How do you like your bodies?

jsrockit said:
I agree completely Phil.

As far as camera color... I like a variety. Right now, all of my cameras are black. I'll probably buy a chrome one next because I'll be bored with black. Who knows... it's the last thing I think about before buying. I would never spend a lot of $ extra for a color.

I use a Sony a7C in black which is ok (Sonys just aren't sexy)... but the grey one looks really bad IMO.
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I also completely agree with Phil on this and many other comments he makes.

All my cameras are black too, I like black. But, if Fujifilm came out with a special edition Safari Green X100V or X-Pro3 I'd be on it in a heart beat! No problem with extra dollars or Yen. :D

All the best,
Mike
 
Pál_K said:
For many decades I had the hots for the Leica R3 Safari kit. However the few I found, even in mint condition, were not functioning.

A few years ago, my camera-repair friend gave me this Minolta as a gift, which he powder-coated in olive green.

I no longer lust for Leica Safari kits
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That's very cool!

In terms of a camera's "stealth" I have come to realize that a classic-looking camera that's easy to notice is less concerning to most people than a sneaky black camera that seems "sketchier." My green Bessa with silver lens and hotshoe finder barely gets a second look on the street unless it's from a camera buff.
 
Wasn't there a blue CV Bessa T out there? I would love to mate that with a CV 21mm f4 and external VF.
 
I have both black and chrome cameras and think all look nice!

I tend to prefer black cameras for street shooting. I am a believer that bright shiny objects (e.g. chrome) can catch the eye of "unaware" people as a reflex action and I want to avoid those instances. I don't mind being noticed taking photo's as such... but prefer photos of people who are acting as they would naturally; and not putting on a face for the camera.

When photographing reflections and through shop windows - which I often do - a dark coloured camera is less noticeable in resultant photograph (if that's the result you want). I tend to wear dark clothes when photographing on the streets for the same reason - less reflection in windows. Not a fashion problem in Melbourne Australia where black usually seems to be the new black!

Long story short - Black.
 
My all time favorite based on looks alone is the titanium Contax G series. I favor the chrome look when given a choice but will take what ever the camera of choice comes in.
 
When I was in Fallujah, Iraq, I carried a Leica M2 with TA rapidwinder, a Leica M4, and a Nikon D2H with a chunky awful 24-120. Those chrome cameras banged into each other quite a bit, one hanging around my neck, one around my right shoulder, the D2H on my left shoulder. The bright, shiny Leicas, gleaming in the f/22-and-be-there sun, never got me shot at more than anyone else in my squad, so I doubt it makes a difference in "peacetime" "street photography." Plenty of things will get one shot (by a firearm) here in Philly, but I'm not going to go out and add a shiny Leica vs an olive Nikonos V or black paint F2, in order to collect that data. ;)
I realized I had to add "Leica" to the camera marque descriptors because we also had M2 "Ma Deuce" mounted on top of our HMMWVs and MTVRs, and a few folks carried M4 pattern carbines.

Phil Forrest
 
Phil_F_NM said:
…I'm not going to go out and add a shiny Leica vs an olive Nikonos V or black paint F2, in order to collect that data. ;)

I realized I had to add "Leica" to the camera marque descriptors because we also had M2 "Ma Deuce" mounted on top of our HMMWVs and MTVRs, and a few folks carried M4 pattern carbines.
…
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OK - lust isn’t completely gone: the Sexy Olive Nikonos V has been on my want-list even though I have the Brilliant Orange version. It’s such an amazing camera. It’s so damped and quiet in operation.

As for qualifiers, I once asked a camping friend if he had a can opener and he replied “I have a P-38.” Thinking he meant the Walther 9mm pistol, I said that was a bit extreme.
 
Is one of these the camera Abbas refused to give up to his Mexican muggers??

51271284668_8ec200641c_m.jpg

Flickr
 
Pál_K said:
As for qualifiers, I once asked a camping friend if he had a can opener and he replied “I have a P-38.” Thinking he meant the Walther 9mm pistol, I said that was a bit extreme.
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In civilian life (or any life really) having a P38 can opener is, indeed, extreme.
 
Any even-numbered Leica M film camera body: Cleaned, Lubricated & Adjusted. I care only about those cosmetic issues that compromise haptic or mechanical operation, for instance, torn coverings, ill-fitting mounting brackets, film loading and/or rewinding, etc. ... .

I think that I'd say the same about any other camera manufacturer, it's that I own only Leitz lenses, thus I have always used Leica bodies.
 
Pál_K said:
For many decades I had the hots for the Leica R3 Safari kit. However the few I found, even in mint condition, were not functioning.

A few years ago, my camera-repair friend gave me this Minolta as a gift, which he powder-coated in olive green.

I no longer lust for Leica Safari kits
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Ten or fifteen years ago someone was selling olive green "khaki" painted Pentax K1000 bodies on eBay.
I'm still kicking myself for not having purchased one... :bang:

Chris
 
I like novelty and am as attracted as the next person to a particularly appealing combination of camera + special color. But mostly I want durable finishes which keep my equipment looking new for a long time.

Canon offered a special edition olive green F1, and I'd love to have one. My ideal camera would be Ex++ condition showing just enough wear and tear that I'd feel OK about using it, and discounted heavily as a result.
 
My own history shows a fealty to no finish in particular. I do enjoy black paint and chrome rangefinder bodies. Somehow a chrome SLR never made it into the stable, favoring black chrome or enamel for all of them. Perhaps it's the relative size of the cameras that influences the thinking.
 
kshapero said:
Wasn't there a blue CV Bessa T out there? I would love to mate that with a CV 21mm f4 and external VF.
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I've been tempted to switch for a blue model once or twice when they pop up at a good price, but am held back by the fact that I know mine is mechanically sound. The cream colored lettering on the blue model is what clinches its loveliness.
 
I never bought a photo tool by it's look of the colour of the body.
I have bought my all Leica bodies by it's prize. Of course they are all silver colour and the lenses are black. I regret I couldn't have the silver version as they are getting wearing marks on getting the paints off.
I like titanium painted bodies as I have one of the titanium lens. They are solid parts.
 
I've probably bought over 100 cameras over the years since I shoot, collect, and am an old geezer.

Thinking back, chrome is my overall choice but most only came in chrome anyway.

But for my Leicas, I like black on brass for the early Barnacks.
 
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