Wow! Is that thing ever loud!

[Guy Mancuso]

I'm tone deaf from Medium format. Lol

It's more long in tone than normal so I think that is part of it. It really does not bother me but can understand if your coming from a RF system per say.

 

[danlindberg]

Loud!!? Try using a Fuji GX 680 III for almost two decades (-95) and most will experience impaired hearing.....

 

[turtle]

The loudness of the shutter simply means that its not suitable for people who really need a very quiet camera. The A7 is better than the A7R and, in my estimation, absolutely fine on the street etc, but for quiet orchestra pit work, or in theatres... or [instert similar] There are much better options.

Its really no more complex than that. There seems to be an assumption in some quarters that the A7/R should be this or should be that, as if it must perform in the same vein as a Leica M240, or X100S, but why? It is its own camera with its own mix of pros and cons. It is and it will either suit you or it won't. I've certainly never made the assumption that a small camera will be quiet, or a large one noisy (5DIII being a good example). If a particular feature is important to me, I'll check it out and make my own mind up.

In many respects the A7/R is a replacement for DSLRs for travel, landscape and documentary work rather than a replacement for the super quiet cameras out there.

 

[Bob]

They could make a silencer for it but that would be frowned upon in some states.
-bob

 

[nostatic]

Exactly. It isn't too loud unless it is. And that determination is made by the shooter or the subjects. In my case, it was the subjects, but I still have and use the camera.

Part of the expectation problem is that Sony managed to make a small FF camera with a leaf shutter that is dead silent (RX1(r)). With that setup in the A7(r), we wouldn't be having this discussion. Instead someone would be complaining about some other aspect of the camera

 

[Guy Mancuso]

This could also be addressed in firmware to some degree. Let's see what Sony does they have a good checklist by now to improve things. I think if memory serves me Leica tuned one of there cams via firmware. Age though I could be wrong. Lol

 

[Don Libby]

I've been using the 7r now since late December and wanted to share a couple thoughts on the shutter.

First I have to go back about 40 years when I was using a combination of Minolta, Pentax, and Yashica to name drop a couple; shooting film and transparencies. I remember the shutter feeling like a 4-pound trigger pull and not all that quite. Fast forward to the past 10-years and I used Leica, Hasselblad and of course Canon and now Sony for 35mm.

While the sound of the 7r is somewhat loud I don't feel it any louder that some of the other cameras I've used. The up-side to the shutter is that it is smooth.

In an earlier life I shoot at targets that often exceeded 1000 yards using a rifle with top notch scope and a trigger that "broke" like a glass rod; in other words very clean, very smooth and very light. I see the shutter of the 7r much the same way. Yes it's louder that some other cameras yet it is one of the smoothest shutters I've had the pleasure to use.

In the end I'll gladly trade perceived noise for a smooth breaking shutter that allows me to shoot at a lower speed.

Just my 2¢.

Don

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Don remind me not to piss you off at 1000 yards. Lol

 

[turtle]

Leaf shutters are a whole order of magnitude quieter and my X100 just embarrasses everything else I own for quietness.... except for my Mamiya 7 II, which also has leaf shutter lenses. Boy that's quiet for an oldie. Makes a barely audible 'tick'.

Leaf shuttered lenses would be nice for low noise, but seeing as you have to pay for a shutter in every lens, I'm not keen on the huge additional outlay! I'm sure the A8, A9 etc will be a bit quieter.

 

[turtle]

Then you'd have to call it a 'muzzle weight'

... and just not point it at people.

They could make a silencer for it but that would be frowned upon in some states.
-bob

 

[peterb]

Certainly choosing the right tool for the right situation is paramount. If absolute stealth is needed, clearly toting a huge honking' D800 or 1Dx with a monster zoom is going to be no more unobtrusive than these amazing, diminutive new Schluckmeisters from Sony. But those are rare situations and in most cases regardless of any shutter issue, whether you go huge or small either direction should serve most folks admirably.

I think with the advent of mirrorless cameras on the scene (so to speak), the expectation resulting from the initial examples and their meteoric refinement (including many fine iterations from Sony by the way) is that without the rise and fall of a mighty mirror in its innards and just a focal plane snap ALL these cameras would be quieter than their celluloid ancestors --whether 35mm or 120/220--and at least as quiet as fellow mirrorless designs.

The pages of A7/A7r examples on the sister thread here have been nothing short of fantastic. Jaw dropping images by the score! A true testament to the capabilities of the wizards in Tokyo.

It's just that the surprise (or disappointment) for some is that, given their new mirrorless lineage, the two cameras responsible for all that visual goodness should have been quieter than they are.

And I'm hopeful that the same ingenuity at Sony will find a way to make this happen in the next go around.

 

[rayyan]

Maybe I am going deaf too...but my Fuji X 100S is silent. I mean like dead silent.

Someone please tell me I am not going deaf..

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Loud!!? Try using a Fuji GX 680 III for almost two decades (-95) and most will experience impaired hearing.....

The sound of the GX680 makes me expect little 3D copies of the subject coming out of the camera. Not only is it loud, but it produces a cacophony of noises lasting for a loooong while. For some reason though, maybe because the camera is so large and looks like some kind of industrial machinery, people don't really react much to the spectacle.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

That's pretty darn true big camera you expect big noise and it won't disappoint you a anvil hit the concrete. Little cams you don't expect it

 

[jonoslack]

This is a highly personalized response that is based on your specific experiences and approach, obviously making it totally valid Jono.

HI Marc
I hope I made it clear that it was personal!

However, on the subject of wedding photography one cannot go from the personally specific and imply a generality to support one's preferences … an overwhelmingly massive majority of wedding shooters, including the most famous and successful, use 35mm DSLRs that are just as noisy as this A7/A7R, and are more intrusive in size and presence.

I wasn't implying a generality - I was implying a personal specific - in a big room with lots of people it really isn't an issue - in a small room with a bride having her hair done I think it IS an issue - but I still realise it's my feeling.

"No good for taking pictures indoors" is just such a generality which is disproved by all the wonderful, intimate, fly-on-the wall indoor images taken with the big, loud DSLRs that dominate wedding photography.

Of course - but I wasn't trying to imply a generality from a specific - there are lots of approaches, but the fact that people have taken great pictures with noisy cameras doesn't (IMVHO) make noisy shutters a good thing! (or even that it doesn't matter).

People do not "absolutely notice" except perhaps for the first few self-conscience shots in a small room (which has more to do with getting their picture taken than size or sound of the camera), then they get on with what they are doing and forget about you.

I actually disagree with you here about small rooms - sure if there's music in the background or loud talking - otherwise they notice the sound - specifically and actually . . of course it could be different over your side of the pond (shrug).

It has far more to do with how you blend in and how you approach the subjects than what is in your hand. A very common response I hear from clients is "Oh, my God! I didn't even know you were there." … when in fact I was standing 4 feet from them using a big bad, mirror slapping Pro DSLR and honking' 24-70 zoom.

It also has a lot to do with how you blend in and approach your subjects, but to say that it can be done with a camera with a noisy shutter doesn't mean that shutter noise doesn't matter.

There are lots of factors which make for taking good photos in social environments - I'm not saying that a quiet shutter is the only factor - any more than camera size, high ISO ability and a hundred other factors (many of which the A7/r has got just right), but by saying that it isn't the only factor doesn't make it insignificant.

I think that for me, this is the biggest disappointment in what is a fabulous camera in so many respects - I don't understand why it was necessary to have such a noisy shutter - Leica can make a quiet one in the M240 (less in the MM and M9 I agree) - Pentax can manage it in their SLRs, Olympus can manage it - why couldn't Sony? By the way - the A7 is only 'better' than the A7r, I still don't thick it's 'okay'.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

If I may add when on a gig the people know I am there and if anything I'm more in the way than any camera noise. If your doing the wedding and your the paid shooter if a tank goes off thats your job. They will ignore you

 

[jonoslack]

If I may add when on a gig the people know I am there and if anything I'm more in the way than any camera noise. If your doing the wedding and your the paid shooter if a tank goes off thats your job. They will ignore you

They will TRY and ignore you Guy, and they won't complain, but that doesn't mean they won't notice you!
I'm not saying it's make or break, but there are hundreds of factors that go into getting it right (and I'm certainly not claiming to be an oracle).. What I AM saying is that, other things being equal, an unobtrusive camera with a quiet shutter is a tangible advantage.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

No question Jono and certainly times when being stealth is huge

 

[Guy Mancuso]

The problem as you well know is sometimes these little niggles turn into monstrous issues on the internet. The shutter vibration and this have turn the world upside down. Not really sure 75 percent of it is fair or even actually a real issue but a perceived one

 

[jlindstrom]

The problem as you well know is sometimes these little niggles turn into monstrous issues on the internet. The shutter vibration and this have turn the world upside down. Not really sure 75 percent of it is fair or even actually a real issue but a perceived one

Yes! Maybe next time the few of us should just pm Guy and get him to say what we meant with our long explanations.. short and to the point! :lecture:

//Juha