A sound blimp is a
housing
Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and housing authority, assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of Shelter (building), shelter. Housing ensures that members of so ...
attached to a camera which reduces sounds, such as
shutter click on
SLR cameras, and motors on motion picture cameras. It is primarily used in
film still
A film still (sometimes called a publicity still or a production still) is a photograph, taken on or off the set of a movie or television program during production. These photographs are also taken in formal studio settings and venues of oppo ...
photography, so as not to interfere with the shooting of
principal photography, and also in other situations where sound is distracting: theatrical photography, surveillance, and wildlife photography.
It was invented by Irving Jacobson in the mid-1960s, and revolutionized film still photography by allowing stills to be taken during shooting, rather than after the fact.
Construction
In construction, it is a rigid box, filled with foam, with holes for the lens and viewfinder, and switches so one can focus and release the shutter from the outside of the case.
One ca
make oneusing an existing camera case and a
cable release;
Pelican cases by
Pelican Products are frequently mentioned.
A soft enclosure, the Camera Muzzle, is made by Sam Cranston; this is less effective than a hard enclosure, but significantly cheaper and easier to use; it is designed to be sufficient for most non-intrusive use, but not for demanding use such as film sets.
Nikon makes a
leatherette soft camera case, the CS-13 (NIK446), which suppresses sound somewhat, but is designed primarily for the film advance of film cameras, and provides little effective suppression for digital cameras. A similar solution was Minolta's Insulation Case (6081-660, 43325-74196-8), primarily designed for film SLRs used at low temperatures, but also advertised to reduce camera sound.
Forum article in German Minolta-Forum discussing the Insulation Case and other solutions
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See also
* Film still
A film still (sometimes called a publicity still or a production still) is a photograph, taken on or off the set of a movie or television program during production. These photographs are also taken in formal studio settings and ve