Visually, black should be more discreet. However, if the purpose is to deter thieves, they probably think silver = hard to pawn filmy.
Edit: Unless you live in Seattle, have gel in your hair, wear skinny jeans, thin prescription glasses, and carry an Indiana Jones leather bag, then they know it's worth some coin.
Have had a black leica m8, and now a silver m9p. With the black camera there were a lot of people recognizing it as a leica (also had the red dot). With the silver leica less people this far have recognized it. Though got some reaction of people thinking it was an old film camera.
Bijltje wrote:
Have had a black leica m8, and now a silver m9p. With the black camera there were a lot of people recognizing it as a leica (also had the red dot). With the silver leica less people this far have recognized it. Though got some reaction of people thinking it was an old film camera.
If I went M9-P, I would have considered the silver. Since I went M9, I went with black. I put a black Leica dot on it, so it doesn't scream Leica...at least I don't think so. If I ever do the M9-P upgrade, I'm not sure which color I'd pick, but I'd probably stick with black.
Color really has nothing to do with it, its all about how you carry yourself. You can shoot stealthy with a huge DSLR if your comfortable, or raise a bunch of peoples guard with something as tiny as a camera phone if your awkward and feel uncomfortable.
People walking down the street aren't paying attention to camera color etc. They are paying attention to people who's behavior seems a bit "off".
Doesn't matter if your camera was some super high tech adaptive camo material. If YOU as the photographer look totally uncomfortable and it shows in your body language, people pick up on it.
Secret Service doesn't scan the crowd looking for a silver or black weapon, they look at the behavior of the crowd and who's acting a bit odd.
What makes a bad shoplifter stand out from all the other people in the store ? The way they carry themselves and how that changes when they are about to stick an unpaid for item into their pocket, or how they draw attention to themselves after the fact.
Humans are very well evolved to be able to read body language, even on a subconsciousness level.
If a given color makes the photographer feel more comfortable though, placebo effect as it may be, that can provide some real benefit though.
My Contax SLRs are black. My Zeiss Ikon folders are all black. My Rollei 6008i is black. My GXR is black. My CY lenses are black. My ZM and CV lenses are all black. Schneiders, all black. Even the enlarging lenses are black. Every one of these pieces works as new today.
The X100 which didn't agree with me and contracted Sticky Aperture Blade syndrome was silver and black.
The one Nikon I've owned was not black. My wife killed it.
My Yashica TLR was that grey green. Someone threw it in a pool one day.
Various sundry other point and shoots were not black but were mostly silver. They all died or became useless.
There were others but I think the trend is clear here: black cameras have lasting power here at Chez Watkins, the others tend to get killed in one way or another. I'm not superstitious in the least but it seems that for safety's sake, or for improved chances of camera longevity, I should always choose black!
I completely agree with millsart, and was the point I was going to move onto before my typo .
Example. The a900 is a large dslr. Attached with a large lens (16-35/2.8). It's also loud, not far off a P67 really. But I'm quite relaxed when I shoot, it rubs off on people and they feel more comfortable. This was shot from the hip. If it were silver I don't think it would have made the faintest difference.
ricardovaste wrote:
I completely agree with millsart, and was the point I was going to move onto before my typo .
Example. The a900 is a large dslr. Attached with a large lens (16-35/2.8). It's also loud, not far off a P67 really. But I'm quite relaxed when I shoot, it rubs off on people and they feel more comfortable. This was shot from the hip. If it were silver I don't think it would have made the faintest difference.
I mostly agree, too, although I'm not sure that taking this shot from the hip really illustrates the point.
@Doug: Well my point was that its about how you act rather than what equipment you use / what your equipment looks like, hence an image shot from the hip. Perhaps that isn't what millsart meant, but was what I was getting at at least.
i always associate black with cheaply painted brass and plastic. my black cameras look beat up after i've used them for a bit. most of my silver cameras have been endured my use better and to my mind look more attractive (except for the plastic silver ones, those look like crap and look worse with wear).
on the other hand, if you're ever shooting through glass, having a black camera is better for reducing reflections.
