These are great ideas. However they apply to the unlikely case that you catch a thief red handed. When my gear was stolen the police gave me an email address to forward the inventory and the s/n's etc. It was the same info that insurance required. But I will load the info in to my phone or get Fro's Gear Vault. Good idea.
Also, intended for the good samaritans, I take a photo of a business card to reside on my memory cards. That includes my name address and cell phone number. Hopefully if a well intentioned person found my camera they might review the photos to see if they recognized a subject and stumble on the card image.
As many have said here before, it is best to never let the bag out of your sight. I'm going to look into the motion detector, however. While most thieves can out run me, they won't feel so safe running with a screaming alarm in their hand.
I'm still PISSED!
C
All my memory cards have a PDF file on them called "Owner Info.pdf", which contains my name and cell number.
For those honest people...
jim quist wrote:
So a few months ago my wife stayed at a hotel and when she was eating breakfast someone stole $300.00 from her purse. Security cameras showed an older lady moving her purse.
So it got me to wondering how we can identify our equipment if someone picks up a camera...etc... and walks away with it. Say the security guy hears you say..."stop that guy he has my camera" and the security stops him. How do you prove it is yours when the thief says it's his? for simplicity sake let's say there are no images on the film card so you cant say here is what I photographed yesterday.
Do you have the serial numbers written down and in your wallet? Have invoices and receipts with you at all times? Or what would you do?
So a few months ago my wife stayed at a hotel and ... (
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List everything, including serial numbers in My Gear Vault on your Smartphone. Will be hard to argue if you have a photograph of the serial number block that matches.
Gosh, as a female I am so hard-wired to never let my handbag out of my sight...I just do the same with camera gear.
Plus, hubby and I travel everywhere together, so I have yet another set of eyes on everything.
I use Notes all the time, so adding serial #s would be no big deal.
I keep a database file that stores a description, scanned copy of the receipt and a photo of the item. This database file is stored on the cloud and is available from any computer touchpad or smartphone
jim quist wrote:
So a few months ago my wife stayed at a hotel and when she was eating breakfast someone stole $300.00 from her purse. Security cameras showed an older lady moving her purse.
So it got me to wondering how we can identify our equipment if someone picks up a camera...etc... and walks away with it. Say the security guy hears you say..."stop that guy he has my camera" and the security stops him. How do you prove it is yours when the thief says it's his? for simplicity sake let's say there are no images on the film card so you cant say here is what I photographed yesterday.
Do you have the serial numbers written down and in your wallet? Have invoices and receipts with you at all times? Or what would you do?
So a few months ago my wife stayed at a hotel and ... (
show quote)
All mine are registered with the manufacturer's on their websites, such as Nikon's my camera bag with images of my Nikkor/Nikon gear and all serial numbers. All of which can be accessed online via my phone on the spot.
I too use "My Gear Vault", meta data for ID, phone number etc. I also have pics on my cell of my equipment with serial numbers.
jim quist wrote:
So a few months ago my wife stayed at a hotel and when she was eating breakfast someone stole $300.00 from her purse. Security cameras showed an older lady moving her purse.
So it got me to wondering how we can identify our equipment if someone picks up a camera...etc... and walks away with it. Say the security guy hears you say..."stop that guy he has my camera" and the security stops him. How do you prove it is yours when the thief says it's his? for simplicity sake let's say there are no images on the film card so you cant say here is what I photographed yesterday.
Do you have the serial numbers written down and in your wallet? Have invoices and receipts with you at all times? Or what would you do?
So a few months ago my wife stayed at a hotel and ... (
show quote)
Check out the free app “My Gear Vault” developed by Jared Polin (the Fro Knows Photo guy). You’ll have all your serial numbers and more readily available on your cell phone.
jim quist wrote:
So a few months ago my wife stayed at a hotel and when she was eating breakfast someone stole $300.00 from her purse. Security cameras showed an older lady moving her purse.
So it got me to wondering how we can identify our equipment if someone picks up a camera...etc... and walks away with it. Say the security guy hears you say..."stop that guy he has my camera" and the security stops him. How do you prove it is yours when the thief says it's his? for simplicity sake let's say there are no images on the film card so you cant say here is what I photographed yesterday.
Do you have the serial numbers written down and in your wallet? Have invoices and receipts with you at all times? Or what would you do?
So a few months ago my wife stayed at a hotel and ... (
show quote)
Having a card in you wallet with serial numbers is a good way to go. You can also carve your name or initials into the item, but that kills resale value.
fotobyferg wrote:
...never let my handbag out of my sight...
I'm fanatical about that, too. Not only is expensive stuff never out of my sight, it's never out of my hand.
When touring with photographers who are using the same camera, batteries and charger as you, and where people are sharing the same two electrical outlets in the common room, it easy for someone to pickup someone else’s battery or charger. It happened to me once where I didn’t have my charger for two days until one of my colleagues found that they now had two chargers. I now mark my batteries and the charger with a permanent red highlighter across the model#, serial# plate on their back. You can still read the serial# but at a glance you can see it is yours.
I've registered all of my gear on LensTag. It's free and easy, they have an Ap for smart phones that can quickly and easily retrieve your full gear list. This list shows the make and model of your lenses, bodies and any other gear registered. While it's not as extensive as "My Gear Vault" it still allows quick and easy access to your gear and serial numbers.
http://www.lenstag.com
I have copyright, but I also have an image on my card with my name and cell phone number. If I misplace someone could contact me.
If I had all the receipts I would not fit them in my wallet. I never let my camera be unattended to be snatched. As far as burgers having serial numbers is a good practice. But in the opening scenario I would simply ask the thief to tell the guard what size and type of card is in the camera. Odds are he won't get it right.
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