Analog film photography and cameras

It's like all suspicion disappears from people's faces. I don't know if it's the fact that you're not hidden behind a camera so expression is plain to see, but like magic, people trust the person with the funny looking box. Flipping sorcery.

The 'not hiding' thing is definitely a big part of it, but the delicate, friendly design of the camera is another. The grey Rolleis (the 3.5T and the baby 4x4) are even more charming than the black-leather-covered Fs.
I think you'd reach a similar conclusion from carrying a Leica M3 versus a Nikon SLR.
So many cameras (old and new) are designed with an almost military aggression that may actually be accidental - after all, most cameras were originally coloured all-black to minimise reflection.
The hard angles of some SLRs make for a slightly menacing object, and big lenses don't help either.