I thought maybe there was some notes here on trying to subdue the glare but most discussion seems to be on theft. I'd agree that most thieves can spot a camera of value and taping stuff doesn't cut it. If you photograph enough you will develop your own style. I do not fear someone interrupting me with gear questions but I can understand in some settings this may be a problem. I have never had a gang even try to steal camera gear from me but it does happen. Once I had a group of bad guys cross the street in NYC and they realized I was not in the least bit intimidated and after several minutes they asked me to take a group photo, which I did. There are more people on this planet than it can support. Your camera and your skill can help tell a story and hopefully you will make a difference. I myself don't like tape as it can make it very hard to clean the camera up. I think camo wrappers are the easiest and classiest ways to subdue gear. I have been in places were tape was used to keep gear from making noise and when the camo wrappers are used with tape it can keep the sticky tape residue from defacing critical areas.

For me, I simply just put it in the backpack, when its not in use. I never freely carry it around in a crowded area, and I do not use the straps either. When I do use it, I have it held by my side and most importantly, I do not take my hands off of it or lose track of it. And if you feel like you really are going to a hostile area, make sure to bring pepper spray also.

I do not use the bright nikon straps but a plain black strap. That it.

framer

warprints said:
I've never taped up a camera. My cameras were stolen one time - in a burglary, so taping would not have helped. One other time I was at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and was going down a back street to get to a different vantage point, when I was confronted by a nice young man who advised me that someone could easily take my cameras from me. I generally carry my main shooting camera in a fashion that I think MSMoto described in her original post. When the guy said that to me, I looked at my camera in my hand with the strap wrappen around my wrist, and said "I'd like to see someone try." We stared at each other for a few moments, and with an expletive, he walked away.

LOL, I remember you sharing that story before warprints, I wish I had been there to witness it :-) Personally I hope being a third dan in jujitsu and knowing how to spin my magnesium bodies on my Black Rapid DR-1 like nunchaku, will have a similar ability to deter. :-) Hopefully I'll never have to find out. (There are always bigger fish in the sea).

I've never taped up a camera. My cameras were stolen one time - in a burglary, so taping would not have helped. One other time I was at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and was going down a back street to get to a different vantage point, when I was confronted by a nice young man who advised me that someone could easily take my cameras from me. I generally carry my main shooting camera in a fashion that I think MSMoto described in her original post. When the guy said that to me, I looked at my camera in my hand with the strap wrappen around my wrist, and said "I'd like to see someone try." We stared at each other for a few moments, and with an expletive, he walked away.

I never used the gaffers tape on any of my film cameras F,F2,F3,fm-2,fe-2. Never felt the need,now with my digital body suddenly there seems to be great interest. So I use the tape to cover up the nikon logo & model on my D200 & on my 80-200.

I hear ya, I just woulda thought that big 70-200 hanging around a persons neck would be a bigger "Hey! I'm expensive, steal me!" than the smaller Nikon logo, I do see your point though.

What no Gold 'F' to reflect warm tones for portraits?!?!

Great videos on that thread btw. But seriously, what photographer doesn't want the "bazooka lens" f/.95 with great bokeh, awesome contrast and speed of thought focusing? It would balance so nicely with my D10x, that is until I can upgrade to the D11 - way better DR, high ISO and infinite buffer. :)

Oh, this is even more obvious when one has the double Black Rapid Strap and a big camera on each side! But, as strange as it may seem, the name on the camera immediately creates a point of focus and draw attention. The black on all the light surfaces was originally used when shooting close up shots and no reflections were desired. It is the original idea of the camera being black. I have one black "F" body, one silver "F" body.

Now to the ego issue...having the name/model blacked out makes folks ask...and in many situations, being able to say it is an older camera is the best way to go... or follow the lead of this thread....:-)

http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=8403

I'm glad I did a search before posting a new thread. At a slow point at work today I thought to myself, when photographers tape over their camera or lens trying to be 'stealthy' what does that really accomplish? My thinking is this: Putting a battery grip on a D60 and you'll have people complimenting on your "Pro" setup, so I don't think thieves would know any difference between a rinkydink Nikon/Canon/Leica/Sony entry or pro level equipment. My second point, if you put gaffer tape over the horse emblem on a Ferrari you still know it's a car and probably an expensive one and still valuable enough to steal. The same applies to a camera, if it looks like an expensive camera and smells like an expensive camera it more than likely is an expensive camera, brand/model name showing or not.

BTW I'm not suggesting you flaunt it either.

A personal experience. Many years ago I happened to be in Chicago on a business trip. Had my Nikon on a strap around my neck and didn't want to advertise it. It was raining a bit off and on so I threw a full length raincoat over the camera to keep it dry. While walking around downtown Chicago I noticed some of the young boys were pointing to me and laughing. Wondering why I looked at my reflection in profile in a store window. Damn, it sure looked like I was walking around with a massive erection under that raincoat! Never saw that one coming. So I put my arm thorough the camera strap to make it hang more to the side and checked my reflection again. Looked like some sort of tumor on my side. Guess the camera under a full length raincoat doesn't work so well.

Very interesting. Thanks.

SkintBrit said:
Help me out here Tao, by default, do all photos taken by a modern digital camera contain that info in a publicly accessible way. If you post a simple picture on the web, do you always include this data?

Simple answer is Yes. If you do nothing to an image, all the data is in the file.

There are exceptions though. Many programs remove it when you are editing. For instance I use Lightroom and have most of the EXIF data removed on every export. Many editors remove it as well since they just choose not to handle it. Various sites also remove most exif data when you upload the file or if the file is downloaded.

Which one's do and which one's don't remove this data I have no clue or have never seen a list. We (the world) is quickly moving to a crossroads of online privacy. Laws will not keep up as technology moves too fast. It will be to the manufactures and developers to take actions to change this and remove unique info. For the time being it will be up to individuals to be mindful and do what they feel they need too.

I thought that data was EXIF data or something similar. I think you can remove it but most people probalby don't know how to. Which brings me to my next question, in the data you can see what lens was used, mode, ect ect. Say in the PAD thread you want to look at a picture that someone left the data there. How can you access it.

On the stealth mode topic I use a Tamrac strap, feels much better than the strap Nikon provides that still is in the plastic wrapper it came in. Its solid black so as a bonus its not a sign saying steal me.

I have yet to find a company in the USA that will insure my camera equipment(I have not looked that hard though). My home owners policy does a lot and I have an additional ryder policy for extra coverage but if I was out of the country, well not good. Anyone have experience with a company, I would love to hear that a company honnored a claim without much hassle but a story of compaines to stay away from would help.

Help me out here Tao, by default, do all photos taken by a modern digital camera contain that info in a publicly accessible way. If you post a simple picture on the web, do you always include this data?

Here is something that is rather neat and in the realm of the discussion. It is a free online system that you can put in your camera's serial number and it searches the web for any images that have that serial number in it. So if your camera is stolen, you may be able to find the thief or at least who they sold it too.

stolencamerafinder
http://www.stolencamerafinder.com/

I have not used it but at least in theory, it is a great idea to find your camera.

I doubt taping would discourage theft, but I do know people who tape over the branding for other reasons.

One of my friends taped his camera because he gets tired of people conflating the tech with the photographer. His clients sometimes have the mindset they're paying for "camera rental" with operator instead of photography. In their opinion, they could do the same thing he does if only they had the right equipment. By taking the branding out of the equation, he hopes to put the emphasis back on the skill rather than the apparatus.

Having assisted on one of his shoots though ... I'm not sure it works. In fact, it had the opposite effect since the subject/model had an interest in photography started asking questions about the gear that would have never come up if the photographer hadn't covered up the branding.

I had my D90 stolen in Barcelona a couple years ago, and it was a horrible experience. The worst part is I hadn't downloaded my photos the night before, so I lost two days worth of irreplaceable shots. Aside from being smart and having insurance, I don't know what to do about theft though. Maybe we need some kind of built-in GPS tracker.

Never for something questionable. I have done stealth for some jobs tho (shooting on movie set's etc)... D7000 on quiet mode, Gaffers tape on the name, dial, red, name, and hotshoe (on lens nameplates too and sometimes a polorizer), black rapid strap tightened, and instant preview turned off. When I am shooting in a sketchy situation I use one camera instead of 3 and tighten up my black rapid so it wears higher. If I need a second body I wear it like a tourist (choked up as well).

Mike Gunter said:
Hi,

Having been robbed more than once, I don't know that I have much advice than have good insurance, and remember it's just a camera.

Having a strap that says what it is, likely isn't too wise, and I find that a foam strap is more comfortable anyway. But when I was working and if I'm toting a lot of equipment, it really doesn't matter too much, a big bag of lenses really is hard to cover up, isn't it?

I try not too worry too much and believe in the incredible good in most, and like I said, have really good insurance.

My best,

Mike

Plus 1 (except for the bit about having already been robbed). £20k worth of all risk insurance costs me about £300 a year. My insurers don't need me to itemise everything, so when I buy or sell equipment all I need to do is keep an eye on my total risk value. Also make sure you tell them if you will be using it professionally otherwise you'll have a problem come claim day. @ Danny Ocean I also use a Sunsniper steel strap, and always walk in crowded places with the camera in front of me, and in my hand.

Only time gaffer tape goes on my camera is when I have it set to continuous shoot on self timer, to hide the distracting red eye reduction lamp, which cannot be disabled on a D90 in that instance.

I keep it simple, I do not put myself or my equipment in a situation I cannot protect from. I also believe that goons are not idiots, its their full time job to steal from you and they know what they are doing. Lastly, you cannot stop shit from happening, if you worry too much then pay the price with a good insurance for your peace of mind - don't hyperventilate, as stress is a silent killer.

Sun Sniper guys,...but really, if someone tries to get near me and the camera to steal it, i would probably use the camera as a weapon in their face.

Hi,

Having been robbed more than once, I don't know that I have much advice than have good insurance, and remember it's just a camera.

Having a strap that says what it is, likely isn't too wise, and I find that a foam strap is more comfortable anyway. But when I was working and if I'm toting a lot of equipment, it really doesn't matter too much, a big bag of lenses really is hard to cover up, isn't it?

I try not too worry too much and believe in the incredible good in most, and like I said, have really good insurance.

My best,

Mike

If your covering something up, you have something to hide. Possibly! I stood next to someone who was watching a photographer at work, who had his camera/name taped up. "See that thing taped up! That's got to be worth something trying to hide it like that!" People are aware more than you think.

Rx4, I find that there are more DSLR shooters out there then ever, so I wouldn't exactly say stand out like a sore thumb.

You know, from the point of view of a thief, before running the risk of getting caught for a 400$ entry level DSLR, he should know what he's looking for. I once had a guy sitting next to me on the Munich Oktoberfest with a D3s. Try taping that up!

I think unless you have a pro camera with built in horizontal shutter button etc. the strap is the biggest give away.

Interestingly enough, the only times (so far) that people have come over to me to start conversations about photography while I'm out casually shooting is when I had my yellow and black NIKON strap on the camera. It's always been mature gentlemen who are photographers themselves. I also think part if it is likely that so many John Q Photographers shoot with the red and blue strap around their necks that when someone sees the yellow NIKON it sparks more interest. That said, I do think that the average thug only sees BIG EXPENSIVE CAMERA = MONEY. So my opinion is that the Nik or Can logo doesn't matter. It's just hard to make these camera look less that what they are. I walked into my place of work with my D7k in a Think Tank digital holster and someone said "I hope thats a camera in there and not something else." My reply was "well if I'm gonna shoot up the place I'd leave the case at home,... geeez."

In todays world so many people are shooting with their cellphones or arms extended with P&S's that no matter where you go, you will stand out like a sore thumb with a big camera - even a D3100 is bigger than what the average joe is walking around with.

Although I do understand some people do not like branding (myself included) I have a general experience and opinion that most thieves don't know their head from a fruit bowl. I have never quite understood the tape on the name at this point. In years past when there were a couple of dozen of film body makers where every body looked similar, the names may made a difference and unless you were a photo-nut, probably didn't know an expensive body from a cheap one. Today, there are only 7 DSLR/rangefinder makers and the bodies have very distinct looks. Add to that, anyone can tell a pro body from a entry level one easily. I don't think a piece of tape on a lunchbox size camera indicates to a thief "Oh, that has tape - I'll leave that one alone." Leica might be a bit different as all of them look the same (for the most part,) but still they all are $$$ so little deterrent there. Camera branding straps annoy the hell out of me. I bet I have a dozen stuffed away that have never been out of the plastic.

As a stealth wise, I can see taping the white logos up but really, everyone sees the camera - you can't hide that. Same with carry almost any DSLR, it's there, if someone is looking for one, they will see it.

I don't mean to suggest be an idiot advertising you have $1000 there for the grabbing. I almost always wear my camera cross body - sometimes with a jacket over it.
Then again I live in an area where that type of crime is very low as well. Where I live, you have a higher chance of someone going ballistic wondering why you took their picture and trying to break your camera rather than steal it.