Concealed Carry: D-SLRs

[alphaod]

I usually carry my camera in a regular messenger bag, but I'm not afraid to take it out to take pictures.

I'm curious, is it legal to photgraph people as long as you are in a public forum? I don't use the photos for financial gain, so I am not capitalizing on their image, it is just an avid hobby of mine. I've had people give me funny looks but I have never been confronted and I'd like to know where I stand in that situation as far as the law is concerned...

In public you can take all the pictures you want. And these pictures can be used for profit.

Why else would their be so many paparazzi photographers photographing celebrities

 

[Knomad]

The problem is the DSLR itself, not how you carry it.

A DSLR screams "camera." People will see it from a block away, they have the search image down. The things are big, bulky, heavy, overcomplicated, and flashy. Add a fast zoom lens and it gets even bigger and heavier and more obvious. And if by some chance they miss it visually, they'll hear it. The shutter and mirror slap are loud enough, but add the motor drive and it's pretty hard to miss.

There's an answer, and it's nothing new. There's a reason street photographers have been carrying Leica's since before most of us were born. They're whisper quiet, they're small enough to fit in a jacket pocket, and today, to anyone but an expert, they read as a point and shoot from a distance. So people ignore them.

If you don't want to spend the big bucks for an M8, the next best thing is probably a cheap digital point and shoot. The drawback, of course, is the shutter lag on less expensive digital cameras. Try to capture the moment, and the moment is gone by the time the camera catches up with your finger. But there are a fair number of people using things like the Canon G10 for street photography.

 

[wheelhot]

But the price of a Leica is just WOW!

 

[Narcosynthesis]

I don't really shoot 'street', but do a lot of stuff in town and built up areas.

For carrying equipment, I use a smaller camera bag inside a messenger style bag - it isn't a camera bag so the contents aren't as obvious with a bag with a Canon logo on it, and because I am using a separate case for the camera and other small padded cases for lenses and so on I can swap what I am carrying - if I am just going shopping I can stick in the SLR and have the rest of the bag for other things, or if I am going out shooting I can load up with whatever camera kit I want for the day. To me a dedicated camera bag is a lot more restricted in what you can carry, and is a lot more obvious to a passer by what you are carrying.

When I am actually shooting though, I generally just keep the camera over my shoulder or in hand, as the places I am usually shooting have so far been safe enough. Having ton constantly dive into the bag to grab the camera is a pain when you are regularly taking photos.

 

[advan031]

There is no disguising a D700 w/ grip + 24.70 f2.8 but most of the time I don't care but for those times I don't want to lug it around, I carry my Panasonic Lumix LX3.

Check out ThinkTank Urban Disguise bags, they don't look like camera bags.

 

[job]

The problem is the DSLR itself, not how you carry it.

A DSLR screams "camera." People will see it from a block away, they have the search image down. The things are big, bulky, heavy, overcomplicated, and flashy. Add a fast zoom lens and it gets even bigger and heavier and more obvious. And if by some chance they miss it visually, they'll hear it. The shutter and mirror slap are loud enough, but add the motor drive and it's pretty hard to miss.

There's an answer, and it's nothing new. There's a reason street photographers have been carrying Leica's since before most of us were born. They're whisper quiet, they're small enough to fit in a jacket pocket, and today, to anyone but an expert, they read as a point and shoot from a distance. So people ignore them.

If you don't want to spend the big bucks for an M8, the next best thing is probably a cheap digital point and shoot. The drawback, of course, is the shutter lag on less expensive digital cameras. Try to capture the moment, and the moment is gone by the time the camera catches up with your finger. But there are a fair number of people using things like the Canon G10 for street photography.

This post needed repeating. Alternatives also include going back to a cheap FF alternative...film.

Film rangefinders and older SLRs with pancake/prime lenses are pretty discrete and can be hand-held easily. Remove the strap and always keep it ready in one hand - you certainly won't stand out as much.

 

[CrackedButter]

Another idea is too shoot with a camera that has waist level viewfinder, you're breaking the connection with the public using one of them. They are least likely to get as offended because it doesn't look like you are watching them specifically.

 

[venusian]

+1 on crumpler - the 5million dollar home is perfect for the dslr and two extra lenses (or one lens and a flash) looks like a messenger

 

[Ryan1524]

I have the previous generation 5 million dollar home. Looks almost identical except without the handle on top. Still looks a LOT like camera bag to me. Too boxy. But it's definitely much less so than a tamrac or lowepro bag. At the moment it keeps my lenses in it. The camera itself is almost always outside of it.

 

[feuerschlange]

no hide camera - disguise fairly

I tape my camera gear with black 3M vinyl tape. It leaves no marks whatsoever.
I use black unlettered camera straps (no Nikon, Digital, Canon, ... labelling in huge letters).
I use an old washed out canvas satchel with some padding, left over from my Crumpler Brazzilion for a second camera/ lens.

I always wear no fancy old Jeans/ jackets, no watch,...

This way its really the least touristic appearance in the street.
If someone gives me a strange look after shooting, I give a broad smile and move on.
Very often in crowded areas, I wait for a few minutes, let my surrounders get accustomed to my presence and start shooting them, pretending, to make snaps of the building.

 

[feuerschlange]

The problem is the DSLR itself, not how you carry it.

A DSLR screams "camera." People will see it from a block away, they have the search image down. The things are big, bulky, heavy, overcomplicated, and flashy. Add a fast zoom lens and it gets even bigger and heavier and more obvious. And if by some chance they miss it visually, they'll hear it. The shutter and mirror slap are loud enough, but add the motor drive and it's pretty hard to miss.

There's an answer, and it's nothing new. There's a reason street photographers have been carrying Leica's since before most of us were born. They're whisper quiet, they're small enough to fit in a jacket pocket, and today, to anyone but an expert, they read as a point and shoot from a distance. So people ignore them.

If you don't want to spend the big bucks for an M8, the next best thing is probably a cheap digital point and shoot. The drawback, of course, is the shutter lag on less expensive digital cameras. Try to capture the moment, and the moment is gone by the time the camera catches up with your finger. But there are a fair number of people using things like the Canon G10 for street photography.

I really lusted after a Leica M8 with 35mm or 28mm.
After researching prices, availability, service turnaround time and alike very carefully, I bought a Nikon D3 + 85 1.4 + 50 1.4 AF-S for the same money, I could have got only the Leica body.

Putting the Leica lenses on top equals to a few excellent additional Nikon zooms. I could have gone also for some less expensive Zeiss or Voigtlaender lenses, which equals only to one or two Nikon primes.

The Leica prices are far out of control. Technical capabilities of the pro grade Nikon (or Canon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus, ... for that matter) gear are way beyond the boarder, a current Leica digital can go.

Lately, I shot for 2 1/2 hours exposed in the rain of the Chinese F1 GP (shortly some photos of the race itself on my website here).

A Leica M8 would not even go that far (I am talking focal length here), nor would I trust the unsealed body for good reason.

I really like Leica (especially the timeless M-System), the prices and usability compared to other camera makers make them not very favourable to me though.

The bulk, noise and flashy factor, you describe are slightly overrated to me.
As can be seen on some galleries on my website, I do some amateur street shooting (Hong Kong 2009, being the first outing of my then new D3 as a second body).
It is all a matter, on how you behave and move on the street. You don't need to act indiscrete or impolite with an SLR.

 

[Digital Skunk]

I will say this a million times.

Canon G9 or G10

The only downside to that body is the high ISO noise, other than that, it's a $400 or less range finder with amazing manual control for a P&S.

p.s. If you don't want your camera gears stolen, don't bring it out at night. But it has been my experience with others that leads me to believe camera gear ONLY gets stolen when 1) the photog lets it out of their site, 2) the photog leaves it somewhere they think is safe, and 3) the photog misplaces it themselves.

With a staff of (once long ago) 25 photographers, at least 10 of them have had camera theft issues and each times it's been them leaving it in the trunk of their car, leaving it in the press area where they thought it was safe, or leaving it in their luggage and having the luggage stolen.

Never someone being held up simply because they have a fancy camera.

 

[Phrasikleia]

Never someone being held up simply because they have a fancy camera.

Well, I live near a university campus that has recently seen a rash of armed robberies in broad daylight. Two or three were within a block of campus, and one was right on it. The perpetrators used guns in a couple of cases and a knife in one or two others. In all cases, they were stealing laptops from students. My camera gear is worth more than a laptop.

So I feel pretty nervous walking anywhere around town with that gear and therefore choose my locations carefully. I'm mostly just waiting patiently for summer, when I'll be elsewhere.

 

[Digital Skunk]

...

Yeah in uni that's a common thing. During my short stint as a professor's assistant I urged students to consider getting desktops simply because laptops walk a lot easier.

And that school was located right at the heart of the city, and smashed car windows and missing radios was a common thing. I was told by another photog early on, "if you can't live without it take it with you." Sometimes that may not be the case. As a tourist, I just carry the smallest kit I can get my hands on. D40 and 35 1.8 or smaller.