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Post by drako on Oct 22, 2009 14:53:12 GMT -5
Yeah, that do with other stuff, like cereal boxes. The logic is, if they give free advertising to Brand X, then Brand Y will say "hey, how come we're paying $100,000 for product placement and these guys slip under the radar?"
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Post by pompiere on Oct 23, 2009 6:30:14 GMT -5
It used to be taboo to show a brand name on screen, so names were taped over or obscured. Since the ET movies, where M&Ms turned down the offer to be the candy used to lure ET out of hiding, the studios have people assigned to go after potential advertisers. Now it seems that some movie scripts are like one long commercial, with the products being more prominant than the plot.
The Viet Nam story about black cameras seems plausable. I don't remember all black cameras before that time. I don't have a preference, but I don't own any black SLRs at the moment. Around here, the size of your camera is how most people judge your photography skill.
Ron
I have to update this post. I found an all black Spotmatic II at the Goodwill with 50 and 135 mm lenses, 2x extender, filters and flash, all for $36 with my Veteran's Day discount. Everything is clean and works, even the battery. I may be changing my opinion about black cameras now that I have one.
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Post by alx on Dec 1, 2012 5:56:23 GMT -5
Admittedly, black has some functional advantages, for practical purposes, like nature photography, and whenever concealment is a factor.
I greatly prefer chrome aesthetically. Besides being much more durable, it looks more traditional. Black is so overwhelmingly common now, with all the plastic and rubber camera covered bodies, and even classic metal cameras with black enamel painted bodies look more common than the shiny chrome. Chrome also shows and contrasts better with the leather textures on camera bodies.
Chromed plastic, or silver painted plastic is probably the worst looking.
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mickeyobe
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Post by mickeyobe on Dec 1, 2012 7:32:13 GMT -5
alx,
I agree with all you have said.
The one advantage of all black is that it is less obtrusive than the other options.
No I am not a spy. I am rather shy and would prefer not to draw attention to myself.
I also think, as you have said, that animals are more apt to ignore black. The sun glistening off a chrome or chartreuse camera is bound to offend the aesthetic tastes of some raccoons or deer and I would not want to disturb the composure of a skunk.
Mickey
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mickeyobe
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Post by mickeyobe on Dec 1, 2012 7:39:25 GMT -5
I don't remember all black cameras before that time. I don't have a preference, but I don't own any black SLRs at the moment. Ron I have to update this post. I found an all black Spotmatic II at the Goodwill with 50 and 135 mm lenses, 2x extender, filters and flash, all for $36 with my Veteran's Day discount. Everything is clean and works, even the battery. I may be changing my opinion about black cameras now that I have one. Ron, A further update. Most of the early cameras' exteriors, box and otherwise, leather covered or bakelite were Henry Ford's favourite colour. Mickey
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Post by yashica1943 on Apr 11, 2013 12:55:48 GMT -5
I think it depends on the camera, (and the observer!) the shape of the pentaprism and top edges of the body. I really like the Olympus OM range and early Pentax in Silver. The Pentax Super A (Program A) looks far better in black. I also prefer the mid range Nikon (FE, FM etc.) in black, but silver is ok . Canon AE-1 etc. in chrome. My current favourite the Yashica FR 1 and its close cousins look far better in black in my opinion.
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Post by yashica1943 on Apr 11, 2013 12:58:37 GMT -5
I think it depends on the camera, (and the observer!) the shape of the pentaprism and top edges of the body. I really like the Olympus OM range and early Pentax in Silver. The Pentax Super A (Program A) looks far better in black. I also prefer the mid range Nikon (FE, FM etc.) in black, but silver is ok . Canon AE-1 etc. in chrome. My current favourite the Yashica FR 11 and its close cousins look far better in black in my opinion.
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Post by yashica1943 on Apr 11, 2013 13:02:46 GMT -5
re Taping over the name on SLR's. Recently on eBay there was a listing for a 'Asahi Pentax Prinzflex SLR'. The seller had crudely taped over the Prinzflex logo and just above that there were three small pieces of black tape over the front of the prism housing. I don't think it was fooling anyone.
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Post by Rachel on Apr 12, 2013 3:18:43 GMT -5
re Taping over the name on SLR's. Recently on eBay there was a listing for a 'Asahi Pentax Prinzflex SLR'. The seller had crudely taped over the Prinzflex logo and just above that there were three small pieces of black tape over the front of the prism housing. I don't think it was fooling anyone. Most likely the Prinzflex was a Praktica. I notice that some owners of expensive cameras ie Leica tape over the names to conceal the make so that they are less attractive to thieves but I've always thought that a bit of a naïve attitude. Also if you see cameras in films, the make is often concealed; no free advertising I suppose.
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melek
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Post by melek on Apr 14, 2013 10:12:46 GMT -5
I don't have a big preference as to chrome vs. black, although I did buy black bodies for my first Nikons. But of all of the other cameras, I just bought what was available.
As far as re-covering your cameras, there are two primary vendors: CameraLeather.com and Aki-Asahi.
There have been some complaints about the response time for CameraLeather.com. I suspect that he is unable to keep up with the volume of orders. Aki-Asahi is in Japan. He mails promptly.
I've bought from both. I like the variety of CameraLeather.com, but dislike the fact that some orders were sent promptly while others took weeks and weeks and repeated follow-up emails to fill. Aki-Asahi has a more limited selection, but the turnaround is very quick.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 15:03:33 GMT -5
When black cameras were a new thing I thought they made me look more like a pro. Now I prefer chrome bodies because I think they a prettier and more durable. Never could understand why makers charged more for black bodies when they probably were less expensive to make.
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lloydy
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Post by lloydy on Apr 14, 2013 17:43:50 GMT -5
A while ago I bought what was basically a mystery bag of photographic stuff for next to nothing, it turned out to be the bargain of a lifetime. I was in such a hurry to pay the guy for the holdall, not a camera bag, of stuff and leg it before he wanted more money I didn't even look in the bottom of the bag. Then he gave me a cardboard box with the rest of the stuff ! Anyway, in the bottom of the bag were two Minolta XD7's both in excellent condition, one chrome and one black. The black ones are fetching about twice the price of the chrome. And I like it better as well, alongside each other the black one just looks so much better. The only other all black cameras I've got of the era before moulded polycarbonate bodies are a Chinon CE5, which also looks really nice, especially with the motordrive on it, and a couple of Zenits. I think I like all black cameras of that era, they seem to have been the minority.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2013 21:36:28 GMT -5
At the time I thought this was about the coolest camera I would ever own. But I sold it so it must have been less cool than I thought. I think I paid $300 for it used when I bought it in about 1972 -- that was a lot of money in those days.
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Post by genazzano on Apr 15, 2013 2:31:57 GMT -5
When it came time to head for the War Memorial stadium in Buffalo to cover the Bills' game, I grabbed for the black Nikon F, if it was still there. Otherwise I would be forced to use the little H1A Pentax. When I had the black F, I felt like a pro. Jeeez I loved that camera.
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Stan
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Post by Stan on Apr 24, 2013 22:04:55 GMT -5
At the time I thought this was about the coolest camera I would ever own. But I sold it so it must have been less cool than I thought. I think I paid $300 for it used when I bought it in about 1972 -- that was a lot of money in those days. The Nikon F in black was absolutely the reason why I fell in love with the color! There are a few camera I prefer in chrome though, like the Miranda G.
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