EOS 90D Silent mode settings

[Ramsden]

Hi folks

Another odd question from across the pond with my EOS90D.L

I'm currently on holiday and different settings with lots of trams and cafes, which is when I tend to slip into 'street photography'.

My camera is normally set to the mechanical shutter sound, which is too loud. But when I switched to One Shot S and electronic curtain, i still get a noise.

Then I eventually figured out the Electronic mode which is a much better, but takes more time to set up, and then it disengages after the shots.

So my question is based on how to set silent Electronic shutter so that it stays set, till I want to change it?

Or what am I doing wrong with One Shot S?

Thanks as ever.

Ramsden 

[Waddizzle]

Because a DSLR has a mirror, it cannot be operated in total silence 100% of the time. At some point the mirror must be raised and then lowered.  Your 90D is significantly quieter than previous models.

[Ramsden]

Thanks - that makes sense. I'm still nervous doing street photography so will tread carefully!

[ebiggs1 · Accepted solution]

It's never going to be silent so I would just continue to use it normally. I went through the whole 'silent mode' a long while back when confronted with persnickety priests, there's more than you might think, in some wedding settings.

Of course I have no idea of the laws in other countries but in the US nobody in a public place has an expectation of privacy so they are fair game to photograph. I would and I do refrain from taking pictures of minors though.

 You can freely shoot photos of people, police officers, and buildings from public property without consent. However, some common sense must be used for instance public restrooms or dressings rooms at retail stores, etc. There you do have an expectation of privacy so you can not shoot there freely. IMHO, to me there is really no need for a totally silent mode.

[Ramsden]

Thanks EB. Common sense approach applied. Its still fun though, and I really enjoy the process.

[Waddizzle]

It will always make sounds when you use the viewfinder.  The mirror must move.

However, you can raise the mirror and keep it there in Live View mode for complete silence.  Bring extra batteries. 

[Ramsden]

So is that the electronic setting - and why does it use more juice. Just curious.

[Waddizzle]

“ So is that the electronic setting - and why does it use more juice. Just curious. “

I really don’t know.  I haven’t used a 90D. I would have to read the manual.  

[ebiggs1]

"... why does it use more juice."

The mirror's normal resting place is down. When you press the shutter button you activate an electromagnet that flips the mirror open. Springs shut it down again. It takes battery power to do this but most exposures are quick so little battery power is consumed. However when you use LV the electromagnet has to keep the mirror open for longer so lots of battery power is needed as long as the mirror is in the up position.

The action of a DSLR mirror is pretty violent if you just think about it. You are moving a stationary mass form zero to open back to zero in fractions of a second. Sometimes just 1000th's of a second it is quite amazing that it can even be done and last for hundreds of thousands of acutations.

[Waddizzle]

As I recall, the 90D had a feature that allowed it to behave like a mirrorless camera. It must have had a mechanism that could lock the mirror in a raised position without drawing power from the battery.  The autofocus features described in the following screenshots of the 90D User Guide are showing menus that are similar to those in the R Series camera menu system.