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The Real Shutter Sound
#1

Now that my camera speaker no longer works I can hear the sound of the real shutter when I press the button. It sounds like "Thwack" or "thwunk"--more precisely, but in a whisper. The thing is it really haas a sound. What kind of shutter does it have by the way? I've become curious.

Nikon D3100 with Tokina 28-70mm f3.5, (I like to use a Vivitar .43x aux on the 28-70mm Tokina), Nikkor 10.5 mm fisheye, Quanteray 70-300mm f4.5, ProOptic 500 mm f6.3 mirror lens. http://donschaefferphoto.blogspot.com/
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#2

I read somewhere that all digital cameras have mechanical shutters as in the SLR's.
Of course I may have mis-read it.
If your warranty has run out, then open it up and have a look. Big Grin

Lumix LX5.
Canon 350 D.+ 18-55 Kit lens + Tamron 70-300 macro. + Canon 50mm f1.8 + Manfrotto tripod, in bag.
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#3

I can live without the speaker. I don't want to open it up.

SLRs used a curtain shutter. I'm sure this is a leaf shutter like the old low-end range finder cameras.

Nikon D3100 with Tokina 28-70mm f3.5, (I like to use a Vivitar .43x aux on the 28-70mm Tokina), Nikkor 10.5 mm fisheye, Quanteray 70-300mm f4.5, ProOptic 500 mm f6.3 mirror lens. http://donschaefferphoto.blogspot.com/
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#4

A response to this query elsewhere.


All of our consumer digicams use a form of leaf shutter, sometimes called an iris shutter. The shutter mechansim itself only needs to be very small which is why the sound is really not much more than a hint of sound.

--
Mike O'Brien
Eastman Kodak Company

Nikon D3100 with Tokina 28-70mm f3.5, (I like to use a Vivitar .43x aux on the 28-70mm Tokina), Nikkor 10.5 mm fisheye, Quanteray 70-300mm f4.5, ProOptic 500 mm f6.3 mirror lens. http://donschaefferphoto.blogspot.com/
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#5

Don, I think you're right that an SLR uses a curtain shutter while many (most?) compacts use a leaf shutter.

But... both shutters are very quiet.. and neither of them are responsible for the relatively loud "shutter sound" of an SLR.

That's because the main component of the loud "thunk" sound you hear when taking a photo on an SLR is not the shutter at all, its the sound of the mirror slap as the mirror (which allows the viewfinder to look through the lens when the shutter isn't open) flips up out of the way before the shutter opens. The shutter sound itself is a very quiet "snick", not much different to that of a compact camera.
This can be easily demonstrated with any SLR that has a "Mirror Lockup" feature (or MLU)... a feature which most DSLRs have these days to help eliminate the small vibrations caused by the mirror slap itself.
For Canon DSLRs at least, when used in conjunction with the self-timer the mirror lockup feature will flip the mirror up (producing the "thunk" sound), pause for a couple of seconds, then open the shutter (producing the "snick" sound) and take the shot as normal. Easily demonstrating the different sounds each part of the process produce.

Adrian Broughton
My Website: www.BroughtonPhoto.com.au
My Blog: blog.BroughtonPhoto.com.au
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"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." - Einstein.
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#6

My D50 sounds more like a whack than a snick... Big Grin

With my other compacts you can hear the shutter as well, if you realy listen for the sound... it's usually preceeded by the autofocus mechanism (whirr whirr) Big Grin
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#7

A tiny concert in the palm of your hand.

Nikon D3100 with Tokina 28-70mm f3.5, (I like to use a Vivitar .43x aux on the 28-70mm Tokina), Nikkor 10.5 mm fisheye, Quanteray 70-300mm f4.5, ProOptic 500 mm f6.3 mirror lens. http://donschaefferphoto.blogspot.com/
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#8

My camera is more like "spank" "spank"....:/

/Paul L.

Strives to make photos instead of taking them...
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#9

mine goes "click-thunk!"

Sony A700/ 16-80mm / 70-300mm / 11-18 mm / 100mm macro

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#10

Hence the whisper of a Leica r/finder...and I have to say that the sound of my Pentax67 is like the pre-detonation sequence after stepping on a land-mine.: "TINnnGGG-whhack-ker-BLAM"
I can't believe I'm saying this; good job I'm among friends.

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#11

i do like the shutter sound. I relish it on my Minolta film slr. It says, "something has been done."

Nikon D3100 with Tokina 28-70mm f3.5, (I like to use a Vivitar .43x aux on the 28-70mm Tokina), Nikkor 10.5 mm fisheye, Quanteray 70-300mm f4.5, ProOptic 500 mm f6.3 mirror lens. http://donschaefferphoto.blogspot.com/
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#12

Hehe, on the 1d mk 2 the shutter sound says "something has been done and it is final" Big Grin

Onn the G9, the shutter is nearly noiseless. Good for sneaky images... Tongue

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Reality is for wimps who can't face photoshop.
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#13

My E-3's shutter says "the reflexes of the person holding me are too slow to get off of the shutter button before more than one photo is taken."

matthewpiers.com • @matthewpiers | robertsonphoto.blogspot.com | @thewsreviews • thewsreviews.com
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