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 01/08/2007 04:44:51 PM · #1
The picture you take
or whether your dSLR camera body is silver.

I know someone- she calls herself a professional, and has said that other professional photographers think less of other photographers with cameras with silver bodies.

SO if you're a professional, do you think someone with a camera with a silver body is less of a photographer?
 01/08/2007 04:46:07 PM · #2
No.
 01/08/2007 04:50:36 PM · #3
Well, if that grey body had a white lens on it :P
 01/08/2007 04:50:40 PM · #4
Sounds like snobbery, looking down on somebody because of their camera!
 01/08/2007 04:51:41 PM · #5
This is too hard a question for me to answer yes or no.

I have friends who take photos of horse racing and there is always a battle between Canon and Nikon. Who has the best lens, who has the better camera, but one thing that always gets them going is when someone joins them at a fence or at the finish and they have a silver camera. Eyebrows are raised and they shrug...amateur.

I know the camera is the same, but it is snobbery! Black, good...silver, amateur.

It isn't whether they are lesser or equal, it is racist - colour!
 01/08/2007 04:52:12 PM · #6
I wanted the gray version of the *ist Ds but they only sold it overseas :(
 01/08/2007 04:54:49 PM · #7
Its like hockey players with white skates. The color doesn't affect their ability but boy are they ever sissies! :)

Seriously though, silver is usually a color I would associate to a point and shoot. Some DSLR's look cool when they are silver but some look like giant P&S's. I guess rationally there is no difference but subconciously there is a difference.

Isn't there also a technical reason that camera bodies used to be always black?
01/08/2007 04:57:26 PM · #8
Originally posted by Citadel:

Isn't there also a technical reason that camera bodies used to be always black?


Reflections.

R.
 01/08/2007 04:59:16 PM · #9
Originally posted by Citadel:
Its like hockey players with white skates. The color doesn't affect their ability but boy are they ever sissies! :)

Seriously though, silver is usually a color I would associate to a point and shoot. Some DSLR's look cool when they are silver but some look like giant P&S's. I guess rationally there is no difference but subconciously there is a difference.

Isn't there also a technical reason that camera bodies used to be always black?


yep, they didn't reflect light so much and they looked professional!
 01/08/2007 05:00:27 PM · #10
I have no idea about the technical stuff and why they should be black.

This just struck a chord with me because while I don't consider myself a pro, telling someone else that they won't look like a serious photog if they're camera is silver just seems so shallow to me- and snobby. The person looking to buy the silver body wasn't looking to do anything professional or really serious either.

I will admit when I've seen a silver body- only a few outside of catalogues, I did think they looked a lot different and thought they looked "cheaper" but I didn't think the photog carrying it was any less of a photog. Figured they were probably like me and went with what they could afford and liked lol.

Ah well, as a pro, would you tell someone who was camera shopping for a dSLR to take pictures for themselves "well you won't look like a serious photog if you buy the silver body, people won't think you're really into photography".

So I'm trying to get some REAL pro points of view.
 01/08/2007 05:01:05 PM · #11
Silver is probably only used on consumer model cameras, so if you show up with a silver camera versus an all black camera, you're probably immediately identifying yourself as "amateur" instead of "professional". (a "professional" being someone who earns a living in this line of work - in other words, can afford to purchase the tools necessary to the trade)

That doesn't necessarily say who takes the better pictures and may, in fact, merely imply who has more money to burn. But snobbery is what it is... and the professional carries professional looking equipment for whatever reason he/she chooses.

01/08/2007 05:01:21 PM · #12
Originally posted by missinseattle:
The picture you take
or whether your dSLR camera body is silver.

I know someone- she calls herself a professional, and has said that other professional photographers think less of other photographers with cameras with silver bodies.

SO if you're a professional, do you think someone with a camera with a silver body is less of a photographer?


This is a rhetorical question, right?

Apples and oranges.

Lemme see, if someone is a "professional" then it's the product they sell that matters, right? Is she selling her equipment? No. So what matters, of course, is the images she makes.

Do her images sell? Well, if so, then what does she care what other "professionals" think? She only need be concerned about her customers.

Is someone with a silver camera body "less" of a photographer? Of course not. Less of a professional? Not really. If you can create great art with a basting brush or great music with a garbage can or a great photo with an antiquated Leica 35mm or gramma's Kodak Brownie...well, go right ahead. If you are a professional and need fancier equipment you'll make that investment when you can.

But, hey, I'm not a professional so my opinion probably doesn't count.
;-)
 01/08/2007 05:03:41 PM · #13
Originally posted by missinseattle:
I have no idea about the technical stuff and why they should be black.

This just struck a chord with me because while I don't consider myself a pro, telling someone else that they won't look like a serious photog if they're camera is silver just seems so shallow to me- and snobby. The person looking to buy the silver body wasn't looking to do anything professional or really serious either.

I will admit when I've seen a silver body- only a few outside of catalogues, I did think they looked a lot different and thought they looked "cheaper" but I didn't think the photog carrying it was any less of a photog. Figured they were probably like me and went with what they could afford and liked lol.

Ah well, as a pro, would you tell someone who was camera shopping for a dSLR to take pictures for themselves "well you won't look like a serious photog if you buy the silver body, people won't think you're really into photography".

So I'm trying to get some REAL pro points of view.


You answered your own question! Silver looks cheaper, prosumer. Black looks more professional. It really is that simple.
 01/08/2007 05:05:38 PM · #14
In the olden days of the 70s and 80s, Black was always considered profession for the reason Bear states - Reflections. There was a certain air about having the black camera bodies, especially in the Nikon F, F2, FM, FMII days.

The odd think about it was that the black bodies always sold for $10 - $20 more than the chrome bodies of the same model. Even though the black bodies were just black paint over brass while the chrome bodies were chrome plated over brass. The chrome bodies showed much less wear from bags and straps than did the black bodies. This was important when going to see your camera when the time came. There were very few used black camera bodies that looked as good as the used chrome bodies.

That said, there was nothing cooler than black Nikon F2-AS back in the late 70s early 80s.
 01/08/2007 05:09:43 PM · #15
I guess one thing I would like to point out in reference to my previous post. If silver cameras are generally Point and Shoot, black is generally the domain of SLR. When I see some higher end point and shoots that are black in color, if I just glance at it, I can almost be fooled into thinking its an SLR. Again, this isn't a matter of conscious choice rather that moment of perception. A friend of my girlfriend's has gone to India and Bali and took far better pictures with her silver point and shoot than I have ever taken with my black SLR. In short: perception (silver is "amateur") doesn't always match reality (its the person behind the camera that makes the difference).

One thing I will say however is that someone taking pictures with a point and shoot, regardless of it color, that doesn't use the view finder tends to get the "amateur" tag from me pretty easily. (I "love" the whole hold the camera 2 feet in front of you with one hand look!)

01/08/2007 05:15:48 PM · #16
Personally I'd judge based on the photos than the camera, though we had a choice of silver or black 400D and chose the black one because it just looked better.
 01/08/2007 05:18:17 PM · #17
Originally posted by Citadel:
I guess one thing I would like to point out in reference to my previous post. If silver cameras are generally Point and Shoot, black is generally the domain of SLR. When I see some higher end point and shoots that are black in color, if I just glance at it, I can almost be fooled into thinking its an SLR. Again, this isn't a matter of conscious choice rather that moment of perception. A friend of my girlfriend's has gone to India and Bali and took far better pictures with her silver point and shoot than I have ever taken with my black SLR. In short: perception (silver is "amateur") doesn't always match reality (its the person behind the camera that makes the difference).

One thing I will say however is that someone taking pictures with a point and shoot, regardless of it color, that doesn't use the view finder tends to get the "amateur" tag from me pretty easily. (I "love" the whole hold the camera 2 feet in front of you with one hand look!)


As a photographer who use to take pictures for a living, I can tell you I LOVE using the LCD at arms length with a P&S. I also like that my Coolpix 5400 has a swivel screen so I can get the camera at ground level and still compose the shot, something I can not do with the dSLR without laying on the ground. Same for overhead shots.

I used to do this with every Nikon F series through the F3 by removing the viewfinder. I really miss being able to do that.

If they made a P&S with a chip like in my 20D, I'd switch for good.

Just like black or chrome doesn't make a professional photographer, using the viewfinder over the LCD doesn't mean better photographer, IMHO.
 01/08/2007 05:21:14 PM · #18
The color does not make someone more or less of a photographer. However it does make a difference in professional settings. Looks only!

Message edited by author 2007-01-08 17:35:17.
 01/08/2007 05:23:45 PM · #19
Originally posted by KaDi:


Lemme see, if someone is a "professional" then it's the product they sell that matters, right?


Not entirely. Part of being professional is being able to get the shot, no matter what. Part of that is using the most reliable equipment, having spares etc.

If someone for example showed up to shoot a wedding with a Canon Rebel, black or silver, and it was their only camera, I wouldn't have very high opinion of their professionalism.

So it isn't if the body is silver or not, but the silver bodies are exclusively found in the lower end, less robust cameras.
 01/08/2007 05:32:10 PM · #20
Out of curiousity.. is a silver tripod looked at the same way? Is a black tripod more professional?
 01/08/2007 05:35:02 PM · #21
Originally posted by aliqui:
Out of curiousity.. is a silver tripod looked at the same way? Is a black tripod more professional?


I'm not sure, but it does send shivers through my spine when I see thousand dollar plus investments sitting on a bargain tripod.

Message edited by author 2007-01-08 17:35:26.
 01/08/2007 05:35:43 PM · #22
Originally posted by scarbrd:

As a photographer who use to take pictures for a living, I can tell you I LOVE using the LCD at arms length with a P&S. I also like that my Coolpix 5400 has a swivel screen so I can get the camera at ground level and still compose the shot, something I can not do with the dSLR without laying on the ground. Same for overhead shots.


Oh but you used two hands right? One hand on your camera and the other on your beer/coffee/beverage and expecting it to be an award winning shot just seems weird.

In the end (and I think we all agree on this). If the shot is taken one handed, through the LCD, with a pink Barbie camera (Like Crayon's!) with a shot of tequila in one hand and it ends up being a Pulitzer award winner I would say that the result is the important thing. A 32k Hasselblad isn't going to make you a winner or a pro anymore than a pink Barbie camera is going to take away your skills...


01/08/2007 05:38:59 PM · #23
This is what cameras should look like;


01/08/2007 05:45:44 PM · #24
Originally posted by pekesty:
Originally posted by aliqui:
Out of curiousity.. is a silver tripod looked at the same way? Is a black tripod more professional?


I'm not sure, but it does send shivers through my spine when I see thousand dollar plus investments sitting on a bargain tripod.


My tripod is silver and black but not a bargain tripod or at least to my standards ($199.99).Manfrotto 3021N legs with 3030 head.
 01/08/2007 05:47:35 PM · #25
i don't care what the body looks like. i'm only looking at the images...
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