In the mirrorless age of photography and with the proliferation of electronic shutters, some photographers never get to hear the satisfying sound of a large mechanical shutter opening and closing.
It may sound silly, but for those of us who grew up with film cameras or older DSLRs, something can feel like it’s missing when you capture an image with today’s quiet cameras. Even mechanical shutters are much quieter. While shutter advancement pays big dividends in terms of overall performance and durability, it’s hard not to miss the loud ‘click’ of some older cameras.
To help bring back some of that lovely camera sound, photographer Sails Chong has published a video featuring the shutter sounds of a wide variety of cameras, from smaller 35mm cameras to large format film cameras.
Featured cameras include a Pentax SP with self-timer, an Olympus OM-1, Rolleiflex 3003 AS-IS (which sounds incredible), Contax 645, and even a large format Sinar DB mount camera.
Sails Chong does much more than record camera shutter sounds. He’s a Phase One ambassador and a Broncolor ambassador. Be sure to check out his Instagram to see many great photographs. Also, Chong’s YouTube channel is full of behind-the-scenes videos and tutorials. There’s a lot of great content there, especially if you want to learn about Phase One cameras, Broncolor lighting or just general photography tips.
If you can’t get enough of camera sounds, you’re in luck. We’ve featured other videos showcasing the sights, but mostly sounds, of cameras before.
In 2019, we shared a video from YouTuber Scott Graham in which he memorialized 37 cameras he was selling by recording their shutter sounds. Check out the eclectic mix of cameras and sounds in Graham’s video below.
About a year after sharing Graham’s video, we wrote about a similar video from photographer Ace Noguera. In Ace’s video, he features cameras from as far back as the 1940s.