Quiet Nikon Manual Focus SLR Wanted

[hayward]

I have an N8008 and N80 and nine AF Nikon lenses. I am interested in

finding a small Nikon body that makes as little noise as possible

for street shooting. Leica's are legendary in that respect. What is

Nikon's quietest equivalent, if any?

[richard_milner2]

FM, FE, FM2, FE2 or FM3a.

 

None of them are quiet, though. You will not find an SLR that is as quiet as a Leica M series, because of the mirror movement.

[2yellowdogs]

Nikon manual cameras are many things, but quiet (shutters) they're not. I've owned an FM, FM2 and an FM3a. I've loved them all, but if a Leica shutter is your standard for quiet, they won't hold up.

 

In my experience, no shutter is as quiet as the N80/D100. It's really remarkable how much quieter it is than an N90s or F100 (the other AF bodies I've owned).

 

If quiet is your goal, get a small AF prime (28, or 35mm) to use with your N80. An even smaller, more manual camera-like solution is to buy a 45mm 2.8P. The lens is tiny even with the included filter and special (wonderfully designed) hood. It's wonderfully sharp and best of all, since it's a 'P' lens, it will meter on your N80. You'll have a very small, quiet, compact manual focus camera that's great for street shooting, and that also features a spot meter.

 

Good luck.

[jim_gifford]

They all go clunk.

 

I suppose you could use one with the mirror locked up and shoot from the hip; that would reduce the noise level. But still I think you'd find a rangefinder to be quieter.

 

I used to have a little Minolta Hi-Matic F rangefinder -- a nothing-special fully auto exposure critter -- and its shutter sounding like a flea sneezing: "zhew." You can get Olympus and Canon rangefinders with nice lenses and good exposure control options, all cleaned up and ready to go, for $100 to $150.

 

Have fun...

[2yellowdogs]

Sorry, should have said no NIKON shutter is as quiet as an N80.D100 above.

[lachaine]

I've owned both an FM3a and a Nikon F80 (N80 in the US), and I've had an opportunity to try out an F100, some FM2's, etc. If you want quiet, the F80 you already have is probably as quiet as it gets, even with the motorwider. It's got to be the quietest SLR I've have ever had. The manual focus Nikons aren't exactly quiet. Their shutters make a pretty loud clunk. Anyway, I can't imagine the noise from an F80 even being audible in a street.

[lex_jenkins]

Nikon manual focus cameras tend to be a bit noisy even by SLR standards. My F3 and FM2N are both noisier than my OM-1. None of 'em is as quiet as my N6006 (assuming the noisy AF is turned off), which itself isn't as quiet as an N80.

 

OTOH, how quiet does a camera need to be for street photography? I've seldom felt like camera noise was intrusive in most public places.

[arnabdas]

You could try the FM3A. I have two of them and they don't scream or shout ... very quiet I'd say!

 

Sorry, couldn't resist

[lachaine]

Honestly, an F80 is so quiet that I often find myself not knowing if the shutter actually went off - especially in urban settings. I often can only tell by the slight buzz feeling of the motor winding the film.

[richard_milner2]

The truth is that Leica Ms are not as quiet as you would think. Any leaf shutter, non-SLR camera is quieter.

[douglas k.]

"You will not find an SLR that is as quiet as a Leica M series, because of the mirror movement."

 

I own a Nikon FM2 and have owned an FE2 and a Leica M6. In my experience using them side-by-side, the M6 is no quieter than the Nikons. You can't believe everything you read in Leica ads. Nor can you believe everything that Leica buyers tell you, since they are endlessly coming up with (sometimes fictional) advantages to justify their huge expenditures.

[ShunCheung]

Douglas K., very funny. Just don't post that to the Leica Forum. They'll chop off your hand over there. :-)

[sb_smith]

I thought the Nikon FA was the quietest in that class. I had one for a while and it was pretty slick for a MF SLR.

[constance_cook]

I agree about the N/F80. It is very quiet -- almost noiseless in MF. I also agree about using the 45 2.8C on it. What a great little lens. All that said, my F70 is still quieter. The interface (not a problem once you learn it) would not be a complication if you used it in MF. Even when I use it in AF, I watch the film advance on the interface to be sure I've gotten the shot.

Conni

[douglas k.]

Shun-- I have posted this opinion on the Leica forum, and the responses have been hilarious -- everything from people accusing me of being deaf to people stating that, while they've never used an FM2, they simply can't believe it's as quiet as an M6. Some other Leica M myths: it's easier to focus in low light (I find it easier to use any MF Nikon, and AF cameras are even better in low light), the Leica lenses are vastly superior (not the one I owned, which was regarded as one of the best in the line), Leicas are super reliable (ha!), people won't notice you shooting with a Leica M (size and appearance of camera has little to do with how conspicuous you are), etc., etc.

[continuity]

I know you obviously have a Nikon and Nikon leneses, but...

 

The Canon EOS Elan series (1,2,7) and A2E are fairly quiet SLRs. I have an FE and an

FM2, and both seem like shotguns (they make my cats jump when I press the

shutter), compared to my EOS Elan IIE/A2E. If only the EOS bodies were smaller :(

 

The street isn't exactly quiet. While I've never done street shooting (yet - i plan to use

my fm2),

how loud can the shutter be compared to traffic? -- maybe an FE/FM series Nikon

would be ok, sound-wise. In the end, I don't think it's about sound anyways.

 

Now, why do I have 2 completely different 35mm SLR systems?... I think I caught NAS

and CAS at the same time. I'd have to live in a cardboard box if I ever caught LAS.

[scott_warn]

Nikon shutters, until the F5 era, have always been a bit noisy. I have 2 Nikon rangefinder bodies, the S & S2, and the shutters are almost as loud as a Nikon F with the mirror locked up. I have tried an M3 and they are the quietest camera with a Focal Plane Shutter that I have ever tried, about half as loud as my S2. My F5 has the quietest mirror/shutter noise of all my SLR's, its the winder that will attract attention. I think the snick snick snick of the so called silent mode is just as noticable as the normal wind modes. If Nikon were to build a manual wind body with the F5 shutter and mirror, it just might be as quiet and the Leica M3.

 

What beats the Lieca for quiet is a camera with a leaf shutter. My Canonet G-III is a very quiet camera and the price was right. You may want to look for one of these, it has a very good 40mm f1.7 lens, features auto exposure, is light, and they can be found for about 150.00. Another, somewhat funky, choice would be a Yashica TLR, the waist level finder can let you be very subtle about shooting, most people nowadays have never even seen a TLR and won't even realize your taking a picture.

[grant_.]

no need to be so quiet, just get out there and shoot.....

[ryanjoseph]

My FM2 seems pretty damn loud to me. My friends M6 is somewhat quieter, maybe Ill borrow a Dba meter from someone and scientificaly test noise levels someday. The quietest SLR I have had the pleasure of using is a Canon EOS Elan 7E.

 

If you want to be REAL quite my G2 makes almost no sounds at all when you disable all the sounds, all you can hear is the AF whispering.

[lex_jenkins]

Ryan, your AF whispers? That would be disconcerting.

[steve_chan5]

I've only ever read about them, but apparently there are Nikon F2's and F3's with pellicle mirrors. So there is no mirror slap - but they appear to be pretty rare (and probably expensive as well). The shutter probably is as noisy as a Leica shutter.

 

The M7 has a quiet electronic shutter, but the M6 never struck me as being particularly quiet. Interestingly enough, I once handled a well maintained Contax IIa that had a wonderfully quiet shutter. Not leaf shutter quiet, but softer than an M6 shutter.

 

The D100 is much quieter than an N90, but it is still loud compared to my Hexar. If you want a small, sharp and super quiet camera, pick up a leaf shuttered rangefinder like the Olympus 35 series, Canonet, Yashica 35 or Konica S3. Even the most overpriced Auto S3 will only run you about $150-$200, cheaper than many Nikon bodies. And they make Leica shutters sound like a bomb going off.

[michael_devoue]

IMHO, anyone who argues the Leica's shutter isn't signifigantly quieter hasn't comapared the two side-by-side. Low-light focusing? Rangefinders rock in this respect. Period. Leica puts out wonderful niche equipment for the ultimate in close-range candid work. Nikon's system is more comprehensive, versatile, and affordable. Understandably, I chose the latter, but long for just one black MP with a 35/1.4.

 

On the quiet note, I am very happy with how close the F3 w/ mirror-up compares to an M3. No viewfinder, so I usally pre-focus and estimate framing. I'll use the motor in the configuration in some instances, but this reduces quietness and general steathy-ness.

 

My 2 cents.

[richard_milner2]

"I own a Nikon FM2 and have owned an FE2 and a Leica M6."

 

I own an FM, an FM3, a Leica M4 and a Bronica RF645.

 

"In my experience using them side-by-side, the M6 is no quieter than the Nikons."

 

In my experience, the Nikons are the loudest and the Bronica is the quietest (but also the largest). The quietest camera I ever had was a Yashicamat 124G, which has a tiny in-lens mechanical leaf shutter.

 

"You can't believe everything you read in Leica ads. Nor can you believe everything that Leica buyers tell you, since they are endlessly coming up with (sometimes fictional) advantages to justify their huge expenditures."

 

The Leica actually cost me less than any of my other cameras, being a well-brassed secondhand unit. So I have no axe to grind in this respect.

 

But don't believe what I write, go to a camera shop and try them out for yourself.

[regina_reese]

I am looking for a affordable quiet camera to use for production stills on motion picture shoots. Any suggestions? How is the canon AE1? Looking for alternative to Leica, too expensive for me at the moment. Thanx.

[eyeperture]

Me and myfriend happened to have Leica R3, Nikon FE2, EM. Canon EOS 7e, Pentax, Minolta and Yashica .... Leica M3, Leica IIIf .... and numbers of Japanese rangefinder cameras, and I mainly do street photography. I will say in SLR system Canon EOS 7e and Leica R3 are close to Leica M3. I can get away if I take someone's pix from 6ft away with the disguise of the street traffic noise. If you don't mind using rangefinders, there are numbers of them, Yashica GSN, Canonet GIII QL17 and Hi-Matic E .... all can well serve a street photographer.