hiding the 'click' when it might get you in trouble

[whistule]

Where are you taking pictures that it "gets you in trouble"?

Yeh, fair comment. People in different parts of the world react differently to the camera. I've been in lots of situations where taking photos can get you in trouble and the click certainly doesn't help metters - very often people just want to make some money out of you and if there's ten of them and one of you it can be an expensive photo.

Then there's situations where the authorities might not want you to take a photo, police and border checkpoints in countrys with questionable governments etc - not that I would go about always taking photos of checkpoints but they are places that interesting situations develop.

In slums is another.

Very often I find the most interesting photos are ones that took a combination of stealth and a brass neck - but that is of course just a personal preference.

yup was going to recommend a Leica myself, haven't got one, or used one but they're practically silent.. and i think you use film anyway?

yeh, i tend to use film in these kind of situations. I think my ideal camera would be a film leica with a tilt screen - impossible I think

 

[Alpha]

Invest in a Pentax 67. They're whisper quiet.

 

[Iron Flatline]

As an aside, I do know the loudness factor. A friend of mine is a conductor and composer, and had an original performance here in Berlin with the Sharoun Ensemble of the Berlin Philharmonic, at an old water pumping station. There were certain percussive passages that were visually quite interesting... but extremely quiet. I never wanted to fire the camera in that cavernous hall, because every sound was pin-drop quiet... only an old Rangefinder might have worked... or one of those new electronic P&S cameras.

 

[skieur]

Some pocket digital cameras have a menu choice that totally eliminates shutter noise. The older Minolta G6 does, as I am sure do others.

skieur

 

[Rhys]

What you need is not just that but a radio remote release so that you can trip the shutter without obviously touching the camera. The Epson RD1 looked interesting.

 

[Alfred D.]

the bulk of the noise from an SLR is not the shutter, it's the mirror banging up against the housing as it gets out of the way to make the exposure.

...and flops right back down, hitting the stops. Which is why, if you listen carefully, you hear 2 sounds, not one: mirror flipping up, and mirror flopping down.

 

[usayit]

Or both! An M8!

FYI: As much as I like.... it isn't as quiet as the film M's. RD-1 has a snap noise to its shutter... but slightly quiter than the M8 because you cock the shutter manually.

A few movies in which a character shot with a Leica rangefinder actually had the loud SLR mirror slap inserted into the sound track.. hehehe lol.

 

[usayit]

Invest in a Pentax 67. They're whisper quiet.

LOL... about as quiet as a tank rolling by...

 

[thinkricky]

That's what I was thinking, if it's street photography then you'll get used to it with time. Taking pics on the street isn't a big deal.

If you're sneaking around the White House... be careful buddy.

You crack me up..

 

[Sw1tchFX]

yes yes we all know, but this time, he pretty much nails it:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/musical-performances.htm


I've heard performances where peoples cameras really do ruin it.

 

[Battou]

Lock your mirror, that'll cut the noise considerably


*EDIT*
Now that I have read the rest of the thread I see that was covered

 

[usayit]

Lock your mirror, that'll cut the noise considerably

What happens after you click the shutter....

 

[Battou]

What happens after you click the shutter....

Run like hell......


No I have to admit my camera is reasonably quiet with out the mirror smack, the noise can be covered by the rustling of a news paper or what not.

 

[usayit]

Run like hell......

lol... so you get one shot and only one shot.... rustling a newspaper during an oprah or symphony? I'd like to see that. lol

I have to agree... so far the quietest of cameras are P&S's without the artificial shutter noises.

 

[Battou]

lol... so you get one shot and only one shot.... rustling a newspaper during an oprah or symphony? I'd like to see that. lol

I have to agree... so far the quietest of cameras are P&S's without the artificial shutter noises.

Plan B will still work.....


On a more serious note, I honestly doubt that the P&S will have sufficient range for a few of the mentioned Photo Ops not to mention some of them in situations a modern P&S can't handle the lighting situations. In these situations all I can really say is make each shot count and shoot sparingly. Out on the streets and in the woods there are plenty of nioses one can make to come off as a part of the natural surroundings but under the restrictions of the opra house, coffee house and poetry readings, there isn't really much that can be done. I suppose at the opra you could get a private booth (or whatever) and at a coffee house you could always get a glass mug and tap it with a metal spoon but, even then you still can't be rifeling off frame after frame.