Are You Afraid To Carry A Leica?

On the other hand a Canon 1D series camera makes a better blunt weapon. I don't think muggers are that brand-concious and if they are they are sure to go for the easiest-to-fence stuff. And that is either P&S camera's (just get a few more if you want to "earn" more) or DSLR's with many buttons. It is like a friend of mine who had his BMW broken into every other week in the centre of Amsterdam. He bought a Ferrari - never again. Unfamiliar = less attractive in the fuzzy mind of criminal junks.

Btw, where did you get that black logo, Didier? There must be gray ones around as well. I'd like to have some.
 
I don't think you're being naive, but a lot depends on where you photograph. I have never worried about carrying my cameras around & I've shot in plenty of marginal areas in big cities in the U.S. I can't speak w/any great authority to what goes on in other countries, but here, if I'm going to be mugged (something that's never happened to me, knock wood), then I figure I'm going to get mugged regardless of whether I have a camera. If I'm in a truly threatening environment, that would involve bodily harm & I have better things to worry about than my camera. As far as thieves targeting any particular brand of camera bag? I think that's even less likely than thieves targeting Leicas.

georgefspencer said:
Maybe this has been discussed before. I'm new to the forum. :eek:

On several forums I have read that people don’t want the Red Dot on their camera because it “screams” Leica and someone will see the dot and steal the camera. In another thread I mentioned that I used the Billingham Bag to carry my camera and a person responded that I was just asking to be mugged. Really?? Do you feel like you are in danger of having your Leica stolen?

Maybe I’m naïve but I just don’t feel threatened. I watch my “stuff” but I’m not paranoid. Am I being too being too lackadaisical? Are there people out there who are just waiting to steal my camera? (Personally, I worry more about someone stealing my digital SLR.)
Click to expand...
 
ElrodCod said:
I did exactly that with a brand new Rolex. Scraped the crystal against a concrete wall not ten feet from the store where I bought it. I didnt baby it after that & it served me well for 30 years.
Click to expand...

A Rolex it wasn't, but the few days after I bought my (pretty damn near top of the brand's line, mechanical watch with automatic winding and a chrome/stainless steel chassis) Swatch I just couldn't keep it away from walls...so now it has two sizeable cracks and a host of scratches, enough that I don't dare take it near water but not enough to interfere with any other usage issues.
 
The only problem while carrying a Leica is being pestered by Leicanauts while working. Situational awareness solves 99.99% of potential theft problems.
 
One of the best things about Leicas is that they look cheap to most people. A slightly different example, but i took mine to a concert tonight. Most places now don't let SLR's/dSLR's in, but you can get the leica in no problem: "it's just a cheap old film camera, it doesn't even have a flash" is a useful line.

Don't worry about shooting in the street with one. If you dont't shoot street with a leica for fear of it being stolen, it should belong to someone who will use it instead.
 
Most people that inquire about my camera usually asks "What kind of camera is that?" followed by "Is it expensive?"

In this day and age, I don't think there are many thieves that target Leica's specifically. Again, they'll probably go for the big, clunky, billion-button dSLR over our old fashioned looking things.

One thing I've learned is the way you present yourself. If you dress all bling and everything, you're going to stand out. You're going to get noticed. I used to wear a gold watch. People see gold watch. They think expensive. They look at the camera in your hand. They figure it's expensive as well. If they mug you, they'll probably take both. As for me, I've dropped that mechanical watch way too many times and I've damaged the inner movement pretty badly. I'm going to go get a digital Timex to replace it. They're a lot more rugged, they're waterproof, have loads of functions, glow in the dark, and they hardly draw any attention.

Just don't dress like a million bucks and you won't seem like a target.

Some countries/cities are known for their theives though. I was in Spain last summer and you can watch the pick-pocketers at work. They go up to big groups in pairs and try to blend in. etc etc. I was a little wary there..
 
I think if you're going to get held up you'll get held up regardless of what you're carrying- Leica MP or Olympus Pen. I've lived in some pretty marginal places- had a typewriter (aging myself there) stolen off the stoop while moving into one place in Harlem (and a nice part of Harlem), but I carried cameras around there all the time and never got any trouble. I too get the questions- "why are you taking a picture of that???" etc- much more than I get any grief or trouble. I think most folks are pretty honest like it or not, and if you are in a place where you're worried it is perhaps better to trust yourself and move along. That said, I have all the red dots covered, and the numbers covered on my cameras- better safe than sorry?? I've only once had some young guys ask me "what kind of camera is that?" and I brushed them off with "a really old fashioned one", then headed into the coffee shop for a little while. Usually people just stay away from me- I guess I seem more weird than they are.
 
I spent part of a summer recently not too long ago carrying a IIIf with a Summitar around. At least in the places I went, it was a head-turner -- many people stopped to admire it and told me they wanted one. The same for a Canon IIIa and a Kiev 4 that I've also taken out in public. I am not worried about being robbed (I am 6'-2" and strong looking), but more afraid of losing it. It also rains, is cold, snows, etc. in the real world -- real working cameras need to endure a few knocks -- that's not so compatible with maintaining a collectible.
 
I was in the West Indes a few years ago and was robbed. I was shooting some documentary work in a very poor and rough area and had my Nikon gear around my neck with a case with a few lenses in it. I had put all but about $7 US in my shoe before I went into the area. The friendly group that robbed me only took my cash (very disappointed in the $7) and took off without looking at my Nikons. This isn't to say others would'nt take the cameras too but they didn't.

Generally the only times I've had trouble, shot at once and chased by a guy swinging an axe at my head, have been in rough areas with my camera. My guess is you won't be in this kind of place.

The best prevention is to use good sense. Don't carry your camera around your sholder where it's easily snatched and don't leave it in your car where it can be seen when you're not there. Put the gear in the car floor with a coat over it but don't do that when anyone can see you.

In 40 + years of shooting I've never worried much about theft and have always used good sense.
 
maitrestanley said:
One thing I've learned is the way you present yourself. If you dress all bling and everything, you're going to stand out. You're going to get noticed. I used to wear a gold watch. People see gold watch. They think expensive. They look at the camera in your hand. They figure it's expensive as well. If they mug you, they'll probably take both. As for me, I've dropped that mechanical watch way too many times and I've damaged the inner movement pretty badly. I'm going to go get a digital Timex to replace it. They're a lot more rugged, they're waterproof, have loads of functions, glow in the dark, and they hardly draw any attention..
Click to expand...

that reminds me of the first conversation I had with Tony (Fred on this forum). I was at the time using my (now dearly missed) Zorki-4k, but we spoke about a lot of things, and appearance came into the conversation.

I said "Look at me, I'm wearing baggy grungey clothes, my hair is a mess, and the best you'd find on me is a 20 bag of weed, and I don't even smoke!"

I live by that principle. I know a lot of the nasty people in my area, and I've learnt who to avoid without stereotyping. I've also learnt that my parents groaning about my appearance could one day save me from being mugged.

That, and the brick in my pocket.
 
The "Leica in public" issue seems to have been addressed. I've been mugged several time in various countries and they never get ANYTHING out of me because I always seem to talk my way out of the situation. None of these muggers has ever looked twice at any of my cameras - cash is much easier for them to deal with and much more difficult for the authroities to trace.
As to the red dot issue - I'm constantly confounded. Why cover it up with tape? If a potential theif is savvy enough to recognize the significance of the red dot, chances are they will recognize a Leica with a piece of tape where the red dot normally is. A pointless exercise in my opinion. No offense to the dot-tapers out there! ;)
 
The only thing that was ever stolen from me was an Olympus PEN FT. Cut off the shoulder strap by pick-pockets
in a business crowd in the center of San Diego.

Roland.
 
Ash said:
Course he asked me about the camera, identified what it was, asked if it was valuable, how old it was, genuine questions about it and why I'd use it. And this was a bloke on his way to a football match. Anyway I told half-truths as I don't want to publicly state how much I like the camera, how much I spent, how many people are willing to spend a few hundred quid to get one etc etc.
Click to expand...

I get asked the same thing about my MP, "is that an expensive camera?" My standard response, "nah, t's a film camera, it's worth virtually nothing."

Jim Bielecki
 
I went to a talk given by a photographer in the '80s. He was one of those who went into the slums and took pictures of herion addicts.

Someone in the audience asked him if he wasn't afraid to go down there with thousands of dollars worth of equipment. The photographer said that sometimes people asked why he didn't have a good camera like a Nikon or Canon but that was about it.

Chad
 
Like photogdave, I never did understand the camera taping phenomenon. As Joe says..... "situational awareness"....or as I might say, "use your nose." :cool:
 
Knock wood the closest I've come to being relieved of a Leica was a few years ago when I was shooting in a depressed part of Harrisburg, PA.

A kid in his mid teens rolled up on me on his bike and informed me that he was going to mug me. I said, "Oh, yeah?". There was a few seconds of eye contact and then he rode away. If he had pulled a knife or some other implement of destruction I would have gladly handed it over. A new camera can be bought. To my knowledge, you can't buy a new life at KEH or on eBay.

That said, a Leica that stays at home safe and sound doesn't take very good pictures. Although I'm living proof that taking it with you doesn't guarantee positive results, either.

John
 
I normally never give a second thought to such things. I'm certainly not small
(6', 210) and in pretty good shape, and a Leica on a good strap makes a convenient weapon, if needed.
The lines quoted here about old film camera, worth very little, sound sensible to most people. They probably target the guy with the DSLR and the BIGG zoom, rather than a poor guy like me. Don't need Red Dot covers on an M3 either.

Harry
 
I carry a Billingham bag with two Nikon D2Xs SLR's, a 300mm F/2.8, 18-35, 50, 28-70 and a 70-210 f/2.8, and very occasionally a video camera and two tripods, for work most days...technically I'm a sitting target as I certainly couldn't run away, run towards or fight anyone who tried to relieve me of all that. Having said that I've never had any bother even in some very deprived areas. I'm 6ft 2in and some 14st but I doubt that makes any difference - there are plenty of people bigger and nastier than me........ What I do think makes a difference is the way you carry yourself, interact with those around you and the confidence you radiate. One situation may require you to act like one of the Kray twins even though you're a kindly sole such as me;-) Another may require humour and good will. As photographers we should be in tune with our surroundings and the people around us enough to extricate ourselves if things look like they may take a turn for the worse - though of course some people will always just be unlucky at least once.I will not worry about taking any camera onto the street for the simple reason, it is just a tool. I have owned other expensive tools that I have had stolen, vandalised and broken such as cars and never worried too much - it hasn't and will not stop me...I'm going to end up ranting in some awful ill-considered middle England Churchillian way if I'm not careful, so I'll stop.Suffice to say, beaches, landing grounds, fields and streets blah blah two fingers blah
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom