[V10]

Anyone here have been warned or denied entry due to having their dSLR with them?

For example, today I had my K-x with the DA L 55-300mm and rubber hood attached, and as I was about to enter a Q&A session with several CBC personalities I was stopped and told not to take pictures. I wasn't planning to take pictures so I had no problem with the request. However, I noticed several audience members overtly taking videos and shots with their cameraphone and P&S -- one person took several shots and each shot fired the flash 2 times! -- and they weren't warned nor spoken with security just several feet away.

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Last edited by V10; 09-26-2010 at 09:34 PM. Reason: spelling

[Adam]

I read a thread recently about a concert in which they allowed P&S cameras, but not "the bigger, professional cameras" (what they were trying to say is "DSLRs"). So yes, I'd say that this sort of discrimination is definitely out there- I guess it could be sort of a stereotype.

[aleonx3]

Anyone here have been warned or denied entry due to having their dSLR with them?

For example, today I had my K-x with the DA L 55-300mm and rubber hood attached, and as I was about to enter a Q&A session with several CBC personalities I was stopped and told not to take pictures. I wasn't planning to take pictures so I had no problem with the request. However, I noticed several audience members overtly taking videos and shots with their camerphone and P&S -- one person took several shots and each shot fired the flash 2 times! -- and they weren't warned nor spoken with security just several feet away.

Some places restrict any DSLR with lens longer than 5 inches (kinda stop people using long tele). If you have the pancake lens or a small prime like the 77mm, you can probably get by without being stopped. Most places will not allow flash photography but people did it any way without any respect to the rule.

[Lowell Goudge]

the whole issue about decriminating camera types needs to be reviewed.

OK you can't take a K7 and a bigma into a media event, but you can take any Bridge camera you want with a 25-500 or similar (20x zoom ratio) camera in, and get just as good a shot.

It's time to have the people restricting cameras make a clear policy, and either enforce it 100% or not make any restriction at all.

[magkelly]

It doesn't have to be an actual DSLR. I've had problems with taking my Fuji places because it merely looks like one at first glance. It's anything thing that doesn't look like a pocket camera sometimes. Venues just don't see the the hand sized camera, the cell phone cameras as a real threat, but unless you have a press pass a lot of them will hassle you for having a larger camera.

[Nowhere Matt]

I think the size of the K-7 has been to my advantage at times and not considered serious by many security personnel. Take my K-7 and either the compact DA 50-200 or now the Sigma 28-300 and I have a better chance of getting passed security at several events and the opportunity of getting satisfying pictures.
And of course it depends on the individual security employee.
I was once at an indoor water park and asked to either stop taking pictures or leave when several people with point and shoot flashes were there as well. I am sure the appearence of lens length (K10 with 50-200 compared with pocket camera) was what was making guests or management nervous.

[Lowell Goudge]

I think the size of the K-7 has been to my advantage at times and not considered serious by many security personnel. Take my K-7 and either the compact DA 50-200 or now the Sigma 28-300 and I have a better chance of getting passed security at several events and the opportunity of getting satisfying pictures.
And of course it depends on the individual security employee.
I was once at an indoor water park and asked to either stop taking pictures or leave when several people with point and shoot flashes were there as well. I am sure the appearence of lens length (K10 with 50-200 compared with pocket camera) was what was making guests or management nervous.

what you mean is out of sight out of mind!

That too is descrimination.

As I said, either there is a no photography rule, or there isn't. And small hidden cameras are as much or more of a risk to personal privacy and exploitation than a full sized digital SLR.

[Blue]

With college football games, the biggest issue isn't having a dSLR. They are more concerned about huge lenses batting people in the back of the head etc. I have gotten into games with a DA 55-300mm with no problem as well as with the Tamron 180mm/2.5. I'm not sure if I could pull it off with the DA* 300mm though. With venues during a "commercial" event, i.e. Concerts and shows, there is a wide gambit of policies depending on the show AND/or venue management.

[Blue]

what you mean is out of sight out of mind!

That too is descrimination.

As I said, either there is a no photography rule, or there isn't. And small hidden cameras are as much or more of a risk to personal privacy and exploitation than a full sized digital SLR.

That makes it too easy for them, "No Photography."

[JonPB]

Practically speaking, prohibiting photography doesn't work. There's no way to screen all cameras out, and maintaining customer service while disallowing cell phones doesn't work well.

There are several questions when considering photography rules during performances. Primarily, will flashes bother the artists? If so, security will monitor for flash use and attempt to deter it. Secondarily, will photographs be used as snapshots in memorial (which is great for everybody, because it reminds people of the good times they had and makes them and their friends move likely to return) or will they be using them to make money? You sometimes have to pay for a press pass, and the value of that is diminished when anybody can bring in a large camera. Similarly, will the use of large cameras detract from the enjoyment, or even the safety, of other patrons? Probably, and those with press passes generally know to be polite to patrons, although they climb over each other (and security) like rodents in winter.

The last question is enforcement. Does the bag checker at the door know the difference between cameras? Unlikely. A 5" lens rule makes it easy to enforce, and also addresses the safety issue and, to a lesser extent, the profit issue.

Do note that many performance venues allow snapshots to be taken with compact cameras, but actively monitor for people recording sound or video and will try to stop that.

I do object to the word "discrimination," at least in the performing arts context. Artists make their living by performing, and that is usually protected by copyright. (Whether or not one agrees with intellectual property laws is another topic of discussion.) They make money from people paying to record the performance, including photographically. Yes, there is discrimination in the literal sense, but not the pejorative; artists and venues have the right to decide how best to profit from their activities. And there's a lot more to that decision than how you know you will use your equipment. Ultimately, the policy is a practical one.

[Lowell Goudge]

Practically speaking, prohibiting photography doesn't work. There's no way to screen all cameras out, and maintaining customer service while disallowing cell phones doesn't work well.

There are several questions when considering photography rules during performances. Primarily, will flashes bother the artists? If so, security will monitor for flash use and attempt to deter it. Secondarily, will photographs be used as snapshots in memorial (which is great for everybody, because it reminds people of the good times they had and makes them and their friends move likely to return) or will they be using them to make money? You sometimes have to pay for a press pass, and the value of that is diminished when anybody can bring in a large camera. Similarly, will the use of large cameras detract from the enjoyment, or even the safety, of other patrons? Probably, and those with press passes generally know to be polite to patrons, although they climb over each other (and security) like rodents in winter.

The last question is enforcement. Does the bag checker at the door know the difference between cameras? Unlikely. A 5" lens rule makes it easy to enforce, and also addresses the safety issue and, to a lesser extent, the profit issue.

Do note that many performance venues allow snapshots to be taken with compact cameras, but actively monitor for people recording sound or video and will try to stop that.

I do object to the word "discrimination," at least in the performing arts context. Artists make their living by performing, and that is usually protected by copyright. (Whether or not one agrees with intellectual property laws is another topic of discussion.) They make money from people paying to record the performance, including photographically. Yes, there is discrimination in the literal sense, but not the pejorative; artists and venues have the right to decide how best to profit from their activities. And there's a lot more to that decision than how you know you will use your equipment. Ultimately, the policy is a practical one.

As a simple aside, In Prague last summer, I visited the prague castle. They have a no photo rule with a twist. You pay a marginal fee, I think $2 I think it was, for unlimited photo rights through most of the castle.

If you had an option of paying a marginal fee to take pictures for personal use, I would pay the extra.

As for flashes, even with the pass, there was a no flash rule rightly, and you forgot some points with respect to flash, some times in light based shows it can ruin it for everyone because of the flash, second, in some performances it is a distraction to the point of being a safety issue for the performers, as well as the impact on art etc and degradation.

The 5 inch rule is stupid as well, because some camcoders, especially 8mm ones are 10 inches long, are they allowed or not, i think it is a binary decision all or nothing and nothing really means that

[r0ckstarr]

Longhorn Cavern State Park. It's a park with a cave. They give you a guided tour to the bottom of the cave and back up.

My camera was not allowed. They claimed I was with a news station because I showed up with a monopod. They were pretty rude about it, even after I explained that I wasn't with any media outlet, and that I drove 300 miles just to see the cave for myself. They let everybody with a P&S in.

[yeatzee]

Went to a concert not long ago with my K-7 and DA 55-300mm + hood attached. Seeing hundreds of point and shoots around me I thought taking pictures was A ok.

Well, boy was a wrong! Out of the crowd of several hundred (probably significantly more) I was singled out and rather disrespectfully told I had to stop taking pictures. I thought it was rather ironic that immediately after atleast 20 point and shoot's with their annoying flashes went off simultaneously. Than they placed a guard right next to me for the remaining concert to apparently make sure I did not proceed to take more

Pretty infuriating to say the least

[r0ckstarr]

Not DSLR discrimination, but I got kicked out of a halloween haunted house for taking a P&S inside. My plan was to catch the people off guard with the flash and scream BOO! right as they jumped out and attempted to scare us.

It was pretty funny for a bit, but then I was grabbed by the shoulder and told to leave. They told me I had to delete the pictures on the camera. I told them that they let me in with the camera, so I thought it was ok. Still got the pictures saved somewhere.

[Lowell Goudge]

Went to a concert not long ago with my K-7 and DA 55-300mm + hood attached. Seeing hundreds of point and shoots around me I thought taking pictures was A ok.

Well, boy was a wrong! Out of the crowd of several hundred (probably significantly more) I was singled out and rather disrespectfully told I had to stop taking pictures. I thought it was rather ironic that immediately after atleast 20 point and shoot's with their annoying flashes went off simultaneously. Than they placed a guard right next to me for the remaining concert to apparently make sure I did not proceed to take more

Pretty infuriating to say the least

you should have told them right then and there to enforce the rule evenly or not at all. If they then asked you to either stop or leave you should have demanded a refund because they were permitting all sorts of visual distractions by allowing all the other cameras with flashes.