RE: [Leica] Disguising My M6

[Jeffrey Hausner <Buzz@marianmanor.org>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Ted Grant [SMTP:tedgrant98@hotmail.com]
> Sent:	Friday, September 11, 1998 1:00 AM
> To:	leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject:	Re: [Leica] Disguising My M6
> 
> G.G.  wrote:
> >Thanks to those who answered seriously, I appreciate the help.  Sorry, 
> to those who heard it all before ... I hadn't, and just wanted to ask 
> the experts for honest advise.  No thanks to those who couldn't help 
> being uselessly sarcastic.  It diminishes the value of any 
> forum.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> 
> Hi GG,
> 
> Please don't be offended, as this is a truly great family to be a member 
> of.  If you take the banter as a bunch of guys and gals with a common 
> interest at heart, sitting around having a beer and shooting the breeze 
> about things Leica, you'd problaly have the indentical comments.  None 
> made in offence.
> 
> As a long time family member it is interesting to see this tape subject 
> come up again and again from new folks due to possibly having heard that 
> "taping the Leica is something one should do."
> 
> You're quite right in asking or how else do we learn?  This is the 
> world's centre of Leica information, so obviously the same question 
> arises on numerous occaisions and the reason some comments seem 
> sarcastic. But then they'd sound exactly the same from one side of the 
> beer table to the other in real life. :)
> 
> My personal opinion as a Leica user for more years than I wish to count, 
> taping is a saviour only in the mind of the person taping! The idiots 
> who steal cameras and things, don't know a Leica from a Canon sure shot 
> P&S, they take anything they think they can make a buck from.
> 
> Someone suggested it was highly unlikely a Leica has been stolen from a 
> shoulder for the sake of being a Leica, probably quite true.  We as 
> Leica owners, users, collectors understand the dollar value far more 
> than people on the street, which in turn creates an element of concern 
> within us that "it might get stolen, therefore I should disguise it". 
> 
> But this is something in our own minds and not that of the criminal 
> element. It doesn't matter what colour, red dot or white letters. It's 
> Murphies law if you are going to get ripped off, you are going to get 
> ripped off. Taping is truly not going to make any difference and it'll 
> save you getting hot and sticky goo on your fingers everytime you use 
> the camera.
> 
> And let me assure you that in this country Malaysia, which I'm on 
> assignment in at the moment, that if you taped a Leica the temperature 
> and humidity would have the camera covered in sticky stuff from your 
> finger tips to arm pits! :)
> 
> I've never taped a camera of any kind, let alone a black Leica, as I've 
> always felt it was a mythical protection thing of Leica photographer 
> lore! :)
> 
> ted
> 
> KL, Malaysia 
> Opening Day XI Commonwealth Games.
> 
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	[Jeffrey Hausner]  
	O.K., I finally have to jump in on this.  The idea of disguising
cameras derives from combat photographers who used to {perhaps still do} use
black tape or other substance to cover parts of their camera bodies and
other equipment which would reflect light and draw the attention of the
enemy {That's also the second reason why combat photographers always use
lens shades}.  It can be a reasonable thg to do under certain circumstances.

	Buzz