The various reasons given for this range from the understandable to the bizarre.
I've heard people say they do it to make the camera less conspicuous, and that makes sense. The bold white block letters or red circle on a black background do make a camera more likely to draw the eye, which is anathema when doing candid work. Still, if you're waving around a full-frame DSLR and a bazooka-like pro-grade zoom lens, nothing is going to make it inconspicuous.
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| Marketing to street photogs, Fuji keeps their rangefinder-style cameras low-key out of the box. |
Others do it because they don't want to advertise for the camera manufacturer, and I understand where they're coming from, even if I don't entirely get it.
I think the people who obsessively avoid or remove brand logos and badging on their consumer goods are nothing but the opposite pole on the same axis of neurosis as the people who are obsessed with having the right brand logos festooning their stuff.
The reason to not use the Canon or Nikon strap that came in the box with your camera isn't because it has the manufacturer's logo on it, but because it's a crappy camera strap. Get you some quality, comfortable Peak Design or BlackRapid gear to hang your expensive camera off. Using the little strap that came in the box to hold your camera is like using the plastic dovetail protectors that came on your Glock as sights.
The silliest are the people who cover the Nikon or Leica logo because they don't want to attract thieves.
Bro, the average street thug don't know a Leica from a lug nut. The only people who care about that shit are other camera nerds. Thieves are keying on the fact that you have a big camera and lens hanging around your neck, not that it has a brand name on it. It's one of the things I sometimes think about when I'm out and about with some antique DSLR; it'd be a shame for something to jump off over a camera that would get a thief laughed out of a pawn shop. "Buddy, that thing's twenty years old. I can't buy that."
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