Oh, the wonderful sound of silence. There is nothing worse than trying to quietly capture the perfect still image during a filming, and then hearing the loud click of your shutter. This makes it seem impossible to work simultaneously with film crews.  Therefore, I decided to write a post on the benefits of utilizing Sony A9 Silent Mode.

I should start off by saying that I’ve had the privilege of providing production stills in Washington, DC for film projects for years.  While the Sony A9 and Sony A7rII are great cameras for a ton of reasons, the silent shooting mode has been a complete game changer in my work.  Normally on a typical project, coordinating with film crews really just means working around film crews. While  trying to get portraits between takes (sometimes just a few seconds at a time) can be stressful and unfortunately, sometimes causes me to miss out on the perfect moment that is impossible to recreate.  Well, not any longer! Those days are behind me.

The Sony A9 and Sony A7rll allow completely silent capturing. This is the joy of an electronic shutter. It is also a life-saver for those of us that shoot with production companies, video companies, or in highly sensitive situations. Chances are, it is unlikely to be afforded the luxury of trying to capture footage between filming breaks.

Furthermore, I’ve had four projects recently working in conjunction with film crews, and I’m thrilled with the new results! I turned off all the audio signals, and voila! Complete silence while documenting. Many of you may have the right camera, but may not know how to achieve this silent capturing sweet spot. While the A7rll is very intuitive when it comes to changing settings, the Sony A9 is not.

See below for the step-by-step instructions to explain how to turn the sound off on the Sony A9 so you can join the ranks of quiet shooting!

Here’s how:

1. Go to Menu 2 (the movie menu)

2. Scroll through the the last page option

3. This should be menu page 9

4. Then find ‘audio signals’

5. Choose ‘turn all off’

6. You’re done! Happy shooting!