Best Sounding Shutter: Your Opinion?

[Mark Vaughan]

Friends,

This might be fun - and it would be great to hear your opinions. Cudos to the first person to post a .wav file...

What camera - in your humblest opinion - delivers the best, smoothest, most charismatic shutter sound? My opinions:

Non Motorized: NIKKORMAT

Motorized: NIKON F2 with MD-2 (a REAL attention getter!)

What say you?

Mark

[alexkerhead]

I think the Humble Argus C-4(C-44) has the best "sounding" shutter mechanism. I rebuilt one a while back, and can vouch for the quality.

Second place goes to the Univex Mercury.

I own a lot of nicer cameras, but those two just sound plain good.

[mickeyobe]

Mark,

Best, smoothest, most charismatic? All in one shutter?
And at what shutter speed?
What about the most business like?
Most musical?
Most un-Hollywood like?

Not that I want to complicate matters.
Yes I do.

There. I'm having fun already.

Mickey

[olroy2044]

Stir that pot, Mickey!!

Of the cameras I own, or have owned, it's a tie between my old Contaflex II, and my Rollei 35. Sweet, quiet release, and the nicest sounding cams and gears in the slow speeds you ever want to hear!

The worst? Any thing with a Copal metal shutter P-I-I-I-N-G!! That's no knock on their quality. I have several, and they all work great. Just sound terrible!
Roy

[mickeyobe]

You just have to hear my Speed Graphic's focal plane shutter.
It is so businesslike. Truly memorable.
Somewhere between a screech and a growl.
Very reassuring and a trifle intimidating.

On the other end of the spectrum is my Voigtlander Vitessa N. It is almost inaudible but does produce a ladylike delicate little click.

Alex's choice of Universal's Mercury which gives a faint whir and a hearty click is also a good choice.
Its slightly bigger brother the Mercury II inhales and then hiccups.

The Argus C4 and its classier C44 both sound alike. Fresh, bold and very snappy. Almost arrogant. But definitely confident.

Mickey

[photax]

Hi Mark !

In my opinion, the spring-motor winded russian Krasnogorsk F-21 spy camera has the smoothest shutter sound.
The most dangerous sound comes from the Kodak K-24 and the Graflex K-20, both WWII aircraft cameras. Releasing their shutters would trigger an alert in the next earthquake warning station

lg MIK

[drako]

Of those in my limited collection, I like the Minolta XE-7 best, although the old and diminutive Leica A is the quietest. The ugliest sounding is my Minolta XG-M -- simply loud and unapologetic. Interesting that the XD-11 was of the same era but, as I remember, is quiet and nice sounding.

[Deleted]

Best: Leica M shutter--especially at very slow speeds.
Worst: Speed Graphic focal plane shutter--generates enough torque to make the camera twist in you hand when the shutter is released.

Wayne

[estudleon]

Leica M (specially the M3). All voigtlanders RF shutters.

[Mark Vaughan]

Johnny,

I agree with you: the XE-7 is right up there. Funny, as I was reading this I had my XE-7 in my hand firing the shutter (trying to get the meter needle unstuck... another topic). The XD's are unique. I read one forum describing a "momentary inhale" before shutter release. This is the sound of the capacitors releasing and unique only to the XD's as far as I know.

My worst sounding shutter? Polaroid 80A

Mark

Mark