Black or Chrome?

[Lee L]

Hair is better then a chrome dome.

That's the typical sequence.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

I really like those gold painted Holga cameras from Lomo. Yeah, that one. If only all cameras could be golden.

 

[elekm]

Once you go black, you'll never go chrome again. Actually, some cameras were never made in black. And some never had a chrome counterpart.

Although black cameras are handsome, I wouldn't never let it stop me from using a chrome camera.

And I would never use those ghastly green, bright blue and other neon shades of the Pentax digital. (In reality, they're sort of cool, but not my thing.)

 

[msage]

Black? Chrome? Wood!

 

[benjiboy]

I've always prefoerred the black, though I own both. My favorite is a Black Nikkormat EL. There must be a reason that starting with the F3 I think all "pro" Nikons are black.

Think again, the Nikon F,F2, and Nikkormat came in chrome too, in the UK black Nikon bodys cost £10 more.

 

[narsuitus]

I did not vote because I have both, I use both, and I love both.

When I worry about wear and tear effecting the appearance of the camera, I prefer a chrome body.
When I am shooting candids and need to be inconspicuous, I prefer a black camera body.
When I am shooting a subject through glass and worry about the camera's reflection appearing in the glass, I prefer a black body.

The best black body 35mm I ever owned was the Nikon F2 Titanium.

The best chrome body 35mm I ever owned (and still own) is the Nikon F2 with the DE-1 standard non-metered prism finder.

One black body 35mm I always wish I owned was the Leica MP.

One 35mm chrome body that I always thought was attractive was the Olympus OM-1.

 

[Prest_400]

I did not vote because I have both, I use both, and I love both.

When I worry about wear and tear effecting the appearance of the camera, I prefer a chrome body.
When I am shooting candids and need to be inconspicuous, I prefer a black camera body.
When I am shooting a subject through glass and worry about the camera's reflection appearing in the glass, I prefer a black body.

One black body 35mm I always wish I owned was the Leica MP.

One 35mm chrome body that I always thought was attractive was the Olympus OM-1.

I agree with that.

Chrome is a tough finish and doesn't get that typical brassing as black finished cameras, my OM has a few scratches that I bet would be rather visible on black. If I'm not wrong, chrome was the pro color back in the 30s. Black was the cheap thing.
Nowadays Black is a little bit boring, but black cameras look nifty.

I just like both, depends of what I can get.

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

I do love gold. And black or gold shark skin. I think worst black cameras comes from Japan today. They mold them from high pressure injected polyurethane and they are dull. Than they apply a shiny thin layer of second polyurethane and it looses its look with time and sunlight and hand contact. Than it turns a ugly garbage bag. Todays digital cameras are all made from cheap car interior materials and they are so so ugly and discusting. I dont like metal finish of later 70s cameras also. They are too much shiny this time.
I think best black or chrome black cameras are plus 60 years old Leicas.
Hasselblads are not chrome but indium and this is different and good

 

[mhcfires]

I would love to have a black Leica M2, but since they are scarcer than chicken lips, I will have to be satisfied with my chrome model.

 

[anon12345]

OD green.

 

[Worker 11811]

Ooh! Shiny...

 

[tbeaman]

Black has always been my preference.
All my Canon's (A1, AE1-Program, F1) have been black; my EOS system followed suit - although it doesn't actually come in any other colour, so I'd be stuck if I really loved chrome!

See, I do love chrome, and therefore am kind of sad my A-1 only comes in black. I think all-black cameras are dull and boring, especially the awful amorphous blobs everyone is saddled with these days.

There is the whole debate over which is better as far as reflecting heat(chrome) vs attracting and holding heat(black) and is it myth or fact. I remember reading an article about that back in the 80's as to why most camera manufacturers went to all black. It is purely a marketing ploy, and cheaper to make an all black unit, and label it a"professional" model. I believe this was due to the popularity of the Nikon F series, and not everybody could afford one, plus it gave the illusion your camera was just as good as the Nikon.

Thanks for that. It will be useful ammunition for when I feel like being ornery about camera aesthetics (it happens).

It is kind of interesting though to trace the design trends through camera history. We started with wood and brass, generally transitioning to black and chrome, and now we're in the age of all-black. Obviously the majority prefers the all-black thing, and lots of people still go (ardently) for the wood and brass thing, but for me it'll always be the classic black and chrome. The original Star Trek, as it were.