason. I guess it'll severely drop your shots per second but may well help rather than disturbing the subjects.

Just checked out the Nikon site and the D3s (not cheap!!) says the following - "Quiet Shutter-release mode for nonintrusive shooting"

TobyH

[rogpow]

Originally Posted by Tobyh

I understand that some of the later bodies that are coming out now have a noise reducing option for exactly this reason. I guess it'll severely drop your shots per second but may well help rather than disturbing the subjects.

Just checked out the Nikon site and the D3s (not cheap!!) says the following - "Quiet Shutter-release mode for nonintrusive shooting"

TobyH

My Nikon F4S film camera (remember those?) has a Cs (Continuous Silent) mode. It slow the motordrive to 1fps and makes a kind of rattley/scratchy/squelchy kind of noise - certainly not silent, but not as intrusive as the other modes.

Rog

[squishy]

Live view certainly is quieter, it's the mirror that makes most of the noise.

Some canon cameras have an electronic first curtain mode in live view, so you can fire at normal speed with only the sound of the second shutter curtain.

In my 40D this is called silent shooting mode 1. Doesn't noticeably reduce the shooting speed at all (still manages 6fps). There is also mode 2, where you can hold the mirror up and only bring it down when you're out of ear shot, but obviously fast shooting isn't possible for this.

It still makes audible sound, but a lot less of a thwack than with the mirror going as well.

Apart from that I can't really think of anything else you could do to make it quieter

[miccro]

thanks for the replies, sadly i sold my sole to canon and thanks to a few special lenses they have produced will be staying with them, i use the electronic curtain in live view and this is the least audiable, My 1ds also has 'S' silent mode for singe shot but honestly not really noticed much difference and need the FPS. I have used 40D's and they are much quieter, even my old 1d was significantly quieter. Drawback of full frame i guess....

-nothing compared to medium format mirror slap tho

[squishy]

Originally Posted by miccro

sadly i sold my sole to canon

I'd get it back, sole is lovely with new potatoes







[sorry]