Roger Hicks
Mentor
Dear Philipp,And/or as cash cows, which creates its own problems.
True, but even so, is there a better alternative to carrying a camera openly? And, except in those countries where people demand money to have their picture taken (which normally happens only in quite heavily touristed areas), you need only be a cash cow if you want to be.
Finally, are many people going to see much difference between a Leica and a digicam? Everyone expects all tourists to carry a camera: it's generally huge SLRs that mark them out as possible suckers -- or, it seems, potentially dangerous in some undefined way. There are countless examples of RF users not being stopped when SLR carriers are.
Cheers,
R.
rxmd
May contain traces of nut
Well, I normally carry it slung over my shoulder underneath my jacket. This summer I will have to find a better solution, a jacket is not an option at 45°C. Last summer I normally carried it in a blue plastic bag.True, but even so, is there a better alternative to carrying a camera openly?
There are all sorts of situations where it is undesirable to be taken for a tourist. I am not referring to heavily touristed areas; those are really only the most obvious case and usually it's enough to be a foreigner, no camera necessary (I've had to live in this sort of place for weeks before people got used to me walking around.)And, except in those countries where people demand money to have their picture taken (which normally happens only in quite heavily touristed areas), you need only be a cash cow if you want to be.
For example, I have had situations where the omnipresent police, taking me for a tourist, hoped to milk me for some bribes and told me that it was forbidden to photograph what I was photographing. It took some arguing to show that I had a relatively clear idea what could be photographed and what couldn't, and that I had no intention to pay anything to anybody. In the end the policeman told me "Oh, I thought you were a tourist", which in his opinion explained it all. If this hadn't been in this particular country that I know very well, I wouldn't have got off so easily.
That's wishful thinking IMHO. You'd be surprised. I guess the difference is rather in whether or not someone is posing for you smiling in the middle of the scene, or in whether you look through a viewfinder or at a big LC display.Finally, are many people going to see much difference between a Leica and a digicam?
There's lots of anecdotal evidence, you mean, which on a RF forum is quite naturally going to be biased moreover. From my own experience on what cameras I've been stopped with, I'd be hesitant to say that a rangefinder gives you any "advantage" vis-a-vis any other type of camera. The best you can have IMHO is a good camera phone.There are countless examples of RF users not being stopped when SLR carriers are.
Philipp