Re: [Leica] Black Tape

[Thomas Kachadurian <kach@freeway.net>]

Cameras are black for one very practical reason. In a photograph with
reflections, black doesn't show. Try shooting a shiny teapot with a chrome
camera. I've seen the reflection of a chrome camera in the shiny surface of
a leaf. 

It isn't all posturing

Tom

 At 04:07 PM 2/6/98 -0800, you wrote:
>D Khong wrote:
>
>> I have heard that Leica owners use black tape to cover parts of their
>> camera to prevent theft.
>
>In most cases, they're fooling only themselves.
>
>Thieves, for the most part, couldn't tell the difference between
>a Konica C35 and a Leica, nor would they even care at the time they
>attempted to steal it.  A thief, wanting to steal for quick cash,
>is interested only in the fact that it is a camera.  Putting black
>tape on a chrome camera doesn't really hide the camera (really now,
>if you were a thief and looking for something to steal, would you
>miss seeing a black camera, especially now that so many cameras
>are black?).  Taping over the red logo assumes way too much about
>the mentality of the common thief.  Anyone wise enough to know what
>a Leica is isn't going to be fooled by a taped-over logo anyway.
>
>Back in the late 1970s, one of the photo rag writers made a comment
>to the effect that "pros use a black camera because it's less
>conspicuous".  Considering that many of these pros were carrying a
>couple Nikon F2's with motor drive, flash units, and extra lenses,
>the use of black "to appear inconspicuous" sounded very silly.  That
>remark did, however, spur sales of black cameras (at a higher price
>of course) to poseurs and wannabe pros that just had to have a black
>camera.
>
>-Dave, still miffed that I couldn't buy a new champagne F3/T in 1988
>
>