D7100 shutter loudness

I obviously have no way of knowing exactly what you heard, or what you consider loud, but my D7100 shutter is not significantly louder or different than my D200. It's by no means an Oly E1 shutter (which is one of the quietest DSLR shutters I've ever used and was one of the things that made it a great wedding camera for me), but it's certainly not loud.

In comparison to what? It's quieter than my D300 or D800. Definitely quieter than my D700. That one you can hear at a footbal game.

StillLearning said:

StillLearning wrote:

In comparison to what? It's quieter than my D300 or D800. Definitely quieter than my D700. That one you can hear at a footbal game.

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Don't think it's any more/less than d7000 or d800 but I don't really pay attention or notice.

Find it quiter than my D90 or X700 .....

It's actually rather quiet compared to the D5200 and previous Nikons. The trouble with assessing shutter noise is that it's quite dependent upon the noise frequency spectrum. The Canon 7D sounds quite quiet, but several u4/3 users have complained about some product's THWACK.

However, no focal-plane shutter camera that I'm aware of is truly silent; that would require a Leica.

I don't notice it being any louder than my D5000, perhaps a little quieter.

What lens was on the D7100? I have noticed (more with my D5000) that less expensive Nikon lenses make the shutter seem louder, but it seems there is actually quite a bit of noise from the lens stopping down and springing back. My 18-55 is quite a bit noisier than say my 85 F1.8 G or Tokina 12-24.

I find the D7100 as quiet as my D7000, which is incredibly quiet. It's more of a swishing sound. The comment about the lens mounted might be the answer...

leerob said:

leerob wrote:

Hi,

Yesterday I tried D7100 at local store. Shot some photos with it and quality is fine. However, I noticed that shutter noise is very loud. Is this normal for this camera?

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Hi leerob,

You can listen by yourself, first the D7100, then the D90 single shot then a sequence.
Same lens (Sigma 17-55), 1/4000, about 40 cm from the mic, I would say the D90 is louder.

The D5000 is, in my opinion, definitely quieter than both (I could try it tomorrow, but not with the same setup).

I remember when DPReview still included shutter sounds in the review...

This makes the shutter noise longer and in theory is good for macro shooters because the longer shutter is, in theory, less jarring to the image and therefore results in a cleaner image from the tripod. For other types of shooting it makes the moment of capture harder to anticipate, this might be good or bad depending on your hand holding habits. The most quiet one I've (not) heard is the little Sony RX100.

Regards.

leerob said:

• leerob wrote:

Hi,

Yesterday I tried D7100 at local store. Shot some photos with it and quality is fine. However, I noticed that shutter noise is very loud. Is this normal for this camera?

Click to expand...

The D7100 could be louder than the D7000, but it seems unlikely since their designs are so similar.

I have owned a number of Nikon DX DSLRs and this is what I have found about the "release noise" (shutter and mirror sounds).

• Plastic body = hollow (cheap sounding), with shutter noise more prominent than mirror sound.
• Higher FPS body = stronger mirror return spring = louder mirror noise and more vibration.
• Metal body = less hollow sound and more metalic high frequencey sound than plastic body.
• High shutter speeds = louder
• The bigger the lens mounted = usually quieter.
• Body mounted on a tripod = quieter
• Attached vertical grip = quieter (more so with the metal grips).
• Use the "Quiet Mode" that some DSLRs have for the least sound.

Although the camera's release sound is subjective to some degree, it can also be universally annoying with some cameras. For instance, I borrowed a Pentax DSLR some years back and everyone around me thought it was "loud and annoying" (including me). The Nikon D40 seemed almost silent compared to the Pentax DSLR. I had a Sony a700 at one time, which was noticeably noisier than my D7000, but not as annoying as the Pentax. So yes, different DSLRs can definitely have different release sounds and if it annoys you, or those around you, I would recommend choosing a different camera. My quietest camera is a Nikon V1 which is totally silent with no vibration when shooting with the electronic shutter. I really like that and wish my D7000 could do the same. :-|


- Jon

My D7100 is quieter than my D300s, but unfortunately way noisier than my Pentax K-7.