Taping over camera names/types

[kshapero]

I am a taper and proud of it.

 

[Kwesi]

In some cultures taping is pretentious...in others it is a mark of humility. In either case it's never about the camera

 

[VisualDarkness]

I mostly shoot with Voigtländer and Pentax cameras and 99.9999999% (statistically proven) of the people I meet in the streets gt no idea what those are anyway.

 

[Dpingr1]

Tape over the logos always makes me think of the cameras in those pre-1970s movies and TV shows, before anyone would pay for product placement. I saw one movie where they covered up "Nikon" on a Photomic. Kind of like covering up "VW" on a Beetle. But they left the big "F" exposed -- a subtle jab at Nikon?

 

[sebastel]

The real question is...why are we all looking at this thread and not out shooting?

because we like some fun from time to time?

anyway, here comes my taping story.
when i still used a panasonic G1, i taped a different logo over the "lumix" tag on the finder/flash hump, indicating the camera to be a "Conan".
nobody ever noticed something about my camera, even not fellow (nikon) shooters who usually were quite keen to know what everyone was using.

🙂

 

[btgc]

What do you think about swapping logos e.g. presenting your Canon as Nikon, Olympus as Pentax and vice versa?

When you get caught by rumor hunters few hours later world learns from blogs maker A has stolen design of maker B.

 

[Muggins]

I don't need to use 'black insulting tape'. My photos are insulting enough. 🙄

*Grin*

Adrian

 

[Ezzie]

Next step must be the lens. Many lenses cost more than the camera 😉

I do nothing of the sort however, if people want to talk, well why not?

 

[Roger Hicks]

I don't because the unfriendly look on my face usually tells people not to bother asking about my cameras. When I have been asked (ala JP Owens), it is usually by younger women and older men... neither of which I find annoying in a gear whore type of way.

However, when I wear my camera around my neck and notice people staring at my chest... I think to myself that it must be how women feel when men oggle them (obvious difference in creep factor aside). 😉

In her 50s Frances was carrying a mint black Nikon F around her neck and said that the number of glances at her chest reminded her of being 20 again...

Cheers,

R.

 

[Keith]

I've never had the need or desire to do so and I can't believe that people actually think it makes a camera less obvious in public!

 

[Roger Hicks]

Oh also, I never use the branded straps, partially because they attract attention, but mostly because they're rubbish, I switch them all.

When I bought my Df I freaked the people in the shop because I'd brought a decent strap with me (Kik-90) and fitted it as soon as I unpacked the camera. "What are you doing?" they asked. "Fitting a decent strap," I replied.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Roger Hicks]

I've filled/taped the logos on my street cameras, specifically a Canon 5d Mk1, Sony Rx100 mk1 and the Ricoh GR.

Not because I think it magically makes them invisible, but because in all three cases the contrast of white type on a black background catches the eye when it's moving.

Blacking the logo just knocks the contrast back I prefer the look, and in practice I think they catch the eye less. . . .

Quite unlike the big sparkly front lens element with its chrome rings and white type, then?

Cheers,

R.

 

[DanskDynamit]

I think its silly.

 

[Muggins]

Presumably, DanskDynamite, that's your street shooting rig in your avatar? A bit of tape would do wonders to make it inconspicuous, y'know.

I've never got the big branded straps thing myself - I've often thought it's advertising that you've got a fancy camera to anyone who might covet it. I've got one on my DSLR for two reasons - I couldn't be elbowed to buy a different one to the one it came with, and it advertises that fact that I have a crummy ten-year old camera (Nikon D200, as you asked). Now if I had a Df budget instead of a D200 budget...

Adrian

 

[dave lackey]

I've never had the need or desire to do so and I can't believe that people actually think it makes a camera less obvious in public!

Jeez, a thread on taping a camera logo pushing 100 posts already. Keith, I reckon between the two of us that we not only think alike but have shot more than a few cameras and made a few images along the way over the decades. It must be remarkable that we did so without black tape.😛

 

[Dan]

In her 50s Frances was carrying a mint black Nikon F around her neck and said that the number of glances at her chest reminded her of being 20 again...

Cheers,

R.

great quote!

 

[esearing]

I'm amazed by the number of photo enthusiast with big lenses and recent version of Canon/Nikon that will ask me if my 4x5 is a Hassie.

when I shoot with my Canon 10D I get asked about the big white lenses. Thinking of going with the cammo covers for them.

 

[OurManInTangier]

I've done it in the past but realised it made no difference to anyone else at all. People either looked at the guy taking pictures or they ignored the guy taking pictures regardless of whether it was taped or not. It may make a fractional difference to the photographer if it helps them take a picture rather then not....but then perhaps they should resolve the underlying issue rather than putting a sticky plaster (or gaffer tape) over the problem.

The one successful 'taping' job I did was on my old D700. I always seemed to knock the little flash release button so I taped the pop-up flash down. Problem solved.

The only thing that really interests me about taping over logos and brand names on cameras is the level of anger or anguish it can occasionally seem to cause from both sides.

 

[lynnb]

Any measures that reduce the risk of theft of expensive equipment sounds reasonable to me:
Thieves target and steal expensive lenses off cameras
Thieves target news and pro photographers in San Francisco

If a camera can be made to look beat-up or cheap, why not. It may or may not work, but no harm in trying. If it says Leica or has a red dot thieves like the above are more likely to recognise good resale value.

Miroslav Tichy had it all worked out 🙂

 

[rbsinto]

Any measures that reduce the risk of theft of expensive equipment sounds reasonable to me:
Thieves target and steal expensive lenses off cameras
Thieves target news and pro photographers in San Francisco

If a camera can be made to look beat-up or cheap, why not. It may or may not work, but no harm in trying. If it says Leica or has a red dot thieves like the above are more likely to recognise good resale value.

Miroslav Tichy had it all worked out 🙂

I think that thieves go after targets of opportunity based on a number of factors including size, shape, and name of equipment.
But do you really think that someone who specializes in stealing this sort of gear would only know it by it's name, and not the other factors?
Most photo-gear knowledgeable people will recognize many serious and expensive types of gear whether the names and logos are taped over or not, so why wouldn't the thieves?
Personally, I don't think hiding the names and /or logos makes any difference at all. If you are in a situation where theft is likely, it will happen regardless.