Have you ever been stopped by police or security?

[DaveDam]

In the UK some of my friends and I have often been approached by over zealous police and security.
Being nice always helps and to be honest its not worth making a fuss.
A recent article gives some detail on the clear lack of direction police are given on the subject.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/28 ... _guidance/

Another one that bites me is - stadiums and concerts that only allow p&s.
I was looking at perhaps getting a small 28-280 (35mm equiv) p&s (like panasonic DMC-TZ4 or Olympus Stylus 1020) just for such purposes where security take objection to a 'large' DSLR even if you happen to have a relatively short lens 28-75 or even a wide prime 20mm they don't seem to care and their reason is that you can get 'close-ups' and they don't allow long lenses. Seems they mean physical size rather than focal length.... sigh

Dave

[KevinBarrett]

Recently I did a shoot for a coworker of mine who was surprising his girlfriend by picking her up at work in a horse-drawn carriage. So there I was out in front of the hospital framing things up and testing for light and DOF before she or the carriage arrived and our hospital's PR director immediately met me and asked (with a smile) what the purpose was for my shooting. I explained myself and was very impressed by her tactfulness and civility.

I haven't had any "rough" encounters yet, but then the camera is still moderately discrete with the 17-50. The VG might change things, and certainly with a long lens like the beercan, plus a flash, the a700 can quickly become an intimidating rig.