Taping - do you do it? Show us!

I don't tape. I paint-marker. I blackout my cameras because I figure nobody else really needs to know or care what I'm shooting with. I get fewer random questions about the camera when there isn't text everywhere, and even that is enough reason for me to do it.

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EDIT: Also, apologies for the not-ragefinder, but it's my main axe. Also have a blackout Mamiya 645 and two more Canon bodies. The Canon 7 and Olympus Pen are as-is, but only because I have no black gaff tape presently.
 

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PAKE is a "Street" minded brand so the main customers would probably prefer unbranded look either for "practical" reason or just for the look of it. Same argument of "discrete" discussion happens all over bike forums. For some area or job, unbranded, beaten look or simply cheap bike works best against theft. For some area, it just doesn't matter because thieves are just scraping the frames for the metal itself. For some area, discrete look is just for hipster style.

My track bike with custom made frame has got absolutely no branding except a hidden signature of the frame builder. But because I live in the city full of hipsters, I gotta be careful parking that ride on streets. Just like camera, it mean nothing to some thieves (looking for huge DSLR, carbon frame bike), but some will target bikes like this (Leica names, lugged steel track bikes). Some times 1981 Bianchi with lots of scratches works better for anti-theft, custom fixie does better for some other times.

I guess camera is same thing. There were debates whether back or chrome works better for anti-theft/robbery. I guess that's also depending on where you are going. e.g. Black one looks more professional and valuable in cities, chrome one looks more expensive in some of developing countries.
 
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Here's my M5 the way I used it in Georgia in the fall.
I've since put on Griptac and removed the gaffer's tape.

When I put the tape on, I did care about whether it looked like a precious item or not; it was not so much about brand-name conspicuousness than about making it look more like the tool it is. In fact the camera is probably not unobtrusive at all, but in my opinion it's not about being unobtrusive, it's about looking like one belongs in the place one is in. The antithesis for me is not a camera with a red dot, it's red snakeskin - I hear people like that, too, but I would feel rather ridiculous with it.
 
While on the subject of bikes...somehow😕 - when I started time trialing in the early fifties, advertising of any description was not allowed ( UK ) so frames had fancy lugwork - usually 'picked out' in gold or white, and the makers name in a small scroll signature on the down-tube, and a brass painted shield on the steering tube.
Dave.
 
I don't think taping curtails thieves...THEY KNOW what camera they want to steal, logo or not....

The M5 has block letters on the front panel. Not fancy, but keeps up with the squarish body style..although, the top plate has the standard Leitz script and location of manufacture..

I kinda like "Bubba" without the white inserts (I do have them. and may have them re-installed, but have the white painted black). The White lettering "Leica M5" is not over done..Simple and Clean looking. Anyway, Bubba may not like blackened lettering 😉, I think the lettering on the M5 adds to its eye-candy appeal IMO 🙂 See Avatar...
 
Olsen said:
... Which 'other' country can theft be more of a 'real' problem than the country you already live in....?
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Do you mean the country each person already lives in or do you mean me? If me, then there are areas I would not go walking around in this country, that is for sure. When I work in other countries I often have no problem but there are areas that I have to go that are known by locals and people of the country to have problems with theft I take extra care. I have even been advised to make my equipment look old or tape over things like Nikon, Canon or any well known name. It just tends to get less attention to begin with. If it doesn't catch a person's eye, then the chances of having the item stolen as a planned event go down. I have seen this as I have lived in South America, China and a few other countries. There are areas in the countries mentioned, just like the US, that it pays to be vigilant. With regards to China, there is far, far more crime than you ever hear about. Over 10,000 people are put to death (though often not for a violent crime) every year but you won't hear about it or know the crime rate unless you live in the remote areas I did where the Central Government has no real control.

It really doesn't matter. I know what works and have been in very high crime areas and been fairly fortunate though I did have to fly from Puno, Peru to Lima because my passport got stolen. What a terrible though rewarding experience (a good lesson). I had a tight grip on my camera but not on my passport!
 
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DNG said:
I don't think taping curtails thieves...THEY KNOW what camera they want to steal, logo or not....
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I still would love some proof on this one because I can almost bet money that they dont - they are just looking for expensive looking things and or big dSLR's.

Example : I have a Nikon D2h and a Nikon 60mm Macro lens. This setup costed me around 350 pounds, I use it for Macro pictures.

If I were to leave this, unattended on a coffee table in the street, having my Leica MP Anthracite + Leica WATE next to it, which costs about 14 times more than the D2h and lens, I can bet you that if the thieves had only one chance to take one of the cameras, they would take the D2h. It just screams " BIG EXPENSIVE DSLR ".

They are opportunistic and take whatever they can. The idea of a picky thief, for me , its almost hilarious. Unless they are ex-Leica shooters that went broke because they were in 192 lists for a M9 and all the 192 stores got M9's and their credit cards were automatically charged.....

I sincerely thing that the only tape that can successfully prevent the camera from being stolen effectively is you tape the camera to your arm......
 
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Careful you might lose your arm. Here in my country some snatchers will cut off your wrist or fingers if they can't take your watch or ring off from you.

I agree there are no specialized camera thieves, for them digital and big is the fastest to dispose off and make money.
 
I'm not too worried about thieves, though I do carry multi-thousand dollar cameras through the third world. The more beat-up it looks, the better it fits in.

All I know is, based on my own experience the last thirty years, I got tired of being distracted by people seeing my, first, Canon, and later, Nikon logos, and engaging me in conversation about my opinions of camera equipment. When I started putting tape over the Nikon logo, the questions all but stopped and people paid much less attenton to the camera, allowing me to pay more attention to the photography. I can remember an American soldier eyeing my taped up F and asking, "What kind of camera is that?" Then seeing it had no logo, answered his own question, "Oh, it's just a generic camera."

Obviously cameras don't make us invisible. But to most people, black rangefinders look something like a point and shoot minus all the light-up focus aids. If it's got some tape on it, it just looks less new and less flashy.

Then there's my beloved first Nikomat FTn which needs duct tape to hold the film back closed securely. Love that camera, too, even though I haven't run film through it in a long time.
 
DNG said:
Is that an old Zeiss 35mm Biogon mounted...or J-12?
I'd guess you made a channel at 6-0-CLOCK to disable the pin for the meter. A work of art 😎
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It's a J-12, and that's exactly what I did. Helps with collapsible lenses, too. 🙂
 
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