Why are flagships so loud

[Leica Kid]

I recently got a nikon d4 and i am coming from a d600. The first thing i noticed was the shutter on it. It has so much more noise to it. Imo the d500 was about as loud as the d600. What causes my d4 to be so loud? Today i took it into a forest and at times it could cause an echo. Any tips on making it quiter/living with the noise?

 

[lightandaprayer]

Fujifilm XH1 Shutter Sounds Compared to other Fuji cameras. The XH1 is a very quiet camera and a real bargain compared to the Leica M10-P. . .

 

[PerfectPoms]

I chuckle to myself when I read threads where people complain about the noise the D850 makes - because the D5 is clearly louder than the D850, and the D6 is clearly louder than the D5.

I noticed a change from the D5 when I was shooting with the D6 - mainly because I really noticed I had a hard time having a conversation with people while I shoot with the D6. I didn't notice that problem really, with the D5. But I take thousands of photos in an hour while out in the park taking photos of my puppies chasing each other around, so I'm shooting at 14 fps - and I can't hear people talk to me the way I did with the D5 or D850 or D500.

And I spent a short time with all 3 cameras, just clicking the shutter to compare the sound. Clear difference.

 

[Topi]

Hi,

All the moving parts are larger, heavier and move faster. So, more energy required. So, more sound energy left over.

And the D4 is pretty quiet compared to the F5. That thing sounds like I'm racking a shell out of, and then into, a 105mm howitzer. Except no clang of the spent casing hitting the ground. And I have had many F5 bodies with digital backs and they all are pretty loud. I still use one as I make good use of the easily swapped viewfinders and focusing screens.

Stan

I haven't shot with the F5, but I have shot with the F4. I don't think it was as loud as the single-digit D's i've shot with. Also, the shutter/mirror mechanism of the F4 felt extremely well damped. I could shoot it hand-held at ridiculously slow shutter speeds.

Then again, I guess the weight of about 1,3 kg for the body plus the weight of 6 AA's in the MB-21 act as a vibration dampener.

-Topi

 

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

I've had several F5 bodies, and all were louder than my F4. But, then the F5 is quite a different design v the F4.

Stan

 

[lightandaprayer]

Hi,

I've had several F5 bodies, and all were louder than my F4. But, then the F5 is quite a different design v the F4.

Stan

My F3HP shutter mechanism was very quiet. . . But add an MD-4 and it gets noisy quick. LOL

I regret selling it (slow flash sync) as it was a fine camera. My then new-wife gave it to me; I can't recall whether it was Xmas or a birthday. She has always been very supportive when it comes to cameras and computers.

 

[bmw44]

Hi,

All the moving parts are larger, heavier and move faster. So, more energy required. So, more sound energy left over.

And the D4 is pretty quiet compared to the F5. That thing sounds like I'm racking a shell out of, and then into, a 105mm howitzer. Except no clang of the spent casing hitting the ground. And I have had many F5 bodies with digital backs and they all are pretty loud. I still use one as I make good use of the easily swapped viewfinders and focusing screens.

Stan

Remember that the F5 had to wind the film to the next frame. I think that caused most of the noise your heard. My F5 does not seem all that loud to me. Of course, my hearing is not what it used to be.

 

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

I think I forgot to mention that all my F5 units were digital, so the film transport was missing. All I hear is the shutter mechanism. It may be accentuated by the electronics in the back, which is thicker than the film door. Maybe the boards act as sound ports.

All told, I had five of them. I still have one left. It's still as loud as it ever was. The sound is about equal to my Pentax 645D, where every part is much larger.

Stan

 

[bmw44]

Hi,

I think I forgot to mention that all my F5 units were digital, so the film transport was missing. All I hear is the shutter mechanism. It may be accentuated by the electronics in the back, which is thicker than the film door. Maybe the boards act as sound ports.

All told, I had five of them. I still have one left. It's still as loud as it ever was. The sound is about equal to my Pentax 645D, where every part is much larger.

Stan

Interesting, I didn't know that there were any F5 digital cameras. Could you mean the D5?

 

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

There were a series of them done as a cooperative venture between Nikon and Kodak. Both color and monochrome and low ISO and high ISO and 2 MP and 6 MP. This all began about 1999 and ahead of Nikon's D1 but at the end of their other joint venture with Fuji and the E Series.

Nikon sent modified F5 bodies to Kodak who attached the digital backs. Kodak sold them in most markets, but there were some which returned to Nikon for them to sell in other markets. The line came to an end with the discontinuation of the F5.

And, interestingly enough, Kodak and Canon did the same with the EOS1N film body until Canon came out with the 1D.

All low volume, high dollar units. When the Nikon D1 was $5k, the 6 MP F5 based unit was $25k. Even at the very end in 2003, it was $7500. But I made really good use of them for 20 years. And I still have one of the 6 MP units.

There's a forum where they still chat about them once in a while, the Kodak SLR forum.

But since we were talking about Nikon shutter sound here, I didn't want to mention the whole method where these came about. It's just confusing these days. And the body and shutter are Nikon F5 even if the digital back is Kodak.

Stan

 

[bmw44]

I knew that Kodak made a digital camera based on the Nikon F5 body, but I would never have called that an F5 just because the body of an F5 was used.

 

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

The part we are discussing is still a Nikon F5 shutter. That wasn't changed.

And Nikon sold the 660c Kodak model as the F5D, where the Kodak badging had been removed. Same as Canon did with the D2000 (520c) and D6000 (560c).i Nikon wanted to compete with the D6000. They could compete to some extent with the E3 against the D2000 but they had nothing to go up against the D6000.

It was a different time. Take a look at the Nikon E series, which was also the Fuji DS-5xx series. And just as dual branded. Sold by both. Oh, and FWIW, using F4 parts including the shutter.

Before all that, Kodak simply bought Nikon and Canon bodies and put their backs on. The film transport was still there. Pop the Kodak back off and put the film door on. Those were not any sort of joint operation.

Both Canon and Nikon wanted to sell some.of these things themselves and so joined up with Kodak to build a better mousetrap. Later, they began doing their own thing. It was a progression.

Back to the original topic, that F5 shutter still is pretty loud.

Stan

 

[sandiegosteve]

If you want your flagship to seem more quiet, put it in "Q" mode. Yes, Q stands for Quiet but it isn't.

After a few shots in Q mode, you will now think regular mode is actually quiet.