Quiet, All Manual Film SLR

[pbass_wil]

I'm looking for a

<P>- fairly compact, </P>

<P>- manual focus </P>

<P>- 35mm camera suitable for semi-discreet street and indoor photography. I'd like </P>

<P>- aperture-preferred automation, and preferably with </P>

<P>- shutter speeds visible in the viewfinder. </P>

<P>- I don't really want the whir of auto-wind. </P>

<P>- At least 1/1000s shutter speed, so I can keep apertures large when I want.</P>

<P> And I'd like it </P>

<P>- light enough (with a compact prime lens) to be able to keep it in a small bag attached to a

belt loop as I go about my day. (I'm not asking for too much, am I? :^)</P>

<P> </P>

<P>A Leica M7 is way out of the question. A Voigtlander Bessa R2A is attractive, but since its

shutter release is often described as being about as loud as a quiet SLR, I figure why not just get a

quiet SLR, and all the convenience of TTL everything.</P>

<P> </P>

<P>The Nikon that appeals to me is the FG: just light and compact enough to keep at my waist,

and with shutter speed LEDs that'll be visible in low light.</P>

<P> </P>

<P>?? My question: how loud is the FG's shutter release and mirror slap?</P>

<P> </P>

<P>Thanks in advance,</P>

<P> </P>

<P>Peter Wilson</P>

[photo5]

The FG always struck me as pretty noisy. Not just the mirror slap but the overall noise of the camera chassis. The FE has a "Ring" to it that I never liked.

 

Actually the quietest one I can think of really is the original Nikon F. Has a nice sound that isn't loud to me.

 

Of course if you're looking for a quiet Nikon SLR, the new digital bodies are better than the film ones, in my opinion.

 

The Nikon F3 also has a nice quiet sound. I think the F4 has a silent film advance setting too.

[Jerry_]

...and, if you can find one, you might see if a Nikon FM3A body would work for you. It is small and with a good battery, has a 'A' mode almost like a Leica M7.

[geoffs1]

Not a Nikon, but I'd suggest an OM-1/2/3/4.

[jose_angel]

Currently used to D300 and Leica, all the manual focus Nikons are pretty noisy to me. Never used a FG but I think it could not be much quieter than a FM2, FA or F3.

 

Leicas and even more Mamiyas RFs are far more quieter than a Nikon SLR. Don`t know about the Voigtlanders.

[lex_jenkins]

Sounds like an F3 to me. ;>

 

Over the decades I've owned or used many 35mm SLRs: Pentax Spotmatic, K1000 and others; Miranda Sensorex (my first love, tho' the little trollop broke my heart); Ricoh K-mounts; various Canon FD types including my favorite, the FTBn; Minoltas; OM-1 and OM-2N; probably a few others I can't think of at the moment.

 

The F3 is about as sedate as they get. The sound is a solid thunk with little fuss. Very little of the metallic sound of some SLRs. It's even quieter than the OM-1, which surprised me. While the OM-1 has a cloth focal plane shutter and the F3 a metal shutter, it's the damping, design and construction of the entire body that gives the F3 a slight edge in discretion.

 

While not entirely practical for some purposes, locking up the mirror makes the F3 almost as quiet as a Leica M body. I've done this with an ultra wide using zone focusing and stopping down for adequate DOF with a point shooting technique and it works pretty well. Very quiet and with a bit of practice it's possible to frame reasonably well.

 

The F3 is not much larger than my FM2N. What makes it bulky is the prism. However, with a small prime it's still a reasonably compact SLR and might suit your preferences.

 

Otherwise, for low light shooting the FM2N is very good. The red LED meter indicator is very easy to see. The shutter and mirror sound is more metallic than the F3 and slightly noisier than the OM series, but still not bad. Presumably the auto-exposure Nikon bodies built on a similar chassis will offer similar performance.

[stwrtertbsratbs5]

You'd probably be better of with a rangefinder for your requirements. There are choices other than Leica. There are many good and inexpensive choices:

 

http://cameraquest.com/voigtrwhich.htm

 

http://cameraquest.com/konicam.htm

 

http://cameraquest.com/com35s.htm

 

http://cameraquest.com/min7s2.htm

[photo5]

Lex, I thought the F3 had a titanium-cloth shutter? I loved the sound of my F3. The FM just doesn't match up, though is still nice. Too bad the D300 beats any 35mm film so handily.

[tri-x1]

Sound-wise my D300 sounds like a large caliber rifle compared the F3 I once had. For the type of shooting you are talking about, if it were me I would sacrifice some lens speed for compactness, put a 45mm f2.8 Pancake Nikkor on my FM, load it with Tri-X and fire away.

[pbass_wil]

Hey, thanks for all the ideas, folks. Speedy service, too. :^)

<P> </P>

<P>I'm going to have to get my hands on some of these cameras, and judge for

myself noise versus bulk and weight. But these are valuable leads you offer. Much

appreciated.</P>

[starvy]

if it is a manul slr you want then nothing could be quieter than an old olympus om1 or om1n. they are available cheaply from ebay. some have working or converted meters but others with dead metres. they are smaller than any nikons or similar period as well.

[dan_brown4]

Contax ARIA, best there is for SLR street shooting.

[pje]

I own all the cameras mentioned in this thread and do quite a bit of street shooting.

As much as I like my compact Nikons (FM3a, FE2, etc.) and my beloved old OM-2,

a SLR is not what you want. They are all noisy and you have to deal with mirror

slap. You were on the right track from the beginning, considering a rangefinder. I

use a Leica M7, M3 and even the CV Bessa R2A for street shooting. I wouldn't

suggest you pickup a M7 as even on the used market it is quite pricey. The M3 is a

work of art and a very solid camera but it is all manual with no meter. The R2A is

quite a nice camera, not a hefty or solid as a Leica but no where near the price. The

R2A is noisier than an M3 but much quieter than any SLR.

 

The R2A works nice with wide angle lenses, has aperture preferred and manual

modes, film loads easily (unlike a Lecia -- no flames please), it is inexpensive, light

weight, can use any M mount lens. The CV lenses are quite the value buy; they

aren't Leica glass but not shabby at all. If you like to shoot wide the 28 f/1.9 is

sweet as is the 50 f/1.5; the jury is still out on the new CV 35 f/1.4.

 

I am sure you could pick up a used R2A or even buy a new one as it is not a lot of

money. If you find you like rangefinders then you could always consider the Zeiss

or even step up (in cost) to a Leica.

 

Good Luck.

[User_502260]

I don't think the FE is that noisy and I like the sound of an Nikkormat FT2 or FT3. Some people like the Canon F-1N because of its mirror damping.

[sal b]

<B>If</b> you can find one, an old <B>Canon Pellix</b> [with a half-silvered pellicule mirror, does not move up and down, but stays in one fixed position] is about the quietest SLR I ever used, as quiet as most rangefinders. Here's some info:<p>

 

<a href="http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/pellix/index1.htm"> http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/pellix/index1.htm</a>

<p>

 

There are Canon Pellix cameras for sale on eBay.<p>

I would also suggest you look at Olympus half-frame 35mm SLRs, they're pretty darn quiet as well.<p>

 

Any small rangefinders such as the Canonet series were also great, quiet cameras.<p>

 

Nothing with a mirror that moves up and down is very quiet.<p>

 

FWIW, JMHO, YMMV,<br>

Sal B

[robert_crc]

I have 2 film SLR and D200 but also baught Nikon FA for casual and slow manual shooting (with 3 MF lens I had earlier: 50, 105 and 135 mm + AF 28 2,8).

This is a very good camera that also have all 4 shooting modes (M, A, S and P as first version of matrix metering).

It is very versatile, rather small and compact and also cheap on used market.

You can see shutter speed and aperture (depending on mode) in viewfinder.

It works on button batteries but can work without bateries (one shutter speed).

Google a little and see for your self.

[luisarguelles]

Peter, an Olympus OM-2 meets absolutely all of your criteria. The size of the OM

pro bodies is abbout the size of a Leica M and therer are great lenses in the system.

I use Leica (M2, M6), several Nikon and all the OMs. My feelings are that an OM

represents the reflex camera that Leica should have built. Just three pictures taken

with my OM-2:

</p>

http://www.photo.net/photo/3440100&size=lg </p>

http://www.photo.net/photo/5127099&size=lg </p>

http://www.photo.net/photo/6965947&size=lg </p>

[steven_moseley1]

...if you are REALLY bothered about noise, forget ANY SLR. They are all much noisier than any rangefinder...mirrors banging around are simply not quiet. One that is very quiet though, even though it has motor wind, is the Contax Aria as one poster already mentioned...also very small & light, but very well made. Take a look at one if you can.

[stwrtertbsratbs5]

Another possibility is a TLR. The have very quiet leaf shutters and no mirror slap. Image quality will blow any 35mm camera out of the water (even Leica) because of the greater film area. And they are stealthy - you can take photos to the side, and the WLF dosn't force you to place the camera between you and your subject. You don't get the auto-everything stuff, but it's simple to use the Sunny 16 rule or to use a small handheld meter.

 

You could buy a Rolleicord V ar a Minolta Autocord (best with a Citizen shutter) for about $200. Factor in another $125 for a CLA (Paul Ebel is good).

[lex_jenkins]

The stealth factor is overrated. In typical street shooting scenarios the size and noise of a camera are seldom relevant. I've never seen anyone startled by clattering away with a motor driven F3HP/MD4, FM2N/MD12 or D2H when taking photos on the street, at public gatherings, fairs, festivals, etc. Hell, everybody has or knows somebody who has a similar camera nowadays.

 

The only time I consider noise to be a factor is in theatre photography. If I don't need a tele or ultrawide I'll just a quite leaf shutter camera, like a Canonet (tho' I've sold all of mine) or Olympus 35 RC, an even better and quieter camera than the Canonets. You can pick up an armload of leaf shutter Minolta, Petri, Yashica and other orphaned compact cameras at pawn shops for a few bucks nowadays.

 

If I need more lens for a theatre shoot, I load the Nikon into a homemade blimp box. It's just a cardboard box, stuffed with foam, bubble wrap and bits of pocket fluff cut to accommodate the camera and lens. With the F3HP and FM2N I thread a cable release through a hole. With the D2H I use a Pocket Wizard. Clunky and ugly, but works and costs nothing since I use stuff I already have around the house.

 

Medium format TLRs and folders are excellent street cameras not because they're quiet - which they are, due to the leaf shutters - but because they're a novelty to most onlookers. People don't seem to feel threatened. The very worst reaction I've ever gotten to using a folder or TLR in the street, in bars, etc., was "Did you just take my picture?" and then a giggle when I admitted that I had indeed. The main problem is bringing enough film, because kids, couples in love and silly teenaged girls will demand that I take their photos when I'm toting a TLR or folder. It's a shared communal experience that helps break down those barriers of paranoia we suffer from today.

[dweezil]

I've done some street photography with a great big monstrosity of a Kiev 60 (which I love dearly) and to my surprise, while you cannot by any means call it quiet, the only time people ducked and gave me the evil eye was when I was using it with the prism on it like an slr.

 

If I remove the prism and shoot with out it hardly anybody notices the fact I'm focusing a camera. The few that do give me a friendly smile.

 

Traffic and other urban noises are more than enough to shield the noise form the mirror slap and even the noisiest shutter, even racket from a kiev.

 

that said if you want something light durable and in the Nikon Realm An F80 could be your ticket. and it's even fairly silent.

 

Erwin

[dan_brown4]

It's not that a quiet camera, such as a Leica or ARIA means that your subject won't

notice you are taking pictures, it's just that they won't be conitually reminded of it ;~)

[tim_huggins]

You're in the wrong forum. You need an OM. If you are looking for Aperture Priority, then it's an OM-2 or OM-4.

[Brian Carter]

OM-2n. Compact, light, best auto exposure ever. Actually meters while the shutter is moving. Great glass.<br>

For the ultimate in discrete, a black body Rollei 35S with the 2.8 lens.

Hold it in one hand, no mirror. Prefocus your distance and no one will know you're shooting. Very sharp 35mm lens.

[the shuttered eye]

Contax S2 (or S2b). All manual, exceptional build quality, outstanding finder brightness and accuracy.

 

b.t.w., the Contax Aria is really nice, but has a motor for auto-film advance, and just isn't built to the standard of the S2.