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My camera is too loud for Audobon Rowe Sanctuary

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bab99

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The Audobon Rowe Sanctuary in Nebraska owns eight miles of the Platte River which is probably the best Sandhill Crane viewing in the world. Most cranes in North America migrate through the area each spring. However, Rowe is decidedly hostile or at least unaccomodating to serious wildlife photographers and they might as well stay away unless they get lucky and manage to rent one of three overnight two-person photography blinds (there you will be relatively unsupervised). However, the group blinds crowd together twenty-five people who are a mix of photographers and general viewers, and while there you will have what they call "attendants" standing behind you who can and will continually tell you what you are doing that is wrong. My attendant had several problems with me, but the most flagrant appeared to be that the shutter on my D300s was too loud. It was a very uncomfortable experience for all of the photographers in the blind that night.

So, my question is: I need to buy a Nikon DSLR which will pacify the Audobon folks at Rowe Sanctuary. I need a moderately fast frame rate, good AF performance for birds in flight, really good image noise characteristics in low-light high ISO situations, and a super quiet shutter. I would prefer DX format for the reach but would consider any model camera. The second day at Rowe I used an old D80 which has a really quiet shutter but suffers in performance and image quality compared to what I am accustomed. Any ideas for a super quiet Nikon?
 
I do mostly wildlife photography and I can't ever once recall having any of the Nikon bodies I've used, including my current D300s actuality startle any of my subjects.

What you are dreaming of doesn't exist in a DSLR format....at least not from Nikon.
--
Jim Fenton
My Wildlife Images at:
http://www.pbase.com/soonipi1957
 
I did talk to the manager afterwards, and also the director of the sanctuary briefly, and I was going to suggest ear plugs for the attendants but I don't they have a sense of humor. ( ;> )
-Bruce
 
The D7000 is a pretty quiet DSLR, quieter than my D90, much quieter than my Canon 60D and quieter than most of the other Nikon DSLRs that I've heard (and Nikons, especially the D700, have a reputation for loud shutters). For what it's worth, the 5D Mark III has a "silent shutter" mode that many have claimed would be acceptable in very quiet environments such as street photography, theatre performances and weddings. The silent shutter mode drops the fps from 6 to 3, but I've read of many new 5D Mark III owners saying that they plan to use the camera in silent shutter mode at all times. I've been wavering between a D800 and a 5D Mark III (or a D400 or 7D replacement) and the loudness of the shutter has been a serious factor in my calculations.
--
Doug Brock
 
So your shutter was louder than the 24 other people in that blind, moving about and possibly making the normal kind of noise people make? Now that's something. I never found my D300s to be loud enough to scare away wildlife or bother them in any way. That attendant is full of crap and possibly more than the Sandhill Cranes in the sanctuary.
 
I've not seen (or heard) the D7000 but from what I have read it is the second best DX in terms of performance,etc to the D300s. The D300s has a "quiet mode", but as far as I can tell it puts a little more lag in the release of the shutter and it does not return the mirror back to the down position afterwards, and it is one frame at a time. Not a real good solution for fast moving birds. And not a whole lot quieter, at least to my ears.
--Bruce
 
This situation is really more like a theater environment where the people participating pay to enjoy the sounds of the birds as well as the sight. Having several cameras on rapid fire going off for extended periods of time detracts from the overall experience of everyone around the photographers. I would hope that being the professionals that you are you would consider your surroundings. It is like smoking in a small crowded room. The others may not be smoking but they are subject to your actions. There is no issue with single exposure it is just the sound of a camera going off like a typewriter. Thank you.
 
bab99 said:
The Audobon Rowe Sanctuary in Nebraska owns eight miles of the Platte River which is probably the best Sandhill Crane viewing in the world. Most cranes in North America migrate through the area each spring. However, Rowe is decidedly hostile or at least unaccomodating to serious wildlife photographers and they might as well stay away unless they get lucky and manage to rent one of three overnight two-person photography blinds (there you will be relatively unsupervised). However, the group blinds crowd together twenty-five people who are a mix of photographers and general viewers, and while there you will have what they call "attendants" standing behind you who can and will continually tell you what you are doing that is wrong. My attendant had several problems with me, but the most flagrant appeared to be that the shutter on my D300s was too loud. It was a very uncomfortable experience for all of the photographers in the blind that night.
Click to expand...
The sanctuary is there for the bird's benefit not yours. I don't understand why you are complaining about these attendants who are there (probably volunteering) to keep the birds healthy and happy ... to protect them from stress induced by a bunch of single minded photographers. Follow their rules and be happy you have any access to such a place at all. Lecture over.
bab99 said:
So, my question is: I need to buy a Nikon DSLR which will pacify the Audobon folks at Rowe Sanctuary. I need a moderately fast frame rate, good AF performance for birds in flight, really good image noise characteristics in low-light high ISO situations, and a super quiet shutter. I would prefer DX format for the reach but would consider any model camera. The second day at Rowe I used an old D80 which has a really quiet shutter but suffers in performance and image quality compared to what I am accustomed. Any ideas for a super quiet Nikon?
Click to expand...
What you want is a camera blimp. You can buy one but they are very expensive or you can fabricate one yourself. It's simply a device that deadens the sound via seals and insulation. I don't have one but have always thought I would if I got into wedding photography.

http://silentpenguin.blogspot.ca/2008/06/kyles-sound-blimp-tutorial.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/756103-REG/Aqua_Tech_1043_1043_Sound_Blimp_for.html

--
eddyshoots
 
Well, actually 25 other people--- they overbooked the blind. The blinds have small windows that face north and you can't see to the side, so to get a sunset shot I took my camera off my tripod and went to one end of the blind where I could excuse my way in for a few handhelds. During that time, the attendant took my tripod and put it against the back wall of the blind. When I returned, someone else was stanidng there and I had no window to shoot from anymore. Clever, those attendants!
--Bruce
 
Conserve said:
This situation is really more like a theater environment where the people participating pay to enjoy the sounds of the birds as well as the sight. Having several cameras on rapid fire going off for extended periods of time detracts from the overall experience of everyone around the photographers. I would hope that being the professionals that you are you would consider your surroundings. It is like smoking in a small crowded room. The others may not be smoking but they are subject to your actions. There is no issue with single exposure it is just the sound of a camera going off like a typewriter. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Yes, I can see that, although those concerns were not among those expressed that night. I talked to Rowe people and they do not want to have special photographers-only nights/mornings for any of the four group blinds, nor special viewers---only nights, either, to accomodate the needs of both. It is their choice to continue to mix photograhers with those viewers who are seeking that zen-like experience. They also have discussed but not decided to build separate photographer's blinds for two-hour sessions similar to the existing group blinds.

Rowe puts many restrictions on photographers, many more than you mention. I'm the OP and my question is what I can change in my equipment to meet Rowe's restrictions. I still maintain that Rowe is unfriendly to photographers.
 
You might try a D7000, it is quieter

But the quietest is the V1 electronic that I shot at Cirque de Solei last week.

IQ? well that's another story, but the range at 2.7 crop is awesome
--
Rags
 
torags said:
But the quietest is the V1 electronic that I shot at Cirque de Solei last week.
Click to expand...
That's an interesting thought. Seems radical but interesting. Any idea how it is in tracking birds in flight? Shutter lag? How about frame rate? The LCD screen on the back is required by Rowe to be covered with a piece of paper while you are shooting--can you make all adjustments while viewing through the viewfinder much as one does with a DSLR?

--Bruce
 
Conserve said:
This situation is really more like a theater environment where the people participating pay to enjoy the sounds of the birds as well as the sight.
Click to expand...
Since you brought up the subject of the needs of one mutually-exclusive group of people over another, I should add that it appears increasingly that another problem is the use of the overnight 2-person photgrapher blinds by people who are not photographers. Renting a space where two people can sit (or sleep) in complete darkness surrounded by tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes, those two being isolated and undisturbed all night for some 15 hours straight, may be the ultimate zen-like experience for couples. It does mean, however, that blind is not available to a photographer. And Rowe does not have a policy to restrict the blinds to photographers only. Nothing wrong with that in my mind, but it could all be put together as a view that photgraphers are being displaced into the group blinds where, to paraphrase you, they are annoying, and that Rowe really makes no effort to change that. If you don't want photographers to come to Rowe, say it.
 
bab99 said:
Rowe puts many restrictions on photographers,
Click to expand...
Were you charged a lower amount than the others? Jeez.

That being said, put your D300 in Q mode or single shot. Or at least never be the one guy shooting eight frames a second. Let him earn the ire of the other attendees.

You can also use exposure delay mode to really slow down the mirror up and down process. This is meant to really reduce camera shake for long exposures so a pause takes place after the mirror rises to ensure the camera is still for the shutter release. Of course, if your animal moves in that time, tough beans.

I've found that it's also a great idea to get people on your side by handing out cards saying you'll mail copies of some of the shots to your non-photographer fellow birders.

Good luck.

--

I like the colours. Your camera takes good pictures.
 
I've been there 3 times over the last few years and never heard anything like this.

They get volunteer from all over, and I guess that some are more 'zealous' than others.

It's an amazing spot when the cranes are passing through - photographer or not.

--
What are you waiting for? SHOOT!! (now dthreehundred)
http://www.artwhitton.com
http://myPhotoshopSite.com
 
BIF lousy
Shutter speed= up to 60fps

LCD= Can be covered because the LCD image is in the Electronic Viewfinder (it is a mirror-less cam). That's the good news and the bad. If you take continuous, picture review pops into the EVF and you're blind to track

The cam does have an auto track (untested by me)

--
Rags
 
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