take the tape off!

Interesting reasons for putting tape over the Leica logo here. I have all kinds of cameras--several Nikon DSLRs, Olympus DSLR & SLR, and Leica Range Finders and SLR.

I have been approached in public but it happens once every Decade. I usually approach other Leica shooters when I see them just as a mutual sign of respect.

I don't believe putting tape over the Leica Logo is fooling anybody at all. My M3 has no logo but many have recognized it as a Leica. In fact, the other day, I pulled my Non Logo having M3 out of the bag, and my boss looks at it and says "that is an expensive German made camera. They make some of the best cameras in the world." My boss took a photography class in high school many decades ago, he no longer shoots, but he still remembers.

Those who know--know, tape or no tape. Those who want to know will find out tape or no tape. Putting tape over the logo is sort of like masterbation--it makes one feel good, but it does not produce life ;-)
 
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akptc said:
So... if you have a silver chrome M7, what kind of tape would you use?
Click to expand...
I have the camera and no-one has ever said a word about it to me. So I would say none, it's not necessary. Otherwise regular duct tape which I think is a silver color.
 
joebt said:
Interesting reasons for putting tape over the Leica logo here. I have all kinds of cameras--several Nikon DSLRs, Olympus DSLR & SLR, and Leica Range Finders and SLR.

I have been approached in public but it happens once every Decade. I usually approach other Leica shooters when I see them just as a mutual sign of respect.

I don't believe putting tape over the Leica Logo is fooling anybody at all. My M3 has no logo but many have recognized it as a Leica. In fact, the other day, I pulled my Non Logo having M3 out of the bag, and my boss looks at it and says "that is an expensive German made camera. They make some of the best cameras in the world." My boss took a photography class in high school many decades ago, he no longer shoots, but he still remembers.

Those who know--know, tape or no tape. Those who want to know will find out tape or no tape. Putting tape over the logo is sort of like masterbation--it makes one feel good, but it does not produce life ;-)
Click to expand...


There are definitely people who wouldn't be able to differentiate between a leica m2 and a yashica GSN. It's like when your girlfriend/wife asks you whats different about her. You say Shoes/hair/clothes because it's what they usually buy, but in fact they changed their lipstick from garnier "pearl cream" to nutriesse "cream sparkle" Most men can't tell, but they still know the famous brand names of the lipstick.

Most people know the Leica or Canon or Nikon name, not many people can tell cameras apart.
 
I have to say, as I full time shooter, you folks are strange bunch.

I used to think that maybe taping a camera when covering things like the L.A. riots or another keep it low key type of thing would be advantageous, but it actually is not.

A couple years ago, while shooting a star studded memorial service for a famous author, a gentleman who had his camera taped, was asked to leave. When I asked the PR person what happened ( I actually had credentials ) She said: "Oh that guy, LOL? He was so obvious with his cameras taped up like a dork"

Taping cameras is for amateurs who either want to look like what they think a pro looks like or simply have an agenda. If someone is going to pay attention to your camera and ask you about it, then you have to be able to field questions in a polite but short manner.

Taping for stealth or for looks is lame...

Now on my SLRS and the lenses, I have a little gaffers tape here and there for doing things like locking focus or zoom in place, taping filters on when I don't have time to deal with or I simply forgot a step up ring.

Then the tape has function...
 
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KM-25 -
Respectfully, would you consider this a legitimate reason to tape my camera (quoted from first page)

"I have a bit of tape on my 30d over the "30d" logo and sometimes over the canon logo but sometimes not. I find when I'm out I get miriads of people coming up to me and going "oh you have a 30d - I have a 350d and it has the same megapixels blah blah blah" or when I'm working at on a real estate job I often get owners scrutinizing me by my equipment - Some of them recognise that I'm using a 30d and make comments about a pro photographer using a "low end" camera which really isn't cool. So I put some black tape over the 30d and hey! No more bitchy comments."
 
Never taped a camera myself, I only took the partial present white out of the lettering of my M4-2. Thus blacking it out. Didn't like the loud lettering anyway. So now it's only there in relief which is much more subtle.
 
Putting tape on it really makes the difference between

"Ohh this is a Leica"

and being ignored.

Too many different logos on a working set already ....

204793936-M.jpg


If I want to be noticed, I take the cobra ...
 
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fdigital said:
There are definitely people who wouldn't be able to differentiate between a leica m2 and a yashica GSN. It's like when your girlfriend/wife asks you whats different about her. You say Shoes/hair/clothes because it's what they usually buy, but in fact they changed their lipstick from garnier "pearl cream" to nutriesse "cream sparkle" Most men can't tell, but they still know the famous brand names of the lipstick.

Most people know the Leica or Canon or Nikon name, not many people can tell cameras apart.
Click to expand...

So who are you hiding the camera from those who cannot tell a Leica Rangefinder from a Nikon D2x? Why would they approach you anyway? Typically people don't like to sound stupid or embarrass themselves, so I don't think you would get a lot of uninterested people, who cannot tell the difference between a Rangefinder and a Medium Format Camera trying to bond with you--unless, he or she are interested in you and not the camera.

My point is, those who know cameras will know what is being hidden under the tape, and the majority of them don't care enough to approach Leica owners/users. I was introduced to Leica Photography by way of having a Leica Pro Photographer approach me while I was out eating lunch with my girlfriend. I had a Panasonic LC1, with a Leica SF20 Flash attached. He approached me and invited me to his Leica Street Photography Workshop. He also let me handle his Leica M7. I attended the workshop and shortly after the workshop, I brought my first leica M6TTL and a 50mm Cron.

In another incident, I ran into a Leica user in Washington DC who was carrying a beautiful Leica MP. I wanted to ask him about the softy he had on the MP. The guy was happy I approached him, and after talking for a few minutes, he told me where to order a softy, and he unscrewed the softy on his and gave it to me as a small token of his esteem.

You don't have to justify the tape over the logo to me. You can decorate your camera anyway you want to.
 
joebt said:
So who are you hiding the camera from those who cannot tell a Leica Rangefinder from a Nikon D2x? Why would they approach you anyway? Typically people don't like to sound stupid or embarrass themselves, so I don't think you would get a lot of uninterested people, who cannot tell the difference between a Rangefinder and a Medium Format Camera trying to bond with you--unless, he or she are interested in you and not the camera.

My point is, those who know cameras will know what is being hidden under the tape, and the majority of them don't care enough to approach Leica owners/users. I was introduced to Leica Photography by way of having a Leica Pro Photographer approach me while I was out eating lunch with my girlfriend. I had a Panasonic LC1, with a Leica SF20 Flash attached. He approached me and invited me to his Leica Street Photography Workshop. He also let me handle his Leica M7. I attended the workshop and shortly after the workshop, I brought my first leica M6TTL and a 50mm Cron.

In another incident, I ran into a Leica user in Washington DC who was carrying a beautiful Leica MP. I wanted to ask him about the softy he had on the MP. The guy was happy I approached him, and after talking for a few minutes, he told me where to order a softy, and he unscrewed the softy on his and gave it to me as a small token of his esteem.

You don't have to justify the tape over the logo to me. You can decorate your camera anyway you want to.
Click to expand...


I understand your point of view, but for me - I like to have some of my cameras taped. An example I gave earlier clearly illustrates why. To repeat - I tape the model name of my canon DSLR because it is a "prosumer" model and I use it in real estate/architecture shoots for clients. When someone that owns the property I am photographing knows the model names of the cameras, sometimes I get a very snobbish "only using a 30d huh?.... Aren't the 1d's professional cameras?" etc and I found after taping the model name over with black tape, I do not get this question anymore.

Also I mentioned before that the white logo on a black camera can catch peoples attention more. If a knowlegable person would like to chat to me about my cameras, I take the time and chat.
You can't argue though that a big NIKON logo in white on the front of a black camera isn't going to catch more attention than just a plain black camera.
 
fdigital said:
When someone that owns the property I am photographing knows the model names of the cameras, sometimes I get a very snobbish "only using a 30d huh?.... Aren't the 1d's professional cameras?" etc
Click to expand...

Gavin, next time you should use your OM 😀
 
fdigital said:
I understand your point of view, but for me - I like to have some of my cameras taped. An example I gave earlier clearly illustrates why. To repeat - I tape the model name of my canon DSLR because it is a "prosumer" model and I use it in real estate/architecture shoots for clients. When someone that owns the property I am photographing knows the model names of the cameras, sometimes I get a very snobbish "only using a 30d huh?.... Aren't the 1d's professional cameras?" etc and I found after taping the model name over with black tape, I do not get this question anymore.

Also I mentioned before that the white logo on a black camera can catch peoples attention more. If a knowlegable person would like to chat to me about my cameras, I take the time and chat.
You can't argue though that a big NIKON logo in white on the front of a black camera isn't going to catch more attention than just a plain black camera.
Click to expand...

Honestly, if I cannot identify a camera, I become more inquisitive. I'm curious to see if you are beta testing something new. I do see other photographer’s eye balling my gear from time-to-time, and when they see it's a 35mm camera, they normally dismiss me as a nut who's still stuck in the 60s.



I actually had an M7 user turn his nose up at my M6TTL--go figure.



I love Leica Rangefinders, and I'll talk to anyone who wants to discuss Leica Photography, as long as I'm not too busy. My favorite Leica is my M3, but that is because of the Viewfinder and build.


I do not have any Nikon or Olympus camera straps on my gear though.
 
I think the tape is a dumb idea. If someone has an interest in Leica, I doubt the tape would fool them. Its not like there are many cameras to get M's confused with when you tape the logo. I like debadged camera's, but tape just looks silly.
 
oscroft said:
Is it really that common to have people in the streets walk up and try to start talking about cameras? It's never happened to me (Admittedtly I haven't been toting a Leica for long, but I've carried all sorts of other cameras around over the years).
Click to expand...

It happens in NYC. I've had people yell "Leica!", even though the logo is taped over. Heck, I've had people yell "Leica!" when I carry my Contax G2 or Minolta CLE.
 
Actually, I tape for a very practical reason - when I am photographing people directly I found they would look at the camera logo rather than the lens. This impacted the image because they would not be looking directly at the camera. Once I taped the body logos, the problem stopped.

I very thought tape would make a camera less obtrusive. If folks did not notice the big black box with a huge round glass lens and a few tiny glass windows I was holding in front of my face, they would probably not be bothered by a few white letters.
 
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