you can use an android – just turn off all sounds pre-shot taking

Thanks for your comment Rod. We appreciate that the vast majority in Japan, S. Korea, and globally, are using their cameras ethically/responsibly and would simply like the option of silencing the shutter noise to avoid unwanted intrusion to others. This can be especially concerning in serene settings (e.g. art shows, classical music concerts, etc.) and we acknowledge such in the article. I believe it is important to note that the inability to mute the shutter noise is done during manufacturer of the iPhone for carriers in those countries wherein the governing authorities require that the shutter sound remain audible. In other words, iPhones for Japan (sold via Softbank and KDD) and South Korea (via KT) have been specially coded so that the shutter cannot be muted. For ProCamera to provide an override to that programming, would result in the prompt removal (disapproval) of our app in Japan and South Korea.

Thanks for the response.

It’s unlikely that providing silent shooting would result in the prompt removal of your app in Japan. The App Store has at least two apps that explicitly brand themselves as ‘spy cameras’ – Manner Camera and Secret Camera. They openly offer full support for furtive shooting and concealed photo storage. Complaints about their photo quality in reviews show that they’re not serious photo applications. While I have Manner Camera myself, I don’t use it because it takes grainy, low-res shots. They haven’t been promptly removed. Could Apple be sending its own message here?

ProCamera however is clearly not a quick and dirty spy application, and so if you quietly added a muting function, I think Apple would find it very hard to justify removing your app. And if they did, I for one would lambast them for it.

It would also help if makers of photography equipment wouldn’t supinely assent to the revolting ideas of people like Keio University Prof. Keiji Takeda who thinks everybody should be punished for the bad manners of a few. It’s no good simply advocating vigilance (quite right too) without also pushing back with some measured disobedience.

I do NOT take upskirt pictures, or downblouse pictures. However, I do use my camera to photograph people going about their usual business, although I would consider their privacy if I were to publish the pictures in any form. I also take pictures in art galleries. The sound of the shutter is obtrusive, and it turns heads. It makes people think they’re being photographed even when they aren’t. It makes you into a voyeur whether you are or not.

I also use my camera to photograph wildlife such as birds and wild boar at night. (Wild boar seem to ignore steady light, but they react to sounds.) The shutter noise is a great way of alerting animals and scaring them off.

For these reasons, I’ve developed the habit of shooting with my thumb held firmly over the speakers at the bottom of the phone. It works in most situations.

I think people who wear revealing clothing need to take their own measures if they care that much about the privacy of their various parts. And I think that makers of photography equipment and software should mind their own damn business, which is making it easy for people to take the best photographs. They should leave social manners to the discretion of the photographer.

Please add a silencer to your app so that we responsible photographers in Japan can get full value from the products that we have paid for.