Jump to content

Black or silver – and does it matter


marcg

Recommended Posts

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Argh I hate this decision. There is no answer.

 

If Leica offered all their lenses in silver I would probably definitely go for silver body and make silver/silver my general rule, particularly the P version without the red dot. Sometimes I think the red dot looks tacky on silver and it looks a little off with the black lenses sometimes too I think. The new silver grip is sweeeeet, the M240 grip had a black base that I thought looked a bit cheap.

 

But all black is really amazing. It looks purposeful like military hardware. I really dig the stealth bomber matte finish of the black chrome a lot and think it looks much better with the black EVF. Silver and black plastic looks cheap to me, it reminds me of cheap white or light coloured cars with black unpainted plastic bumpers and wing mirrors. I also love black with silver lenses too so it means an odd silver lens here or there looks good and I do really love the silver lenses a lot.

 

I wish Leica had offered silver Noctilux and 35mm Summilux when I bought mine and sometimes I keep having to tell myself that spending money on swapping them to chrome is a stupid idea.

Edited by Paul J
Link to post
Share on other sites

I am in serious ambivalence. I have a silver M4, a black M9 and a black MM1, so the next M should be silver if I want to do justice to my team; it is Silver's turn now, boohoo. And in fact it is more beautiful. My doubt is that I always sticked to the idea that black is unobtrusive, but maybe Tobers is right. When did I really make THE image specifically because I wasn't noticed? Maybe I made better images by being open about it

Edited by otto.f
Link to post
Share on other sites

Does anyone have an image of a chrome that's gotten better with age? 

 

It keeps getting better every decade...

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

I really doubt the "black is stealthy" argument. You're holding a box up to your face with two hands. That's what people will notice. It's rather obvious you're holding a camera.

 

And silver looks better  :D .

 

Nobody sees me with my chrome M if I don't want to.  ;)

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, silver is where it all started.  Here's my first:

 

31727849192_4972bc9be3_o.jpgLeica_w19mm by scott kirkpatrick, on Flickr

 

M2 with it's show-offy Canon 19mm and matching viewfinder, carefully posed so the peeling cover isn't too obvious (in 2002).  It has since had a full Sherry Krauter cleanup and is working just fine, thank you.  Somewhere along the line it lost my pre-Abrahamson softy.

 

scott

Edited by scott kirkpatrick
  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Same issue here. I really struggled with this decision. This will be my second Leica, first new one, and I went all black. My M6 is all black. Black seems more discrete. Black looks more modern in a way since most cameras these days are all black. Good luck with your decision but either way, I don't think you can go wrong. They both look great. 

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I love silver. Silver is retro. Silver gets oohs and aahs and puts people at ease. Silver is a fashion statement. Silver is a conversation starter, makes people almost beg you to take their picture.

 

And then I look at my photos, my love of reflections, and remember why I have almost all black cameras and scream at myself if I dare wear white.

 

What do you love? What do you shoot?

  • Like 5
Link to post
Share on other sites

I like silver, i like that it looks vaguely similar to my M2/M3.

 

I like fondling the silver chrome top plate with my thumb! Mmmm top plates.

 

I gave up thinking black was somehow more stealthy. Ninjas don't use black swords.

 

Discretion is a way of life, not a consumer choice lol, that probably sounds better in German.

 

Silver is jaunty.

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...