Alyn Wolf Loc: Colorado Springs

Is there such thing as a quiet DSLR? I shoot regularly with an Olympus EM-10 camera that is quiet, quiet, quiet. The one thing I don't like about the Olympus is the electronic viewfinder. I have experimented with various DSLR cameras and find them to be extremely noisy, but I like everything else about them. It seems that the only way to have a workable optical viewfinder is with a DSLR. Comments, suggestions.

therwol Loc: USA

The Nikon D810 is the quietest I've used. Of course, it isn't available new any longer, and aside from taking spectacular images of static subjects, it doesn't measure up to newer cameras in terms of speed, autofocus and other features.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Imagine a silent world of mirrorless swans. The slap of a mirror will shortly be treated like lighting a cigarette indoors. You and your obnoxious loud camera will be asked to leave.

Alyn Wolf Loc: Colorado Springs

Beenthere

The drawback to optical viewfinders is the lack of seeing the actual exposure, not just the composition. Electronic Viewfinders are getting better and better, with one of the best EVFs being offered by Olympus. By the EM10 MkII, Live View has reached a superior level of performance. By EM10 MkIV a slightly improved sensor provides improved detail before shooting. If you haven't experienced this, an upgrade might be due.

As an old shooter (60s - present) I loved shooting while viewing optically, but always was aware that to get an idea of the actual exposure, I had to rely on meter settings.., and experience. EVFs are a mixed blessing, but, IMO, more positive than negative.

Alyn Wolf Loc: Colorado Springs

therwol Loc: USA

There is some truth to this. But the OP wants that optical viewfinder. That's the reason for the question.

Alyn Wolf Loc: Colorado Springs

Beenthere

It's not gonna happen. Improvements to EVFs will continue.

Alyn Wolf Loc: Colorado Springs

I didn't realise that my Olympus EM10 mk2 has one of the best EVFs. I must admit that it has worked pretty darn well for me. And now with the Mark 4 being even better. Perhaps I should count my blessings. It may be worth my looking into the Mark 4 which also has a higher resolution.

ELNikkor

Your EM10 came out in spring 2014, (dark ages for mirrorless!) which was around when we bought our son a mirrorless camera. I could not stand the EV, as it lagged and dragged every time I moved the camera. I would never own a camera that did that, no matter how great its other features. Recently, I went into a Best Buy that had a long line-up of all the latest mirrorless cameras, and every one was a delight to hold and shoot, bright viewfinders and not a hint of the old "lag and drag" syndrome. Don't even consider going to DSLR, just find a more recent mirrorless & try it out, you'll be glad you did, good luck!

ELNikkor

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larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I have developed vision problems over the past few years that make electronic viewfinders very much a suboptimal choice for me. For a time, I thought that I just didn't like EVFs until it finally became obvious that my vision changes were at the heart of the issue. Optical viewfinders work much better for me.

In my experience, different cameras tend to have characteristically different shutter release sounds. There seem to be a variety of reasons for those differences, and sometimes there may be no reason at all. As already mentioned, the Nikon D810 has a very quiet shutter/mirror system. It has a sort of muffled, cushiony sound that is unlike any other I've heard and that is intriguingly almost pleasant. The D500 is not as quiet and does not have the muffled sound quality. But it does sound very "tight" and controlled, and is not unpleasant at all. The D850, on the other hand, which has a very high maximum shutter speed, is noticeably louder than the other two. I suspect that the difference stems not from the mirror at all, but probably from the shutter parts moving much faster than in either of the other two models. It is also possible that different materials are used in the D850 shutter, leading to the distinctive sound.

By the way, just for fun, I went back and pulled out my D300s to see what it sounds like. Sort of a chain of sounds making you want to hope that everything holds together until the exposure gets completed. But none of these are any more distracting than the two film SLRs that I still have in the cabinet...a Minolta SRT201 and an Olympus OM-2s, which is louder than either the OM-1n or OM-2n that came before.

ken_stern Loc: Yorba Linda, Ca

My Canon 5Ds in quiet mode is quite quiet

Alyn Wolf Loc: Colorado Springs