What to bring to a big city?

SodaAnt

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For street photography in big cities, particularly out of the tourist areas, is it okay to bring bling cameras like Leicas, or is it better to bring beaters, like an old OM-1? I don’t want to lose something expensive to a junkie looking for his next score.
 

BrianShaw

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It doesn’t matter what camera you use. What you need to bring are two things: a good and confident attitude, and a friend to watch your back.

Which big city?
 
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SodaAnt

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San Francisco. I live close, but haven’t been since pre-Covid. I’ve heard things have gotten pretty bad lately with the homeless and crime.
 

Sirius Glass

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SodaAnt said:
San Francisco. I live close, but haven’t been since pre-Covid. I’ve heard things have gotten pretty bad lately with the homeless and crime.
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No one is in the Fisherman's Warf area. Many large and famous restaurants are closed forever.
 

Alex Benjamin

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SodaAnt said:
San Francisco. I live close, but haven’t been since pre-Covid. I’ve heard things have gotten pretty bad lately with the homeless and crime.
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Recent thread:

Is San Francisco really that bad?

Wife wants to plan a road trip to San Fran and of course I want to take a film camera. Not searching for bad news specifically, but just watching normal news and visiting various photo blogs/forums, San Fran keeps popping up when reports of robberies of "expensive" photo equipment happen in...
www.photrio.com
 

rcphoto

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I regularly traveled on buses and trains in Chicago (and quite a bit on foot) with 2 Hasselblad's and my F5, never had an issue. Its all about how you display yourself. Be aware of your surroundings, get your shots and move on.

An ugly bag also works great at making you less of a target.
 

Pieter12

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I doubt a destitute person bent on theft knows a Leica from a Lumo. They're probably more interested in your watch and wallet. If you look and act like a potential victim, you will become one. Be confident and don't do anything foolish.
 
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SodaAnt

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Scary stuff. Recent stories out of Frisco recently give me the chills, and I lived in the South Bronx for seven years!
 

MattKing

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4season

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A family member spends time in the Embarcadero, says that foot traffic along the popular waterfront route has been decent. But even before the pandemic, the area didn't seem to have much night life after 10 PM or so, maybe due to lack of any other obvious late-night attractions nearby. Maybe I'm just oblivious, but when wandering around on foot, I tend not to feel particularly on edge, and if I encountered an area which did give me weird vibes (1990s, run-down area just outside of Vancouver B.C.'s Gastown area at dusk, for instance) I'd leave. I'm pretty accustomed to seeing people living on the streets, sometimes asking me for change. And as long as they're not aggressively panhandling, or otherwise being a PITA, I'm okay with them.

But when someone feels potential danger all around them, it can be pretty obvious. And at least to my eyes, a Leica covered in gaffer's tape is like a flashing beacon (I can probably tell exactly what M-camera you've got). My own attitude was not to care too much about the camera, so much as being aware of photo opportunities, so I'm always looking around, camera in hand, looking at the light, looking for interesting angles. And I dunno, maybe this has made me invisible.
 

Alex Benjamin

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SodaAnt said:
For street photography in big cities, particularly out of the tourist areas, is it okay to bring bling cameras like Leicas, or is it better to bring beaters, like an old OM-1?
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In the general population, probably less than 1% would see the difference between a Leica M2 and an Olympus OM-1. In the areas your looking to explore, it's probably 1% of that 1%. They both look like old cameras.

On the other hand, 99% of the population would see the difference between an iPhone 14 and a Leica, and just about all these people would probably think the iPhone is the most expensive of the two.

We camera geeks might think that Leica vs OM-1 is like Lamborghini vs Toyota Corolla, but while there are many parts of big cities in which in would not park my Lamborghini—should I ever be able to afford one—, I wouldn't hesitate to take the Leica just about anywhere. The iPhone I hide more carefully, with the wallet.

I remember nearly getting mugged—never ran that fast in my life—at dawn in the old part of Genoa, Italy. They were not after the M2, couldn't care less. Just the wallet. Muggers don't have time to go around trying to pawn cameras—those that are usually come from home or store robberies. Muggers are after cash, bank and credit cards.
 
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SodaAnt

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Alex Benjamin said:
In the general population, probably less than 1% would see the difference between a Leica M2 and an Olympus OM-1. In the areas your looking to explore, it's probably 1% of that 1%. They both look like old cameras.
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I wasn’t thinking about it that way. More like if someone does grab my camera and it’s a beater OM-1, I’m out $150, but if it’s a Leica, I’m out $2000.
 

Bill Burk

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SodaAnt said:
I wasn’t thinking about it that way. More like if someone does grab my camera and it’s a beater OM-1, I’m out $150, but if it’s a Leica, I’m out $2000.
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Where are you leaving your car? Those windows may get smashed and then you’ll also be looking at repair bill or deductible.

Last time I went to SF with a camera I parked in a good attended garage and carried only a Spotmatic-F with 50mm f/1.4

It’s a good idea to bring a camera you won’t fret about losing. I don’t often bring a full complement of lenses. More to keep it simple than worry about loss.
 

Alex Benjamin

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SodaAnt said:
I wasn’t thinking about it that way. More like if someone does grab my camera and it’s a beater OM-1, I’m out $150, but if it’s a Leica, I’m out $2000.
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Think about it the other way: if you spent 2000$ on a Leica, it's to use it.

Honestly, unless your intent is doing a documentary on skid row at 2 a.m., chances are pretty slim that someone will leap out of nowhere to grab your camera. Not at 6'5", 250 pounds. They may be stoned, in some cases doped out of their brains, but they ain't stupid.

You have more chances getting your camera, wallet and phone taken from their bag without you knowing it in a fully-packed Times Square—these guys are good—than while walking in "normal" streets in any city.

I will add that one shouldn't equate homelessness and criminality. If you walk around areas with a lot of homeless people just going around photographing, them, yeah, you'll probably get harassed, but for good reasons. Won't mean they're after your camera. Poverty is a problem, as is drug addiction, but the poor and/or drug addicts are not the major contributors to the violent crime stats. More often than not, criminal activity related to homelessness and drug addiction are property crimes, such as shoplifting (for obvious reasons).

On the other hand, if you start photographing street-gang members while they're on a drug sale, then it really won't matter whether you're holding a Leica or an OM...
 

awty

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SodaAnt said:
One advantage I do have that most don’t is size: 6’5” 250 lbs.
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You'll be ok.
Biggest hassle being that big is you will stand out and unless you get to a lower position all your shots will be looking down at people. Either use a TLR or get use to shooting while holding the camera at a lower height without using the view finder.
 

otto.f

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Pieter12 said:
I doubt a destitute person bent on theft knows a Leica from a Lumo. They're probably more interested in your watch and wallet. If you look and act like a potential victim, you will become one. Be confident and don't do anything foolish.
Click to expand...

Agree. If you leave your Leica at home, the chance that you are robbed is the same
 

Don_ih

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Take the camera that will serve you best - that's what it's for. A Leica is a "beater"- Cartier-Bresson wrapped the camera strap around his wrist: so he could use the Leica as a sap.
 

mtnbkr

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SodaAnt said:
One advantage I do have that most don’t is size: 6’5” 250 lbs.
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Won't matter much if you walk around looking like prey.

Don_ih said:
Take the camera that will serve you best - that's what it's for. A Leica is a "beater"- Cartier-Bresson wrapped the camera strap around his wrist: so he could use the Leica as a sap.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I never knew that about him but I have always done the same. A 70s era metal SLR has a lot of heft to it.

Chris
 
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