Black or Silver? Poll

Black or Silver? Poll

  • Black

    Votes: 646 50.7%

  • Silver

    Votes: 426 33.4%

  • Not bothered. Worthless question anyway!

    Votes: 203 15.9%
  • Total voters
    1,275
jaapv said:
It is too funny - many previous Leicas that were supplied in chrome had their highly sought-after black paint counterparts, considerably more expensive too. When brassed - so much the better. The paint was made soft on purpose. Now, a paint-like black coating is standard and it is being called "cheap" And people complain about chipping the coating. Rotflmao! In the seventies every self-respecting rookie would attack his new camera with sandpaper and hammer.
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🙄

Black chrome *is* the correct answer, unless you are Jim Marshall.
 
One of the best reasons to buy an M9-P rather than an M9 is that you can have it in silver chrome rather than grey paint. Then it sort of looks like an M2, which is no bad thing. Maybe they'll do one with the baroque mouldings and the ground-glass frameline illumination window of the M3 at some point? That little fresnel lens always looks a bit cheap on a camera costing as much as a small car.
 
Black for me. Black M6 and M8. I've always preferred black cameras, more subtle and they age beautifully. Especially the Leicas!
 
My M2R and M4 were chrome. My M8 was black. My M9 is black. In general, I like black Leicas better but the silver M9P sure looks great. A classic beauty. It is on my long range must have list... like when the M10 has been out a while and the M9P is in the $3,000 - $4,000 price range on the used market.

Still, I am perfectly happy with my black M9 with a small square of electrician's tape over the white letters. - Not because it is stealthier but because the white letters are so huge and crass. The little red dot can stay. It balances the design.
 
inthethick said:
Forgive me, black and gaffer tape for stealth is self-delusion. Four fifths of the world out there don't know what Leica is, much less how much it costs.
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I totally agree with this. In fact I will go further.

Placing black tape over the branding and red logo is the singularly most pretentious aspect to Leica ownership. I'm pretty sure that it all started with somebody reading something about some famous journo who was doing it. And so now we have every Leica-carrying mug on the block doing the same.

So, in fact, for most, it's not really about concealment, but rather a distinctly loud, "Hey look at me, look at me!"
 
The only reason I would put tape on my M8 is if I thought it would preserve the condition of the exterior. Fortunately there are more aesthetically pleasing ways to do it. 😉
 
inthethick said:
Forgive me, black and gaffer tape for stealth is self-delusion. Four fifths of the world out there don't know what Leica is, much less how much it costs.
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Agreed. Black tape might work with a Nikon or Canon, but most people would think any Leica rangefinder looks like a cheap old camera, even a brand new M9 or M7. They are stealth as is, and unless you put bright red leather on them, I think you are OK unless you go onto an art school campus. 😉
 
SDK said:
Agreed. Black tape might work with a Nikon or Canon, but most people would think any Leica rangefinder looks like a cheap old camera, even a brand new M9 or M7. They are stealth as is, and unless you put bright red leather on them, I think you are OK unless you go onto an art school campus. 😉
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The only place anyone ever recognized my camera as a Leica was at an in-store gig of a friend's band!

Lefty's Records Battleship Gray Gig


Battleship Gray Gig, Lefty's Records, Lincoln, NE, October 28, 2011 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr
 
candid photog advice

candid photog advice

Chrome is the new black, meaning a silver camera looks cheaper! In the days of Cartier Bresson, whom taped his M3 with black tape in order to shoot more stealthy. Now a pro photog would choose a silver camera which would look like a non professional low end digital camera. When shooting people candid, it is best to choose a little camera.
It is worthless to say that using a big ol SLR in silver wouldn't change the thing.

Silver or black is not the point, it is also a question of size of the body, speed of focus (rangefinder all the way), and most importantly the size of the lens!
I just bought a tokina 300mm f2.8, that alone weight 2.5KG and measure 35cm with hood, so no stealth for that setup!

That is the reason why I bought the nex3 in silver as it looks so cheap (bought it 150€ so it's really cheap).

I would love soni to release the nex 7 in silver as well for the aformentioned reason.
 
jack palmer said:
Really? The paint was made soft on purpose? And some tried to make them look well used and brassed? If true, some people do some pretty stupid things. I don't get it. What's the attraction of of a black paint camera with the paint worn through and chipped off?
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It was not a soft black paint on purpose this is ridiculous. The thing is black paint or any paint hold badly on brass. That is why the black paint leica when used even gently brassed around the edges. The price is only due to rarity like anything leica for instance. IF all the girls were all exquisitely beautiful I would search around the world for the rare ugly ones!
 
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