Remember, Winsor, I'm talking about back in the '50s and '60s, when
black cameras were a rarity and the vast majority of consumer cameras
were a brushed silver color. Also, I tied the idea of unobtrusiveness
to war zones, where a sniper or other rifleman would often take aim at
sunlight glinting off metal, assuming that it was an officer's insignia.
Having a silver colored camera in a situation like that would be
suicide. As for the "macho" factor, I would imagine that would go
hand-in-hand with black cameras being associated with war photographers.
And about people noticing silver colored cameras less now, I'd say that
the reason for that is that the silver/black ratio has been flipped so
that the silver cameras are the rarer ones now... at least among new
cameras being sold today.
Ed Senior
Winsor Crosby wrote:
Actually, for a very long time, most consumer cameras were silver.
Black cameras were hard to come by (only a few manufacturers made
them) and were mostly used by photojournalists. They preferred them
because they were unobtrusive... they didn't call as much attention
to the photographer as chrome bodies did. This was especially true
in war zones. However, Viet Nam brought the image of war
correspondent pjs with their black Nikons into homes all over America
and a mystique was born. However, your estimate of 99% black cameras
is a bit off, I'd say... I still think the majority of cameras are
silver colored.
Ed Senior
I have heard the unobtrusive explanation before, but I have never
bought it. My eye is drawn to an all black camera more than a silver
or gold camera. Today, I have even seen advice that taking pictures
with photography shy people is more successful with a non-black camera
which is seen as pro or a reporter. People don't notice "amateur"
colors as much. I think it is all fashion and image.
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