Stealthifying an M8 properly

My M8 is silver and no one really cares about it. In fact, those that do ask one out of two questions:

1) What camera is that? It looks really old. Is it film?

2) That looks like a toy.
 
If you're going to do this because you don't want to be a walking advertisement, then you need to carry this through all aspects of your life.

Don't stop at the camera. If you have a car, you need to remove its identifying logos. Same with your television and other electronics, your clothes, all food in your house and all items that can be identified by people who might be in your home. This includes film, because no one has the right to know what film you're loading into the camera. Remember to not label any of your photographic chemicals, because you shouldn't be wasting your time promoting a manufacturer's product.

Just make sure that you're consistent in what you do.
 
J. Borger said:
The whole idea of Leicas and not getting attention is an idea of the past in my opinion and experience. Taping the logo does not help very much.

Most people do not even know what a Leica is, let alone care about it!
People who know and care about Leicas will also recognise it with the logo and name taped.

Problem is you will always catch more attention with a Leica than with any P&S or DSLR.
For the simple reason 1 out of 2 people caries a camera these days, and that is mostly a P&S or DSLR. People getting used to these cameras.

A rangefinder or Rolleiflex will always look different!
Click to expand...

I agree...
 
Keith said:
In anticipation of getting my GR1v I was watching a youtube clip of Daido Moriyama prowling the streets of Japan with his little point and shoot.

Joel could take some notes here and possibly try being a little more subtle ... I like his photos though I must admit! 😀
Click to expand...

This guy was anything but subtle... every person he was photographing knew he was there... even with a tiny Ricoh. It was just that he went about his business quick and left the scene quick.
 
ZeissFan said:
If you're going to do this because you don't want to be a walking advertisement, then you need to carry this through all aspects of your life.
Click to expand...

No you don't. Nobody but me decides what brands I want to wear, show and advertise. And AGAIN, this is not about hiding that it's a Leica. It's about hiding the camera, and not even while shooting.
 
ZeissFan said:
If you're going to do this because you don't want to be a walking advertisement, then you need to carry this through all aspects of your life.

Don't stop at the camera. If you have a car, you need to remove its identifying logos. Same with your television and other electronics, your clothes, all food in your house and all items that can be identified by people who might be in your home. This includes film, because no one has the right to know what film you're loading into the camera. Remember to not label any of your photographic chemicals, because you shouldn't be wasting your time promoting a manufacturer's product.

Just make sure that you're consistent in what you do.
Click to expand...

I'm not trying to reach sainthood my friend.
 
I used black tape to cover the "M8" and the Leica dot. The camera looks a lot better now.

Just like the MP looks better than the M7.
 
Really if Makten likes a black logo, more power to him.

After all we are a group of camera nuts, among who can be found people who seriously argue and feel that their custom ostrish camera over makes it handle better, some like it pink. Suddenly black lettering don't seem entirely out of line, as a matter of fact, makten is probably one of the lest extreeme expressions of how he love his Leica camera.

If it make the camera less visible, don't know and don't care, if it makes Makten more happy and comfortable with the camera, then success is 100%.

personally I prefer leaving the cameras as they come out of the box, once I have peeled the stickers off, and then just wear off the finish one picture at a time.. in my strange taste there is nothing quite like the look of a camera used every day.

Chris, glad you found your barber for your "hair" which one specifically and what about the rest.?

Bob... WOW what a great shot.

Yanidel... love your blog.


Bo

www.bophoto.typepad.com
 
and the beat goes on...

and the beat goes on...

i will try 😀 not to jump on the bandwagon with the various merry pranksters and hooligans lambasting/cajoling/ribbing and other wise having a bit of fun with this thread (some of you guys have me rotflmao).

the rest of us just need to understand your path is - your path. i suspect each of us has a particular way of doing things our way that someone else would never dream of doing, but it suits us and that is really what counts.

still, you have received some responses that may be helpful - one in particular from patrickjames. i was thinking along the same lines with his street/urban disguise suggestions.

i think any brand camera that looks shiny and new will attract some attention. you might try a wrap of some sort - fabric or plastic or ? - something to help it match the surroundings you are in. you might try a little street/urban disguise yourself. maybe a street/urban ghillie suit...doh!! i couldn't resist the urge...that's as snarky as i'm going to get - i think.

breathe, relax and enjoy,

happy trails,
kennth
 
Last edited:
I am always surprised by the number of seemingly ordinary people in my city who have recognized my Leicas, even with black tape covering the M6/ M8, which is my preference.
This past weekend I was walking along Canal Street doing hip shots of people buying fake Rolexes and Chanel handbags at night and a barker/ security guy outside a shop called out "Now that's a real Leica." as I walked by.
(Maybe he had a couple fake M8's in the back of the shop...)

I've had local kids in Harlem ask me what kind of camera I had- "Man, that camera is so old, it probably doesn't even use batteries", they have said about my black M5.
They are partially correct, it uses batteries, they are just not made anymore, which is what I told them.
Anyway, for some red imitation leather is just the thing, for others, its black gaffers tape.
To each his or her own.
 
I was standing outside an un-named court house, in an un-named city waiting to catch the scrum as a couple of un-named garden variety terrorists exited their extradition hearing with a pair of leica's. I noticed fella noticing me noticing him from a few feet away.

After the usual series of elbows to the head and ribcages I turned to head back to mobile command (otherwise known as my van). Noticing guy quickly closes the gap and asked me "have you seen the M9 yet"?

There's more occasion but typing on an iPhone is balls!
 
I didn't have to use a solvent. My M8 lost the ruberized black M8 markings by itself after 1 year or so from too much rubbing/use. When it started to look ugly, I cleaned the rest with my nail... I was a bit annoyed at first that the materials used were poor quality then I just got used to it. My camera stealthied itself !
 
Fujitsu said:
I used black tape to cover the "M8" and the Leica dot. The camera looks a lot better now.

Just like the MP looks better than the M7.
Click to expand...

I'm not big on logos, but how does black tape look better than the Leica logos? It isn't like the logo is tasteless... and you can always see the tape... it never looks good IMHO.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom