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Why do modern cameras not have noise-less shutters?


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Old 15-07-2010, 13:22
gomezz
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Just watching The Open and the sound of the cameras going off whenever Tigger hits a shot is horrendous. Surely in this day and age someone can come up with a noise-less shutter and organisers should mandate they are used by accredited photographers at sports events?
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Old 15-07-2010, 13:50
dodgygeeza
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For the same reason it's very hard to make a completely silent PC, electric car or whatever else you care to mention. Moving parts make noise.

I just watched Tiger on the 17th and teeing off at the 18th and I didn't hear a single camera. Plus it was really boring, you owe me ten minutes of my life back
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Old 15-07-2010, 14:55
fifilapew
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I think the noise is added so you know when the picture has been taken. this is def the case on my phone, where you can switch the sound off.
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Old 15-07-2010, 15:14
clonmult
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I think the noise is added so you know when the picture has been taken. this is def the case on my phone, where you can switch the sound off.
Only on compacts.

On a DSLR, the noise is that of the mirror moving out of the way, exposing the sensor. Just as it always has been on SLRs.
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Old 15-07-2010, 15:28
Nasalhair
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Just watching The Open and the sound of the cameras going off whenever Tigger hits a shot is horrendous. Surely in this day and age someone can come up with a noise-less shutter and organisers should mandate they are used by accredited photographers at sports events?
Sure you're not watching Winnie the Pooh?
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Old 15-07-2010, 17:21
len112
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I think the noise is added so you know when the picture has been taken. this is def the case on my phone, where you can switch the sound off.
Yeah , I thought there was some law stating cameras had to make a sound so that you couldn't take covert shots
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Old 15-07-2010, 19:06
PrinceGaz
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Yeah , I thought there was some law stating cameras had to make a sound so that you couldn't take covert shots
Both compact digicams I've owned have had the option to set the shutter volume, including an off setting so it is near enough silent.
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Old 15-07-2010, 23:45
Erlang
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Yeah , I thought there was some law stating cameras had to make a sound so that you couldn't take covert shots

Wouldn't by that logic, demand that video cameras be forcefully made to sound like a muffled machine gun ala Keystone Cops?
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Old 16-07-2010, 00:06
pocatello
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On compacts you can turn off the shutter noise.
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Old 16-07-2010, 00:11
dodgygeeza
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Only if it's a compact without a mechanical shutter or aperture diaphragm, plenty do still have them. Not as noticable as an SLR though as there's no mirror involved but my Coolpix has a soft shutter click that is not silenceable as it's an actual shutter.
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Old 16-07-2010, 00:51
PrinceGaz
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Only if it's a compact without a mechanical shutter or aperture diaphragm, plenty do still have them. Not as noticable as an SLR though as there's no mirror involved but my Coolpix has a soft shutter click that is not silenceable as it's an actual shutter.
Only the cheapest compact digicams don't have a mechanical shutter and many also can adjust the aperture as needed. In practice they tend to be quiet enough to not be noticeable by other people in most situations as the sensor is usually quite small and therefore the shutter is also. They are certainly nowhere near as loud as a DSLR where the moving parts are generally larger plus a mirror has to be swung back and forth when a photo is taken.
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Old 17-07-2010, 10:18
Biffo the Bear
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You can lock the shutter up on some DSLRs, thus getting rid of the click-clack, but it risks exposing the sensor to more dust etc.

I quite like the sound my 5d Mk2 makes anyway.. it's like a reassuring ker-chunk
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Old 17-07-2010, 12:13
brangdon
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You can lock the shutter up on some DSLRs, thus getting rid of the click-clack, but it risks exposing the sensor to more dust etc.
Also, precise auto-focus usually needs the mirror in place.

A lot of SLRs now have "live-view", meaning the monitor on the back of the camera is used instead of the optical viewfinder. With mine, it locks the mirror up while you compose the shot. Then when you actually shoot, the mirror flips down, it auto-focuses, then it flips back up and opens the shutter, so it ends up being even noisier.

It can be a pain, because it can be noisy enough to scare wildlife, and there can be enough vibration to blur the picture.

There's a growing trend towards cameras with SLR-like sensors, image quality, performance, and flexibility (including interchangeable lenses), but no mirror, and an electronic viewfinder (or no viewfinder, just live-view) instead. Sometimes called EVIL - "Electronic Viewfinder, Interchangeable Lens". These can take pictures quietly. There's much debate about whether they can or should replace proper SLRs.
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Old 17-07-2010, 19:30
bigstunnerdude
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The original poster hopefully realises those cameras are the actual medias inside the ropes following the players. The spectators don't have cameras as they are not permitted within the course. Every person attending the Open is searched going in an phones/cameras are confiscated. One of the reasons I've stopped attending as I think for what it costs to attend this event, not being able to get snapshots of your favourite players in action is unfair.
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Old 17-07-2010, 20:25
gomezz
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accredited photographers
The previous poster hopefully realises that I meant the professional media guys.

The thought of even gifted amateurs being allowed free rein at a golf event is horrendous.

Unless of course they use noiseless cameras ...
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Old 17-07-2010, 20:34
dodgygeeza
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I'd rather they were taking pictures than yelling "Get in the hole!" all the bloody time. Usually Americans it has to be said...

Also, Live View on SLR's is blasphemy, and awkward to use to boot. The only time I'd consider using it is for an awkward low-level shot of a stationary subject. Not to mention it's not truly live, unlike of course using the optical through-the-lens viewfinder
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Old 19-07-2010, 08:24
clonmult
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Also, Live View on SLR's is blasphemy, and awkward to use to boot. The only time I'd consider using it is for an awkward low-level shot of a stationary subject. Not to mention it's not truly live, unlike of course using the optical through-the-lens viewfinder
Amen to that!
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Old 24-07-2010, 16:31
kev
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On compacts you can turn off the shutter noise.
Indeed - which makes my mobile phone having a camera shutter sound which is louder than the ring tone even more annoying - Use a real (compact) camera or the video mode and it's silent, take a still image on a mobile and you scare wildlife and annoy people around you (and if my phone is syncing at the time the sound is about two seconds after you take the photo !)
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