Tips on deterring forcible equipment theft while carrying camera?

kirispupis said:
This country is actually far less free than many others. Most countries in Western Europe - especially Scandinavia - are much freer in terms of what one can actually do. For instance, Americans have among the least privacy in the world. The US government has access to banking information for US citizens that is illegal for most Europeans. Companies may also sell + collect information that would be illegal for a European. At one point I do believe we were among the freest in the world, and the US did have a direct impact in making the world a freer place, but we've fallen considerably.

All the more reason to keep the 2nd amendment intact. You make the argument very well.
 
Upvote 0

hbr

Oct 22, 2016
326
0
neuroanatomist said:
hbr said:
I don't care how many laws and regulations you propose if you can't reduce the crime, you don't solve anything.

Do laws requiring vehicle occupants to wear seatbelts reduce the frequency of automobile crashes? No...so I guess those laws don't solve anything. ::)

Sorry, my bad. I got a phone call that interrupted my train of thought. But in most states is is unlawful, (minor crime), not to be wearing a seat belt inside a moving vehicle. :)
 
Upvote 0
Jul 21, 2010
31,099
12,863
hbr said:
neuroanatomist said:
hbr said:
I don't care how many laws and regulations you propose if you can't reduce the crime, you don't solve anything.

Do laws requiring vehicle occupants to wear seatbelts reduce the frequency of automobile crashes? No...so I guess those laws don't solve anything. ::)

Sorry, my bad. I got a phone call that interrupted my train of thought. But in most states is is unlawful, (minor crime), not to be wearing a seat belt inside a moving vehicle. :)

Seems your train was derailed. How sad.
 
Upvote 0
cayenne said:
takesome1 said:
cayenne said:
Eldar said:
neuroanatomist said:
CanonFanBoy said:
The fact is this: The more guns there are in the hands of law abiding citizens, the less crime there is.

Sorry, but the fact is that you don't know what the heck you're talking about. Is Kellyanne checking your facts for you? ;)
An example; We have much (as in MUCH) stricter weapon control here in Norway, than you in the US. However, since we are a nation of hunters, we have lots of hunting rifles (we are actually in 11th place globally on weapon density), but you have to go through special training and screening to get one. Hand guns, assault rifles etc. are banned and the control with ammunition and use is significant.

The rate of people getting killed in the US is 50, FIFTY, times higher in the US, compared to what we have. But, of course, that has absolutely nothing to do with your liberal weapon legislation ::)
The trouble with a LOT of the stats on gun deaths in the US, is that they include suicides.<P>
If you remove that, the numbers go way down....

The discussion usually goes to ban the guns and the suicide rates will go down. Then the conversation doesn't get anywhere because a ban isn't going to happen.

There are things that could be discussed that do not involve banning. For instance education or regulation on keeping firearms and ammunition under lock and key. Education on storage of ammunition. Better, easier to use more secure locks included when you buy a firearm.

Err....keeping my guns and ammo locked up make them useless for me for home protection.

I mean, if someone breaks in, they're not going to politely wait while I get up and go to my safe in the dark and fiddle with the combination, find the gun, then load them, etc.

I have several guns all over my house, fully loaded and chambered. If someone breaks in, I'm never more than a few feet from one or more of my firearms.

If you aren't going to keep them loaded and accessible, then they are pretty much useless for home protection.

I understand your point.

I keep one and sometimes two loaded and available as well. I do not keep all the firearms I have loaded. When unattended I keep them all under lock and key.
I have relatives who have been suicidal. I also have small children in the house. So when I am not with a gun I keep it under lock and key. I never leave a loaded gun unattended without it being secured.
There are options to keep a firearm loaded and easy to secure.
I am sure you can agree there is a responsibility that goes with having a gun available and loaded.
 
Upvote 0

cayenne

CR Pro
Mar 28, 2012
2,868
796
neuroanatomist said:
hbr said:
I don't care how many laws and regulations you propose if you can't reduce the crime, you don't solve anything.

Do laws requiring vehicle occupants to wear seatbelts reduce the frequency of automobile crashes? No...so I guess those laws don't solve anything. ::)
[/quote
But to make a slightly different point....

Seatbelt laws *do* give a good example on how the US citizenry should eyeball all new laws warily....as that they will and often DO incur scope creep and become larger than originally promised.

Example, seat belt laws were passed, but originally with the stipulation that they could not and would not be used as a PRIMARY reason for you to be pulled over. It was plainly stated that if you were pulled over for other offenses, speeding, etc....and if they saw you didn't have a seatbelt on, it would be a penalty.

Well, that didn't last all that long and now here we are with not only being pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt as a primary offense, they are actually advertising it proudly on TV...you know..the "Click it or Ticket" PSA's?

Just saying, whether you agree with it or not, one had to be very wary on new laws that could curtail your rights, as that often in the future, those laws are expanded, and at times they try to even use them to overreach on things that aren't actually illegal.

:)
 
Upvote 0
Jul 28, 2015
3,368
570
takesome1 said:
The comment was about American's rights and freedoms and how Americans view the second amendment. If you took this as a personal comment or one about British understanding rights and freedoms, I either didn't explain well enough or you miss understood.

I was replying to your opening sentence:

If you were American you would understand how important our freedoms and rights are to us.

I think it is more important to understand how those laws came about and it is an understanding of history that shows precisely why. What you usually find is that laws passed and the national psyche develop together - one enforces the other.

Apparently Canada has more guns per head of population than US but has far fewer murders per head of population. Both countries were born out of the same waves of migration so in theory should be influenced by the same motivations, and for me this makes the comparison really intriguing. This does lend some credence to the rather facile comment "guns don't kill people, people kill people", but at the same time it does beg the question, if people are abusing them more in one country than in another, what is the difference in the national psyche between two such closely related countries? And if you believe there is a problem you don't solve that problem by making guns more readily available.

I think it is noteworthy that if this was any other issue but guns, the US lawmakers would be looking across the border and looking at countries in Europe to see if there was anything they could learn about the problem. Could they introduce more laws, could they introduce restrictions how wold they work? But hey, this is guns we are talking about so no-one can teach us nuthin' .
 
Upvote 0
Mikehit said:
takesome1 said:
The comment was about American's rights and freedoms and how Americans view the second amendment. If you took this as a personal comment or one about British understanding rights and freedoms, I either didn't explain well enough or you miss understood.

I was replying to your opening sentence:

If you were American you would understand how important our freedoms and rights are to us.

I think it is more important to understand how those laws came about and it is an understanding of history that shows precisely why. What you usually find is that laws passed and the national psyche develop together - one enforces the other.

Apparently Canada has more guns per head of population than US but has far fewer murders per head of population. Both countries were born out of the same waves of migration so in theory should be influenced by the same motivations, and for me this makes the comparison really intriguing. This does lend some credence to the rather facile comment "guns don't kill people, people kill people", but at the same time it does beg the question, if people are abusing them more in one country than in another, what is the difference in the national psyche between two such closely related countries? And if you believe there is a problem you don't solve that problem by making guns more readily available.

I think it is noteworthy that if this was any other issue but guns, the US lawmakers would be looking across the border and looking at countries in Europe to see if there was anything they could learn about the problem. Could they introduce more laws, could they introduce restrictions how wold they work? But hey, this is guns we are talking about so no-one can teach us nuthin' .

I think you are off on your characterizations. The Americans are having the gun discussion and we do pay attention to the rest of the world. If you point at the UK and Europe and look at the statistics in some ways it looks good. But then we also see the terrorist attacks in Europe and how they seemed to have increased in the last few years. Things seem to be getting worse there. Maybe it is just the press over playing all of the news blowing things out of proportion. If anything the instability in that part of the world makes the 2nd amendment seem even more important.
 
Upvote 0
takesome1 said:
I also have small children in the house. So when I am not with a gun I keep it under lock and key. I never leave a loaded gun unattended without it being secured.

That's the mature thing to do. When you have small kids in the house, the rules have to change

Few things make me more angry than reading a news story where some kid was involved in an accidental shooting because they found their parents' gun that was oh so well hidden. :mad:

When I was a kid, I knew where everything was in the house no matter how well my parents tried to hide the porn. ;D
 
Upvote 0
AcutancePhotography said:
takesome1 said:
I also have small children in the house. So when I am not with a gun I keep it under lock and key. I never leave a loaded gun unattended without it being secured.

That's the mature thing to do. When you have small kids in the house, the rules have to change

Few things make me more angry than reading a news story where some kid was involved in an accidental shooting because they found their parents' gun that was oh so well hidden. :mad:

When I was a kid, I knew where everything was in the house no matter how well my parents tried to hide the porn. ;D

Mine kept it hidden in the filing cabinet in their room. I do not remember where the gun was hidden, I never went looking for it. Now days parents can do a better job hiding it, as long as they keep their browser history cleared.

But seriously those kind of accidents are tragic and to some extent preventable. There are many brands of quick release locks that allow you to keep your gun readily available. Protecting your family includes accidents and the bad guys. This is the kind of thing that both sides should be able to push and support.
 
Upvote 0
Jul 28, 2015
3,368
570
takesome1 said:
Maybe it is just the press over playing all of the news blowing things out of proportion. If anything the instability in that part of the world makes the 2nd amendment seem even more important.

I am sure that is overplayed pretty much the same was as the level of US gun crime is overplayed in the UK.

Back in the early 2000 I was making regular trips to Israel on business and at one point the nuclear weapons inspectors threatened Sadam with forcible action so Sadam turned his Scuds to Israel. I phoned one of my colleagues in Israel and she just laughed and said 'we say CNN as well and thought it was quite funny'.
Then she calmly added 'but we are making sure we know where our gas masks are just in case'...

The way the press works it is so easy to get paranoid and for things to spiral out of control - do you look on it as (to pluck numbers out of the air) and

0.1% chance of being attacked
or
99.9% chance you are totally safe

Then again, I guess that is why we take out health insurance or car insurance.
 
Upvote 0
Mikehit said:
takesome1 said:
Maybe it is just the press over playing all of the news blowing things out of proportion. If anything the instability in that part of the world makes the 2nd amendment seem even more important.

I am sure that is overplayed pretty much the same was as the level of US gun crime is overplayed in the UK.

Back in the early 2000 I was making regular trips to Israel on business and at one point the nuclear weapons inspectors threatened Sadam with forcible action so Sadam turned his Scuds to Israel. I phoned one of my colleagues in Israel and she just laughed and said 'we say CNN as well and thought it was quite funny'.
Then she calmly added 'but we are making sure we know where our gas masks are just in case'...

The way the press works it is so easy to get paranoid and for things to spiral out of control - do you look on it as (to pluck numbers out of the air) and

0.1% chance of being attacked
or
99.9% chance you are totally safe

Then again, I guess that is why we take out health insurance or car insurance.

Keep in mind the gun violence and gun issue is the same way in the US. Whatever perception you get from the media isn't reality.
 
Upvote 0

rnl

Jun 22, 2016
61
0
dcren123 said:
It is very surprising how much difference there is regarding theft and security between countries. I was traveling in Hokkaido Japan taking pictures of Cranes last year, and this japanese photographer (maybe two of them) a few feet away from me went to the restroom for like ten minutes leaving two tripods with a Nikon+supertele and Canon+Sigma 150-600 attached with another Canon plus 70-200 2.8 hanging on the tripod out in the field. No one even glanced at those gears.

at Conowingo Dam in Maryland...i've left my 600ii and 1dxmkii to visit the facilities...never a problem.
Are there thieves? sure...but i insure my gear.
 
Upvote 0

Don Haines

Beware of cats with laser eyes!
Jun 4, 2012
8,246
1,939
Canada
takesome1 said:
Mikehit said:
takesome1 said:
Maybe it is just the press over playing all of the news blowing things out of proportion. If anything the instability in that part of the world makes the 2nd amendment seem even more important.

I am sure that is overplayed pretty much the same was as the level of US gun crime is overplayed in the UK.

Back in the early 2000 I was making regular trips to Israel on business and at one point the nuclear weapons inspectors threatened Sadam with forcible action so Sadam turned his Scuds to Israel. I phoned one of my colleagues in Israel and she just laughed and said 'we say CNN as well and thought it was quite funny'.
Then she calmly added 'but we are making sure we know where our gas masks are just in case'...

The way the press works it is so easy to get paranoid and for things to spiral out of control - do you look on it as (to pluck numbers out of the air) and

0.1% chance of being attacked
or
99.9% chance you are totally safe

Then again, I guess that is why we take out health insurance or car insurance.

Keep in mind the gun violence and gun issue is the same way in the US. Whatever perception you get from the media isn't reality.
It's a lot like bears in the backcountry....... People worry about being attacked by bears in the woods, but your car drive to and from the wilderness is tens of thousands times more dangerous......
 
Upvote 0
As a retired security professional, the best advice is to be very aware of you surroundings, and keep alert. Don't give them that element of surprise.

As others have said, have a wingman or two, or three, although even a group can not defend very well against a gun in your face.

Just using some common sense will in MOST cases, but certainly not all, keep you out of trouble. Things like, is it really that important that your wife wear her 1 carrot diamond ring out to a concert or sporting event ? Maybe that ring gets spotted while the both of you were walking in from the car. Then you are waited on for the walk back to the car ? That gives them several hours to plan the hit. Same with camera gear.

Weigh out the risks vs the benefits. Is it possible to "downsize" your equipment ? Like will my 60D work instead of my 5D mk III ? OR instead of the 35 f/1.4 L II would the 35 f/2 IS do almost as well ?

I mean are you a pro going to sell this possible photo, or print it HUGE ?... if it gets printed at all ? Or is going to used to be uploaded on some social media, and/or maybe make a wallpaper on someones computer ? What if does get printed ? It will probably be an 8.5 x 11.5 or smaller in most cases.

If you have money to pack the latest 1D along with some big white, say a 200 f/2 L, a 300 f/2.8 II L or other very high end equipment into areas that you are concerned about, then think about hiring a couple or three of body guards, that LOOK like body guards, and one that doesn't. They will be paying more attention to "big" body guards than the smaller more frail one which will have a better chance at doing his or her job if they are needed.

Have good insurance.
 
Upvote 0

Ozarker

Love, joy, and peace to all of good will.
CR Pro
Jan 28, 2015
5,933
4,336
The Ozarks
Inaz said:
As a retired security professional, the best advice is to be very aware of you surroundings, and keep alert. Don't give them that element of surprise.

As others have said, have a wingman or two, or three, although even a group can not defend very well against a gun in your face.

Just using some common sense will in MOST cases, but certainly not all, keep you out of trouble. Things like, is it really that important that your wife wear her 1 carrot diamond ring out to a concert or sporting event ? Maybe that ring gets spotted while the both of you were walking in from the car. Then you are waited on for the walk back to the car ? That gives them several hours to plan the hit. Same with camera gear.

Weigh out the risks vs the benefits. Is it possible to "downsize" your equipment ? Like will my 60D work instead of my 5D mk III ? OR instead of the 35 f/1.4 L II would the 35 f/2 IS do almost as well ?

I mean are you a pro going to sell this possible photo, or print it HUGE ?... if it gets printed at all ? Or is going to used to be uploaded on some social media, and/or maybe make a wallpaper on someones computer ? What if does get printed ? It will probably be an 8.5 x 11.5 or smaller in most cases.

If you have money to pack the latest 1D along with some big white, say a 200 f/2 L, a 300 f/2.8 II L or other very high end equipment into areas that you are concerned about, then think about hiring a couple or three of body guards, that LOOK like body guards, and one that doesn't. They will be paying more attention to "big" body guards than the smaller more frail one which will have a better chance at doing his or her job if they are needed.

Have good insurance.

I always hire the same two bodyguards: Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson. They charged me a one time flat fee about 15 years ago and have to show up every time I call them whether they want to or not. Extremely reliable. My gear is the least of my worries if I'm faced with a thug. No amount of insurance replaces one's life. Between myself, Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson at least we have a fighting chance at staying alive.
 
Upvote 0