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Silent cameras

Martin Evans

New member
A while ago my university library at last permitted readers to take photographs of printed material in the library collections. For years the Cambridge University Library had resisted any form of copying, except that done by the library's own photographic unit, in spite of the fact that the National Archives in Britain had for several years been encouraging researchers to use their own cameras in preference to the photocopy machines.

Now we can photograph documents etc, but the camera must be completely silent - which rules out the usual DSLR, with its noisy mirror. The rule about silence is strictly enforced. I generally use an old Canon A620 compact, as all the synthesized shutter clicks etc can be turned off. One day I had forgotten to turn off the very faint 'shutter click' that my wife likes to have on. It was almost inaudible, yet one of the reading room staff came across and admonished me!

Can anyone suggest a somewhat better alternative to the A620? Its low-light sensitivity is barely able to cope with the dim lighting in the "Rare Documents" room. I would like a bit better resolution than its 7 MegPx, - perhaps an APS C sensor. One needs a lens that will autofocus, fairly fast and accurately in poor light, onto smallish parts of a page or document: say about 3 x 5 inches. Fast lenses are not necessary: one needs the DoF that modest apertures give. Needless to say, flash is totally forbidden and one must hand-hold the camera - no tripod or monopod allowed. I am not interested in top-end 'pro' grade cameras: they are too expensive for a retired academic to contemplate!

I don't mean to exclude Canon and Nikon brands - it's just that I assume that all their interchangeable lens cameras will be DSLRs with non-silent mirrors.

Forgive this simple-minded question. For the past 50 years my main camera has always been a Pentax SLR - currently the nice K-x - so I have virtually no experience of any alternatives.

Thanks,

Martin
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Martin,

This was my quest too! Before solving the problem is used a massive sound "blimp" box thing to enclose my Canon DSLR. For smaller or recitals concerts, I prefer to use the absolutely silent Ricoh GXR 50mm Macro unit with the synthesized sound turned off. You can also use any of the less expensive units. Each lens, if you didn't already know, has its own built in camera. Pick one with an APS C sized sensor, the 28, 50 Macro or the approx 24-88 APS C zoom. All have brilliantly sharp lenses. Or you can simply get the fabulous Ricoh GR. there is a GRII with very little new extra benefits, so the wonderfully popular, (with prosumers and pros), GR will fit the bill nicely at a lower price!

That GR will end up being always with you if you start using it for street or landscape photography!

Asher
 

Jerome Marot

Well-known member
The Sony RX100 is very quiet when taking pictures, although its motorised zoom can be heard (but is not noisier than your A620). The sensor is much larger than the one in your A620, about half the size of the sensor in a 4x3. The lens is stabilized and can focus quite close. I would be similar to you A620 in operation and size, but higher quality.

If you want an RX100, first version, I have one for sale. ;)
 
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Tom dinning

Registrant*
Shhhhh! If you listen ever so hard you can hear a pin drop over the sound of the Fuji X-T1 using the electronic shutter.
And you already know what I'm like in libraries.
 

Martin Evans

New member
My thanks to Asher, Jerome and Tom for making me take notice of mirrorless cameras. I had taken little interest in them, but having looked at the specs and reviews I am impressed.

I feel that the electronic viewfinder has yet to develop into a real alternative to the optical screen and pentaprism, but given the pace of innovation in electronics I am sure that the days of the conventional SLR are numbered. For a long time electronic switching and processing has been more reliable than the mechanical predecessors, and I feel that the clacking mirror and mechanical shutter are beginning to look old fashioned.

I admire the engineering achievements of the nineteenth century: the wonderful steam-driven beam engines that look beautiful as well as impressive in size, etc. But I still want my car/automobile to have fuel-injection, with power steering and antilock brakes, rather than drive a De Dion-Bouton.

Some of your suggestions are too costly for me: I am looking for what will be a backup or alternative to the Pentax K-x (which I really like) to use at times when the DSLR cannot be used. Nevertheless, I very much appreciate your thoughts and your time in keeping me informed of an area that I knew nothing about.

Best regards to all,

Martin
 

Tom dinning

Registrant*
Steam cameras. Now there's a thought.
Dump the Pentax and pick up a Fuji a2 kit for about the same price. You'll be able to hunt around the streets like a modern day HCB. Just add a trench coat and broad brimmed hat.
Alternatives are just that. Get used to it. Trouble is, Velcro, the noisy substitute for buttons and bows, is always an issue when retrieving your camera from its holster. You could be mistaken for someone undoing their board shorts.
Swings and roundabouts, Martin.
 
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