Korea Requires Camera Phone To Add Shutter Sound

from the click-click dept

Tue, Nov 11th 2003 9:10am — Mike Masnick

They're not the only ones, but the latest to jump on the "shutter noise" solution to the "camera phone problem" is South Korea. Starting next year, they're going to require new camera phones to include a loud clicking sound when someone takes a picture, mimicking an analog camera. The only purpose for such a noise, of course, is to alert people around you that you're taking a picture. In some ways, this seems silly, and down the road people will look back on this and find it an amusing historical example of people over reacting to new technology.

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8 Comments

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nft, 11 Nov 2003 @ 10:55am

my sprint fone already...
My Sprint VGA 1000 already does this. I can choose between two shutter noises, but not turn it off. I guess it makes sense to somebody, but not me...
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xdroop, 11 Nov 2003 @ 1:12pm

No Subject Given
They going to require the inevitable video camera phones to make loud whirrrr-ing noises?
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Nov 2003 @ 1:46pm

People want to know
The fact is, people want to know if any kind of surveillance is being done on them. With all of the posts on speed cameras nabbing drivers, it should be clear - some people do not like having pictures taken of them. The noise of a shutter allows the subject of the photo to object. This is a mechanism of social feedback. That having been said, I turn off the shutter noise when I am taking photos of the cats, who will scurry away at the beep, but not the flash.
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Beck, 11 Nov 2003 @ 2:04pm

No Subject Given
Of course, once you hear the shutter sound it's too late.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Nov 2003 @ 2:12pm

No Subject Given
how will this benefit the subjects of these photos if they are deaf?
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data64, 11 Nov 2003 @ 2:22pm

Re: People want to know
The question is "Why does this apply only to Camara phones ?" Digital cameras have been around for ages and what exactly is it that you can do (with regards to picture taking) with a camera phone that you cannot with a digital camera.
Would this law also apply if I got a camera accessory and a phone addon for my PDA ?
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PRMan, 14 Apr 2008 @ 2:54pm

Mine makes the noise unless the speaker is turned off
On a Treo, just use the hardware switch to turn the speaker off.

On other phones, you might try finding the WAV file that makes the shutter noise and replace it with silence....
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Nov 2014 @ 2:49am

It's because a lot of people here n in Japan take up skirt photos of women so the noise prevent these perverts from doing that
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