me & mp

i really like my mp .85 in chrome...and with the chrome 8 element 35 pretty much dedicated to it...well it is a treat. my black m7 is very nice also and just has a different look to it, especially with the red dot and m7 black taped. i bought my 7 when they first came out and chrome wasn't available (at least when i was in the store)...
doubt if any of this helps but i'd go for chrome.
 
The stealth factor is a combination of the psychology of the photographer and the actual perceptual properties of the camera.

From the psychological point of view, if you believe your camera is stealthier then it will be (and so anything can be, so long as you believe it is). However from a perceptual point of view some cameras are more obvious than others. It's a truism, I know, but that's why it is true.

Black paint.
 
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I'll add my 2 cents. Get the chrome MP. It's the classic look, the quintessential Leica. A chrome Leica without the red dot- there's just nothing like it. IMO. No matter what engraving you choose; with a black lens or chrome, any combination you can think of, they just look good.

Stealth has nothing whatsoever to do with the color of one's camera body. The silly myth that the color of one's camera will have any kind of affect on the photos should be put to rest.

And if you are the type that goes in for the worn camera look, there exists a picture of the photographer Abbas with a worn chrome M3, with most of the chrome worn off, and raw brass showing through. (!) Talk about bad-ass! If you can ever get your camera to look like that, I don't know if you will look cooler, but your pictures will probably show some improvement from that much practice, and that's always a good look.
 
drewbarb said:
Stealth has nothing whatsoever to do with the color of one's camera body. The silly myth that the color of one's camera will have any kind of affect on the photos should be put to rest.

And if you are the type that goes in for the worn camera look, there exists a picture of the photographer Abbas with a worn chrome M3, with most of the chrome worn off, and raw brass showing through. (!) Talk about bad-ass! If you can ever get your camera to look like that, I don't know if you will look cooler, but your pictures will probably show some improvement from that much practice, and that's always a good look.
Click to expand...

I have the feeling that contrary to popular belief, the consensus is that the 'colour' of one's camera actually doesn't contribute whatsoever on the stealth factor (or whatever one may call the ability to pass unnoticed). Just check this thread to corroborate. Personally, I disagree with this (i.e. I disagree with the view that colour does not play any role in stealth).

If something perceptual, as is the shutter noise, influences the stealthiness of the camera, then so does colour, which is also perceptual. If you deny the latter I can't see how you can uphold the former. Perhaps that is something one does not give a toss about but that does not diminish the simple perceptual truth stated above: some things have a perceptual prominence that others don't. Between chrome and black, the first has perceptual prominence. Not just because it is shinier or brighter than black (it is, but never mind that) but because it is far more unusual in a photographic universe dominated by black, plastic DSLRs. (BTW my M2 is chrome, not black, and I have been stopped a number of times from people who know what it is and from people who don't).

And then of course there's what Tom said above. I couldn't agree more...
 
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i was having a beer with a visiting artist/photographer at a local brew pup. as we were leaving a somewhat crowded foyer i noticed, was aware that he popped off about ten frames while in the midst of this little crowd. he was using his chrome m4 with a very tattered vulcanite. the camera was up to his eye, shielded by the bill on his cap, and no one paid any attention or even noticed that he was shooting. i haven't seen what he shot or know if he got anything to please himself, but i was impressed with his inconspicuacy and that he just popped them off. the chrome body didn't catch anyones attention either.
 
tajart said:
he was using his chrome m4 with a very tattered vulcanite. the camera was up to his eye, shielded by the bill on his cap, and no one paid any attention or even noticed that he was shooting....the chrome body didn't catch anyones attention either.
Click to expand...

Nice story Tajart. That concealed shooting session is like it should be. Please note however that a user M4 with a tattered vulcanite is miles apart from a fresh from the box chrome MP, which is what is under discussion. The chrome MP looks (and is!) like a jewel and it will take years of dedicated service before it wins an appearance that makes it as unnoticeable as your friend's.

I will repeat: my M2 (in chrome) is far from a showstopper but it very often is. Chrome M's have the quintessential look of Leicas - it is as if the memory of what this camera looks is stored in our collective unconsious. Even if you had never seen one, you would know it was. Black Leicas look less like that and this could be an advantage.

Or so it seems to me anyway.
 
nowadays we see a lot of people photographing in streets and at places with their digtal püoint and shoot cameras.
Many of them also use big and fat DSLRs with gigantic zoomlenses.
Between those people a small solver MP is nearly unvisible,
no brand name, no camerastrap wiht "DIGITAL" on it.

Befor I bpought my MP I had a black M6, when the MP arrived,
my children asked me what an old fashiond camera that would be.
They realy thought the black M6 is more expencive and precious.

From my own personal experience the silver finish is less conspicuous than the black one.
And of course the hammertone is the very best in this context.
 
martin-f5 said:
nowadays we see a lot of people photographing in streets and at places with their digtal püoint and shoot cameras.
Many of them also use big and fat DSLRs with gigantic zoomlenses.
Between those people a small solver MP is nearly unvisible,
no brand name, no camerastrap wiht "DIGITAL" on it.

Befor I bpought my MP I had a black M6, when the MP arrived,
my children asked me what an old fashiond camera that would be.
They realy thought the black M6 is more expencive and precious.

From my own personal experience the silver finish is less conspicuous than the black one.
And of course the hammertone is the very best in this context.
Click to expand...

This is important too.

As the thread moves along I think that if I am right (and I think I am), I am not by much. In other words, even if black Leicas are more inconspicuous than their chrome siblings, they are not by much.

And that's why in practical terms it doesn't make any difference which one you choose.

It's Leica demo day today in London. Perhaps I 'll check that chrome MP after all 😉

Best to everyone,
 
Here`s my 2 bobs worth Magus. I`d buy the black paint MP, `cause it`s the closest you`ll get to a black paint M3. I tend to agree, it`s the attitude of the photographer, not the colour of the camera that gets noticed. That said it`s probably safer to look like a tourist than a serious photographer.
 
telenous said:
It's the photographer. And the camera.

If you take either out of the equation you have nothing.
Click to expand...

that's clever, but try arguing that he was able to shoot discreetly because his chrome m was worn down.
 
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