emeka_emembolu Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 Folks,I'm considering upgrading my 300D to a 20D, but I have a question to ask of people who have experience. I was out taking some photographs over new year of an old Abbey in the U.K. and while concertrating on composing a shot, heard a really loud slapping noise. When I looked over to see what the commotion was, it turned out to be someone using a 20D. Compared to my little 300D, the racket seemed a bit extreme. Is this normal? I've heard lots of great things about the 20D, and am particularly keen on it's high ISO performance. Are folks still able to use this camera effectively for unobtrusive candid portraits or wildlife shots? thanks in advance,Emeka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfimages Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 I haven't tried any wildlife shots, but it seems to work ok for candids. Personally, I don't really notice the sound. An in a crowded place, the general background noise would be great enough to cover it anyway. That said, my experience may not match yours. Not so much for the camera, but for the fact that I'm a red-haired white guy living in Asia - I stand out a lot more than my camera does here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_dodd Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 I have a 300D and a 20D and the shutter sound on the 20D is annoying. It's not so much the volume of the shutter slap but the pitch that is really noticable. It's like a lound plastic sounding clap. That being said, most of the time it's not really a problem and the increased performance of the camera goes a long way to make you forget about thsi. But I have gotten a few dirty looks in musuems and quiet places with the camera whereas no one ever seemed to mind the 300D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon_austin Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 The louder shutter sound of the 20D is one of the few deficiencies it has relative to the 10D. Is this the price we have to pay for a dSLR with this frame rate in this price range? That said, I became accustomed to the sound of the shutter fairly quickly, and it doesn't even occur to me any longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babette_ross Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 I kinda like the noise... it reminds me of my old manual Pentax noise. To me its a "satisfing click." I should add that I don't shoot professionally and don't often get into a quiet nature setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_carlson Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 It makes noise? I never noticed....wow! Ok, kinda just kidding but seriously I never really paid it that much attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozone42 Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 Personally, I really like the noise. It's satisfying, and solid. Of course, I'm never in a situation when I need to shoot stealthily either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjg Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 The sound doesn't bother me. Though once it did spook a stable full of horses - they calmed down though as soon as I said "sorry" ;-) Interestingly it wasn't the first pic I took in there, and they never reacted again. I'd probably hesitate to take a close up of a sleeping baby with it, but that's true of most SLRs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark cohran Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 It's a solid, satisfying sound. Yes, it's a bit louder than the 10D or the 300D, but I certainly don't base my SLR purchase decisions on the sound of the shutter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neal_thatcher Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 I too like this noise. I missed that sound when I got my D60 after using a 10s for so many years, I always liked hearing it and most people would stop and say, damn that camera is fast! For shooting sports it is a soothing sound that reassures me that it is firing correctly but I can see where it could be an issue for birds or macro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edward_h Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 A 20D is quiet compared to a 1d2... *sigh* There have been several occassions where I wished I had a non-audible shutter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobatkins Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 The reason the 20D shutter is louder then the 300D or 350D is because it's faster. It has faster sync, faster top speed, shorter shutter lag and shorter mirror blackout time. This also means the mirror has to move faster too. All these things require more energy to start and disipate more energy when they stop. Hence a louder shutter. I don't know of any quiet high speed shutters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricks Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 Emeka et al, yes, the 20D is loud but more importantly the pitch is high and cuts through. If I was out alone shooting rocks in the forrest this wouldn't matter, however, I shoot a lot of available light candid/environmental portraits of e.g. the kids playing. As soon as you press the shutter you are no longer just an observer, everyone is paying attention to you and the camera. Very disappointing AFAIAC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiswick_john Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 My neighbour has taken out an ASBO against me for continualy firing my shutter after 11pm at night! I never had this problem with my M6 although he once complained he saw me fondling it in the street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lb- Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 I love it! in fact I've gotten in the habbit of making a loud clicking noise with my mouth now when I shoot with a leica cause it's just not loud enough. anyway...... I'm not sure I'd ever call the 20D "unobtrusive" either in operating noise levels nor in size/ appearance so if you're looking for a small and quite camera it may not be the best choice. that said, I use it all the time for shooting wildlife, candid portraits, quiet church weddings etc and so far no one has complained (or flown away). I think it's got as much to do with the photographer being respectful of the situation as is does with the actual noise level of the camera shutter. Now why leica doesn't get their act together and make their own proper digital rangefinder is beyond me. I don't see why a full frame 16 megapixel rangefinder is so much to ask! cheers lucas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crowe Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 Having used Canon FD cameras for 20 years I have never gotten used to the "pphhhfffttt" sound that the EF cameras made. I always preferred the "chuclunnnkk" of the T-90. With EOS cameras I find myself always wondering if I took a picture, and if the shutter went when I had planned it to go. I prefer the sound of the noisier Rebel to the 10D so hopefully the high end DSLRs will still carry that solid confirmation of the shutter having been fired. I am not regularly trying to photograph black bears or church interiors though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricks Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 John, you need to check your hearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akajohndoe Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 I am a deaf telepath, so it bothers me not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjb Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 I`ve compared the sound to my T90`s,T70 EOS 5/1n & OM2`s pentax & blads. and D30, the 20D has the cheapest sounding shutter of all.Its so bad I couldn`t use it in side government chambers or at coucil meetings where leica usually excels. Still I`m getting used to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug_landrum Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 I really like the satisfying slap of the 20D. I used it inside a high school production of Bye, Bye Birdie and nobody noticed the satisfying slap. My spouse said that I should have turned off the annoying "beep" of the autofocus confirmation. The shutter snick never bothered anyone but the beep turned heads. I am a Leicaphile, and folks, I think the R6 and R7 are louder. The M6 and M3 are a bit quieter but I really like the 20D snick. It sounds professional. Quit carping and turn off the beep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_kong Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 I love IT! The moment I hear the shutter 'slap' for the first time, I was hooked on the sound. It is so reassuringly solid sounding that it was one of my main purchasing points over the 300D, which to me sounded a bit too whimsy. That said, I don't do wildlife shooting but candid is totally acceptable to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h.d._shin Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 It's not a quiet sound, and it's one of the less pleasant SLR mirror/shutter sounds I've heard - makes one wonder what exactly's happening to make that particular sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimstrutz Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 I'm wondering if there isn't a great deal of variation in shutter sounds from one 20D to another. If I hadn't read the complaints about the loud shutter of the 20D on Photo.net I wouldn't have noticed it. It sounds different than some other cameras, but not loud or offensive in tone. In fact I just compared it to a Canon EOS 5 (A2e) that is noted for it's quiet shutter, and the 20D is sharper in tone, but only moderately louder. Hardly a bother. Another possibility is that some of us suffer from a lot more high frequency hearing loss than we realize. At 50+ years, I know I have a modest HF loss, but I really don't think it's that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobatkins Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 It's louder than the XT. I've just run some tests for the review I'm doing and there's no doubt about that. I actually recorded the shutter noise and looked at the amplitude of the signal vs. time and I'll be including that data when I update the review. The 20D isn't very different from the Elan II, but the Digital Rebel XT is quieter than either of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjoseph Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 I used a 20D recently and its pretty darn loud. Does it bother me? I couldnt care less as long as it's quiet enough that little children don't run away crying when the shutter is tripped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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