Mario’s note: New article by Iaio Atamián, with everything you need to know about how to prevent your camera, lenses, or complete photographic equipment from being stolen.
The worst nightmare of every photographer must be without a doubt that their camera is stolen, a situation that gets even worse if in addition to the camera, they take the lenses, and it would border on catastrophe if we add the flash, accessories and. . the pictures.
Unfortunately, you must keep in mind that you are a very attractive target for all those friends of the alien. You may think that it will never touch you, and we hope it will, but just in case, you better be warned.
Today I am here to share with you some tricks and recommendations so that you can prevent this type of situation and protect yourself against this threat.
The first thing is to prevent
Although it is not always possible to avoid theft, it is possible to take the necessary precautions in order to reduce the risks of its occurrence. Knowing how expensive photographic equipment is, there are more and more friends of others who, knowing how expensive photographic equipment is, have photographers as a favorite target for their misdeeds, so be careful and apply certain basic prevention rules if you don’t You want to be the next victim.
Video: almost imperceptible lens theft
inventories
The saying goes that “you don’t know what you have until you lose it” and it is very true. It’s highly unlikely that you’ve memorized all your lens serial numbers, or can recite your camera’s sales receipt number, so the first thing you should do is take a good, comprehensive inventory.
To do this, I recommend that you make a list of all your equipment on a spreadsheet or spreadsheet, including:
- Brand
- Model
- Serial number
- Photographs of the same
- Invoice
And any other data that you consider important, both for personal control and in case you have the misfortune of having to file a complaint with the authorities for theft. It is better that you have everything well organized and do not trust yourself, because if they rob you, you will no longer have them available to do so.
Insurance
Once you have made a complete inventory of all your equipment and accessories, what you can begin to evaluate is the possibility of taking out insurance that protects it.
Doing a quick calculation, with a camera, a pair of lenses, a flash, some filters and other accessories, surely your equipment will be valued at a few hundred Euros, in some cases it may be thousands, so taking out insurance would not seem a crazy idea, especially if the camera is your work tool.
In addition to coverage against theft, insurance usually includes coverage against losses, accidents and damages, but as you begin to investigate the conditions of service, you will come across some inconveniences that may even make you not take out any insurance.
Insuring equipment that is relatively easy to steal may not be the ideal business for insurance companies, so it is not easy to find one that provides such a service without interposing clauses that border on the ridiculous.
Some recommendations:
- Read the fine print carefully: One of the most frequent mistakes is to believe that the insurance will cover everything and that is not the case. To avoid disappointment, make sure you read the fine print, the terms of service and under what circumstances you will be covered. For example, many insurers do not usually cover theft but robbery. Make sure you understand very well which situations fit and which do not.
- See if it’s worth it: If you are one of taking photos in insecure areas and you have very expensive professional photographic equipment, it may be a good idea to insure it, but if your equipment is mid-range or normally affordable, the insurance may be more expensive than renewing your team completely. Taking out insurance is a personal decision.
- Research and compare: Before hiring with a company, take advantage of the Internet to see the experiences that other photographers had with that company. Hiring insurance is easy and fast, but making it count can be an impossible mission.
Motion and proximity alarms
Sometimes it is not possible to be carrying all the equipment at the same time. If you have covered an event or worked in a studio, you will know that it is impossible to carry the equipment with you all the time, you use a part while leaving the rest of the equipment, objectives, etc. set aside momentarily until needed. How can you be sure that it is not going to be stolen and thus be able to focus on your task, that of taking good photos?
The motion alarms come to lend a hand in this difficult time. Perhaps they were not designed with the purpose of preventing your backpack or bag from being stolen, but they serve perfectly for that purpose. All you have to do is put the sensor inside your backpack or bag and take the receiver with you, so that if someone takes it without your permission, the alarm will go off.
The proximity alarms they go a step further since you can integrate them into your mobile phone. The principle is the same, a sensor is placed in the bag or backpack where you keep your equipment, but unlike movement alarms, thanks to the application that you must install on your Smartphone, you will not only be able to set the alarm, but also you can set the tolerable distance before it fires.
GPS locator
With the rise of GPS technology worldwide, it was a matter of time for manufacturers to launch this type of product that allows, through a small locator, to track a bag, a backpack or the storage case of our equipment.
They are more expensive than proximity and movement alarms since not only do you have to get one of these locators, but to be able to track it if necessary, just like for cars, you will have to pay a monthly amount to be able to do it. tracking using an app.
One of the most recommended for its size and quality is the Pocket Finder, although you can search online stores as there are several alternatives available. If you have any experience with any other brand, feel free to share it in the comments below.
Labelled
Who has not given a name to some garment or object when he was a child so that everyone knows that it belonged to him? The same happens with photographic equipment, although in a somewhat more sophisticated way.
Companies like STOP or Immobilize They offer labels that not only allow objects to be identified by means of small labels with barcodes or QR codes that are difficult to detect and remove, but also, if someone buys a piece of equipment with a label of this type, when they consult the Internet for them, they will be notified to the buyer that said item is stolen.
There are also tiny microchips on the market called RFID that make it possible to identify, by means of a scanner, tagged objects up to several meters away. They are often used unnoticed by big box stores to store expensive items. For the normal user they can become too sophisticated, but it never hurts to know what other options you have available in case you need them in the future.
Online Team Registration
Almost any item you buy comes with the recommendation to register it on the manufacturer’s website in order to access the latest news, updates, and benefits, but there are few who really take the time to make this invitation effective.
Registering does not hurt and can save you more than one headache in the future, especially if you have the misfortune of having your camera or lenses stolen. If you did not take the time to do the inventory that I recommended above, but you have registered your camera on the manufacturer’s website, you will be able to access all the necessary data to be able to file a police report there.
But what if I told you that taking the time to register your photography equipment online will greatly increase your chances of getting it back if it’s stolen? Would you take the time to do it?
How to recover a stolen camera?
So far I have recommended certain measures to reduce the chances of being a victim of someone else’s friend, but below I will explain how, once you have been the victim of a robbery, you can still hope to recover your equipment.
As I told you before, taking the time to register your products online can help you get it back. This is possible thanks to some sites that are dedicated to tracking all the photos that circulate on the Internet and, after comparing them with their records, detect if they were taken with a device reported as stolen or not.
How does it work?
You may not know it, but every time you take a picture with your digital camera, the data of the camera, the lens, the focal length, the shutter speed, etc., are recorded in each one of them. All this data is known as EXIF, and it is not only useful to know under what technical conditions the photographs have been taken, but also, thanks to sites like Stolen Camera Finderthey are very useful to see if the camera and the objective with which a photo was taken have been legally acquired or not.
Here are the 3 most recognized web applications to be able to do this tracking:
- StolenCameraFinder: all you have to do is drag a photo taken with your camera to the site and it will begin to track through the Internet those photos that contain the same EXIF data. One of its main features is that it allows you to register the serial number of your camera to facilitate its tracking and location.
- CameraTrace: It also tracks photos on the Internet, but adds the ability to track them on the main social networks, so the perimeter of the search is considerably expanded. Despite being a paid application, if you manage to find your team it will be the best money you’ve ever spent.
- GadgetTrak Serial Search: This search engine will allow you to find not only cameras but almost any stolen electronic device.
10 tips to prevent the theft of your camera
And to finish, I leave you with a series of tips that, despite not 100% preventing a robbery, will help you reduce the chances of it happening to you:
- Don’t draw too much attention: If you have in mind going to take photos somewhere risky, try to go unnoticed. Carry a discreet bag as much as possible that does not reveal that you have a camera inside and a generic strap that does not attract too much attention. In winter, for example, you can carry your camera hanging and hide it under the collar of your jacket or coat and thus have it ready to take a quick photo and store it again.
- Avoid leaving the equipment in sight in the car: do not leave your equipment in sight. If possible, don’t leave it in the car at all. If there is no other choice, do not leave it in sight on top of any of the seats. Keep it in the trunk, and above all, don’t let them see you put it away.
- Never lose sight of it: it is…