MarkP Posted June 1, 2013 Share #21 Posted June 1, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Syed, what a stupid statement. I could say just as easily say in reply that the black cameras are for those pseudo-pros who want to be pros but couldn't take a photo to save their life . I had a Nikon F3/T champaign/titanium finish for 25 years. Looked great and was a very robust finish. I don't buy the stealth argument. A camera that looks like an old/retro film camera is equally disarming to potential subjects. It's bringing the camera up to ones eye that makes you noticeable. I bought my M9 in black, then a Monochrom in black of course, and now want an M240 in Silver. The M9 will go so I'll have one of each. Oh, but I don't like to take photos,I just like to show off with a chrome camera. To the OP, the only advice is to buy the camera in a finish you like or in the finish that is offered to you if you don't want to wait or don't really care. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 1, 2013 Posted June 1, 2013 Hi MarkP, Take a look here Black v Silver bodies. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
marknorton Posted June 1, 2013 Share #22 Posted June 1, 2013 Yes, a stupid comment from New York. The simple fact is that the silver chrome finish is more durable than black whether it is black chrome or paint. However it is done, the black wears along the edges and corners. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdlaing Posted June 2, 2013 Share #23 Posted June 2, 2013 Yes, a stupid comment from New York. The simple fact is that the silver chrome finish is more durable than black whether it is black chrome or paint. However it is done, the black wears along the edges and corners. New York really has nothing to do with it. Stupid statements are a world wide endeavor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfhrased Posted June 2, 2013 Share #24 Posted June 2, 2013 I picked up a black M8.2 and replaced it with a silver M9-P. I grabbed what was available. I preferred the look of the all-black camera, but since buying a silver lens am just as happy with the new one. Silver lenses look worse on black cameras than vice-versa. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdlaing Posted June 2, 2013 Share #25 Posted June 2, 2013 I picked up a black M8.2 and replaced it with a silver M9-P. I grabbed what was available. I preferred the look of the all-black camera, but since buying a silver lens am just as happy with the new one. Silver lenses look worse on black cameras than vice-versa. I did the same but kept the black M8.2. I like them both. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted June 2, 2013 Share #26 Posted June 2, 2013 New York really has nothing to do with it. Stupid statements are a world wide endeavor. Exactly! Statements made by an individual only reflect back on that individual, whether positive or negative. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 2, 2013 Share #27 Posted June 2, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) there was no choice. there weren't that many early M cameras that were black (if there were, they were very low production numbers)....if they had a choice, i'm sure they would have used the most discrete option. these days there is a choice. if one buys a silver camera, it's for bling....and there sure are a lot of 'gear obsessed' people who love the bling these days...OR if they really want to be 'retro'. There was a choice. The first black Leicas date back to the 1930-ies. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 2, 2013 Share #28 Posted June 2, 2013 I am trying to think of the relative advantages / disadvantages of black and silver Leica bodies, notably the M240. The list I have come up with so far is as follows. A black body is more Subjective differences Discrete, but also more attractive to thieves Professional looking Modern looking / less retro Objective differences Prone to heat up in the sun, and fail Show brassing[*]Popular Do you agree? Suggestions for additions to this list welcome. The post suggests to me you are a transatlantic person. Black is more popular in the USA, silver in Europe.. If you want brassing you can always use sandpaper. There is brass underneath in all variants. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
platypus Posted June 2, 2013 Share #29 Posted June 2, 2013 That is the most ridiculous thing I've heard today. But it's only very early yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZDavid Posted June 2, 2013 Share #30 Posted June 2, 2013 [*]Discrete, but also more attractive to thieves. Yes, no. Less shiny, but not really. [*]Professional looking. Possibly, but fashions change. [*]Modern looking / less retro. Not really. Fashions change. [*]Prone to heat up in the sun, and fail. Only if you are leaving it out in the desert or on the beach all day. Probably no measurable difference. [*]Show brassing. Yes, for some bodies. [*]Popular. Fashions change. Re guitars: For some really exotic models check out Boris Dommenget, who was featured on DW's Euromaxx recently: http://www.guitarmaker.de Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikasmg Posted June 2, 2013 Share #31 Posted June 2, 2013 I'm not sure lack bodies are more discrete. Chrome bodies often come across as older, less intimidating cameras so people are less intimidated by them. Just buy what you like. I have a chrome M and a black M9. Both great cameras. Some lenses are not available in chrome if that is a consideration. - Vikas Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZDavid Posted June 2, 2013 Share #32 Posted June 2, 2013 ...It's bringing the camera up to ones eye that makes you noticeable.... Very true. Or barging through a crowd or crouching at the front of the stage or generally noticeable behavior. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonki-M Posted June 2, 2013 Share #33 Posted June 2, 2013 There was a choice. The first black Leicas date back to the 1930-ies. perhaps they couldn't find a black lens to match the black bodies Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted June 2, 2013 Share #34 Posted June 2, 2013 The least noticed photographers today are those using their iPhone to take a snap, the most noticed are those skulking about on the peripheries of society with a Leica hidden under their coat. They only have to take one stealthy photograph for the herd to raise its collective head and wonder what they are up to. So there are no 'stealthy cameras', it is just the way you use them, in plain sight may sound counter intuitive, but if you can smile and say 'can I take your photograph' you won't be remembered two minutes later. But you can use the black or silver conundrum to your advantage as I have over the past years. I go into my Leica dealer to order the new camera and they say 'what colour would you like' and I say 'whatever you can get first'. No angst, no filling up bandwidth because I need help deciding, its the camera I want, not a sociological treatise on the preferences of thieves or the dubious pro or con debate on whether it is more effective to stalk a victim with a chrome or a black camera. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lupico Posted June 2, 2013 Share #35 Posted June 2, 2013 It is all a matter of personal preference. I had a chrome M9 before my M Typ 240. You could see scratches from very early on. The black M will show additional brassing in the end. But some do like that effect and also prefer the stealthiness black offers. With black cams you can use black tape to cover the logo. With chrome cameras this is not so easy. Otherwise I can`t see any difference in stealthiness though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted June 2, 2013 Share #36 Posted June 2, 2013 My M6, M7 and M8 are all chrome. My M9 is grey. My MM and M are both black. They all get matched with an assortment of both black and chrome lenses. The belief that black bodies "overheat" is about the craziest thing I've ever heard. Followed closely by the notion that [insert color] is more "stealthy." The one demonstrable advantage that color choice - of either variety - brings is the ability to bring home the next model and have one's long-suffering spouse none the wiser. Spoken entirely tongue-in-cheek, of course. ;-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulus Posted June 2, 2013 Share #37 Posted June 2, 2013 It is all a matter of personal preference. I had a chrome M9 before my M Typ 240. You could see scratches from very early on. The black M will show additional brassing in the end. But some do like that effect and also prefer the stealthiness black offers. With black cams you can use black tape to cover the logo. With chrome cameras this is not so easy. Otherwise I can`t see any difference in stealthiness though. Chrome M9? You mean chrome M9P? I didn't know that they made chrome M9's. The steel grey M9's really have much softer paint. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter H Posted June 2, 2013 Share #38 Posted June 2, 2013 ...... Black is more popular in the USA, silver in Europe................... Is this verifiable? Not doubting, just interested. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 2, 2013 Share #39 Posted June 2, 2013 Not really - it is rather in the class of "it is common knowledge" I fear - open to correction Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted June 2, 2013 Share #40 Posted June 2, 2013 If you want stealthy, you need to have your camera repainted to match your skin colour. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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