do YOU guys mind being bothered by others commenting on your cameras?

msbarnes

msbarnes

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OK so some people don't like getting their pictures taken, I can understand that. But do you guys get annoyed when someone comments on your camera (e.g. Leica, Rollei, etc.)?

Well today I saw some dude with TWO M9's around his neck. I was with my Rollei so we chatted a bit.

One of his M9's had tape so I explained to my friend that they do that to be discreet and explained how it's kind of useless in my opinion because can't really hide a Leica. Most people don't know what a Leica is, so it wouldn't matter, but those who do know what a Leica is can spot one from a mile away...

He didn't seem annoyed or anything but I'm wondering if photographers/hobbyists prefer to not be bothered with their cameras...maybe that's one reason for the tape? I don't mind it at all myself, but maybe some do?
 
it does annoy me when people speak to me about cameras. reaffirms the vast perception of the importance of equipment vs what you make with it
 
Most of the time I would prefer to be invisible.
A couple weeks ago a bystander made a comment on my Camera.
"Is that a Leica" - then seeing the white Leica script on the top of my M9-P, called over a bunch of fellow students to see the wonder camera.
I was completely unprepared for such attention as this has never happened in 20 years of using my M6s.

When I got home I used a black sharpie marker to blot out the top plate script.
 
I don't really mind but it's kind of annoying if only for the issue where I don't really know what they want me to talk about. It usually falls along the lines of one of these

"Hey, is that a Leica?" "Yeah."

"How old is that camera?" "About 3 years."

"That's digital? I thought it was film. Can I check that out? How much does your camera cost?" "Sure. It's about $9k." "Wow, that's expensive (gently hands it back).

"How do you like the M9?" "It's ok, I like that it's sma..." "I have a 5D mk2, it's really great for low light."
 
Most people prefer to talk to me about my t-shirt or my tattoos, and that suits me fine (unless it's another photographer - I don't mind talking cameras with them).

I love when someone asks me "is that a film camera???"
 
the only time a person has ever known what camera I had was at a photo club event.

maybe it would have been different if I had had my Leica when I lived in Boston. Maybe the OM-1 and SRT-101 just aren't very recognizable cameras in the 2010s.

Luckily my M2 doesn't really need to be taped up. Cursive, like manual focus, seems to be a lost art these days.

as far as my reaction, I am thrilled to chat about cameras, film choices, influences (especially influences) and what kind of music people listen to when they process their photos.
 
Not at all, I've met quite a few new/interesting people when someone asks about my camera. Although I do get quite a few people my age oogling over it. More often than not it is older men who ask.

"Son is that a Leica? I haven't seen someone use one of those in years!" Is a pretty common theme haha
 
msbarnes said:
OK so some people don't like getting their pictures taken, I can understand that. But do you guys get annoyed when someone comments on your camera (e.g. Leica, Rollei, etc.)?
Click to expand...

No. Why would I?

Here I get more comments from taking pictures with a Zenit than I would with a Leica and I don't mind that either.
 
Most of the time I don't, they are usually nice comments followed by "What? Film?" I do get tired explaining how people still shoot film nowadays.

From where I'm at, I do get massive attention with my Rolleiflex though, People actually stop and watch me take pictures with it...
 
Not at all. Photographers these days tend to cop quite a few problems out in public for various reasons. If Joe Public wants to stop and chit chat for a couple of minutes to ask me about my film cameras, that's fine with me. I only ever seem to meet the nicest people, it provides opportunities to educate the general public that film is not actually dead, and it's good PR. On the very, very rare occasions I get any attitude, or smart-arsed comments about the age of my equipment, my response is invariably direct. But 90% of the time I will have a Rolleiflex with me, and these only ever attract positive attention, (and lots of it). Indirectly, a Rollei and Hassy got me my first photos published, because the owner of a boat I was photographing knew enough about photography to start a conversation, which led to an invitation to make some more formal shots of a former America's Cup race winner. It's all good, as far as I am concerned, but I can appreciate how professional photographers working to a schedule might feel differently.
Regards,
Brett
 
I don't mind talking about the gears as long as the discussion is restricted to their functionalities, not how much they cost or how rare they are. When you meet some stranger on the street, there's NO WAY you can talk about photography immediately because they have not seen your work and you have not seen their work. Talking about gears is the best ice breaker to keep the conversation going and future discussions possible.
 
The only camera I shoot regularly that gets very much attention is the Hasselblad. People are really into the "old skool" camera, or they (or their father) were past owners of one. I've heard that much more often than I'd have predicted. Interestingly, a few that had owned one before are often surprised you can still get film.

And no, I don't mind discussing gear in the least. Isn't that 99% of what goes on here?
 
richardhkirkando said:
I only get annoyed when people ask "What are you going to do now that Kodak is out of business?"
Click to expand...
How can we dance when our earth is turning.

I get ALOT of attention when shooting with my TLR. Very hard to take candids ;)


So far my fav. comment about my gear was...
Had my RF on the table at work. The nokton 1.1 was mounted. A coworkers friend was there (a digital forum freak, who spends more time on forums than taking pictures, you know the type). My coworker pointed at my camera. He looked at it and asked if it was a film camera. I said yup. Then he said: Oh, I have one like that at home, a zenit. And all his attention moved back to some superzoom lens with image stabilization.
You should have seen my grin after that...
 
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