Kris111 Loc: Port Charlotte, FL

I recently purchased this camera Rebel T3 and I love the pictures and the functions however I was wondering if anyone who has this model have the same disappointment as I do. When I click to take the picture the shutter button is pretty loud, let's just say, not quiet enough...it's enough to scare birds and close up animals away.

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Did you read the manual? You might have a setting where you can quiet down the shutter.

Kris111 Loc: Port Charlotte, FL

yes I read it but will try to figure the problem out online. I was wondering if anyone else had this model if they had the same thing. It's a little irritating.

Robert R Loc: Indianapolis and Naples

Kris, Is this your first DSLR? I know point and shoot cameras have a setting to make them very quiet. A SLR camera has a mirror so you can compose photo directly through the lens, then when you activate the shutter the mirror flips out of the way. This may be what you are hearing and I think what you are hearing may be a normal function of the camera.

Robert R Loc: Indianapolis and Naples

Kris, Is this your first DSLR? I know point and shoot cameras have a setting to make them very quiet. A SLR camera has a mirror so you can compose photo directly through the lens, then when you activate the shutter the mirror flips out of the way. This may be what you are hearing and I think what you are hearing may be a normal function of the camera. Sorry, did not mean to post twice.

Kris111 Loc: Port Charlotte, FL

Yes this is my first DSLR camera. I do have a Canon Powershot SX130 and it does have an option to quiet the camera shutter. Typically I'm not a complainer (ha-ha) but the sound of the shutter on my Rebel is very noticeable and surprised I haven't heard more complaint from others.

oldtool2 Loc: South Jersey

Kris,

Please don't take any of this wrong. The camera you bought is a beginners level camera. There are many features that are on Canons (other manufactures also) better, more expensive, cameras. Less expensive beginner cameras have less features to keep cost down. My guess is that there is not going to be anything you are going to be able to do about this.

As mentioned, there is a mirror in DSLR cameras. In the more expensive cameras there is a feature that would allow you to lock this in the up position which your camera probably does not have. Does your camera have "live view"? If it does then you might be able to lock it up. Better cameras may also have a "buffer" of sorts built in to quiet the shutter.

When DSLR's were first made the shutters were fairly quiet. Many people complained about this because they were use to hearing the click of the shutter heard with SLR cameras so the manufactures started making the noise electronically. This was pretty loud on many cameras. I don't know if your model is one of them. Some owners complained again, mainly nature photographers, because they liked the shutter quiet so a feature was add to quiet the shutter. This feature was only added to the better cameras.

NOTE: I don't know how true this last paragraph is but this is a story I have been told.

Jim D

Bugfan Loc: Toronto, Canada

Taking a picture with an SLR is a four stage process when you press the shutter button.

Step one is to raise the mirror which may be almost silent depending on the rubber gasket it hits to fairly loud.

Step two is to open the shutter which is actually a two step process too, first the front curtain opens with a distinct click followed by the rear curtain which represents another distinct click. Whether you will hear both or only one depends on the shutter speed, the higher speeds seem to generate only one click since they're very close together.

Step three is to reset the shutter so that it's ready to fire again. The is another distinct click.

Step four is to release the mirror to let it fall back down which can sound like a click or a clunk.

Each of these are mechanical functions generated by the movement of the parts hence the noise.

Your point and shoot camera has no mirror to worry about so those clicks are gone. And most point and shoot cameras also have no shutter. Instead there is a circuit that simply activates the sensor for a specific period of time to get the light for the picture. So your point and shoot camera is fully electronic. If yours generated a click it was because there was a circuit that created the click, not because of your shutter and you would have the capability to turn off the click if you found it annoying.

SLRs have always made a noise and the more frames per second you fire, the noise can become even louder. High end models have various cushioning materials in place to soften the mirror slap and this minimize some of the noise and many also allow you to raise the mirror before firing which also reduces the noise a little. If you have live view you can set that on in which case your mirror is raised and so your camera operates a bit more quietly. Some high end SLRs also have tried to dampen the noise of the focal plane shutter but there's no way to get rid of it or, more accurately, no one has yet figured out how to prevent the noise of the shutter.

Fundamentally if you want to use any SLR you'll have to get used to the noise the same way the rest of us have had to. In fact the noise for most of us is normal and we expect to hear it.

Finally, I know sometimes it can sound like a gun shot but it's not really. Remember you've got the camera up to your face very near your ear. So of course it will sound loud. Put the camera on a tripod, set the self timer and then step away two or three meters which is usually the distance of your subject and take a picture of yourself. I think you'll be hard pressed to hear the shutter or anything else.

Falstaff Loc: Huddersfield UK

Hi Kris, If your manual is the same as the UK version it is on page 122, "Mirror Lockup to Reduce Camera Shake" Although all this does is lock the shutter up when the shutter release is pressed halfway, so you still get the noise. The way to go is Liveview as this locks the Mirror up until Liveview is turned off.

Hope this Helps.

Good Luck

jimmya Loc: Phoenix

All dslr cameras make that noise. It's not the shutter button it's the mirror inside the camera moving out of the way so light can reach the sensor.

The only quiet digital cameras are not dslr cameras... bridge or point shoot cameras don't have a mirror... no loud noise.

northsidejoe Loc: pittsburgh

Hello chris
I also have a canon t3i when you depress the shutter button on my camera it does appear to be loud.
Hope this help your concern.
saying hello from Pittsburgh

Kris111 Loc: Port Charlotte, FL

Thank you everyone for your suggestions

RDH

All of the Rebels have shutter lock up, and both the T3 and the t3i have live view, which do you have? What annoys me is respondents who obviously know nothing about the equipment in question, but persist in giving inaccurate information.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

The reason it is loud is because dSLRs don't have an electronic shutter like a point and shoot, they have mechanical shutter boxes and the noise comes with the territory. Additionally, dSLRs have mirrors that move out of the way when you take a photo, and then drop back down when the shutter is closed. Some dSLRs, generally more towards the higher end, have a quiet shooting mode although is is still quite noisy compared to a quiet point and shoot. Your camera, however, does not possess a quiet mode.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

First, all the current Canon dSLRs made have a mirror lock up feature but its main purpose is to reduce vibrations in long exposures and does not make the camera quieter. Second, while live view shots may appear to be a bit quieter they are still fairly loud. Thirdly there is no buffer to quiet the sound of the shutter.

With regard to your last paragraph on why there is shutter noise in a dSLR, it is completely inaccurate except for the part about higher end cameras having a quiet feature. There is no free lunch however. To achieve the quieter shutter action the frames per second is usually reduced significantly.