The best ways to (not) get your gear stolen

[SPG]

One rule I can't stress enough is never, I mean NEVER, as in NEVER EVER! leave your gear in a car. ever. Even if you're just going into the coffee shop for a "second". I know far too many people who this has happened to, myself included. In my case, I thought my buddy was going to be in the car while I went in. It took all of about three minutes to lose $14,000.
A production company I did a couple jobs for considered it an automatic firing offense for a broadcast camera to be left unattended.
One more pro tip... at hotels leave the Do Not Disturb sign on the door and the TV on if you're leaving any gear or evidence that you have that kind of gear in the room.

 

[Loswr]

Of course I know that I can get insurance for it, and I probably will.

No 'probably' about it - get insurance. If a thief wants to take something, they will. I pay $7.60 per year per $1K covered gear. Low cost for piece of mind...

Could you please send me a link regard to that insurance?

State Farm. You'd need to go through your local agent, and I don't think they write just a Personal Articles policy, you probably need to have home/renters insurance with them.

As stated above, it's for personal use only, not business.

 

[vuilang]

Of course I know that I can get insurance for it, and I probably will.

No 'probably' about it - get insurance. If a thief wants to take something, they will. I pay $7.60 per year per $1K covered gear. Low cost for piece of mind...

Could you please send me a link regard to that insurance?

State Farm. You'd need to go through your local agent, and I don't think they write just a Personal Articles policy, you probably need to have home/renters insurance with them.

As stated above, it's for personal use only, not business.

Do you happen to know a good quote/company for business uses?

 

[Loswr]

Do you happen to know a good quote/company for business uses?

Sorry, no - not something I need, so I've never looked into that.

 

[D.Sim]

Personally, when travelling, I try to travel as a minimalist - only take what you need. less things = you stand out less and less chances of something getting stolen.

Also, have your equipment with you at all times - within sight. Don't leave it in the car (Imagine what happened to Nikon in Dublin :-X ), in your hotel room, and definitely not sitting on the cafe table while you use the washroom. If you're walking with your camera hanging off a shoulder/using a sling bag, have a hand on it at all times.

I have a large carabiner hanging off one of the attachment straps of my Crumpler - when I'm sitting down/eating I'll usually wrap the strap around a table leg, and secure it with the carabiner. if anything happens, the entire table will go with it - not something missed, and not something easy to grab and run with



Won't do much if you're faced with someone wiht a knife/gun/baseball bat/swinging a 600mm, but that can be avoided if you go shooting with friends, or simply avoiding places that are isolated. Yes, sometimes you'll need to be in these places to get your shot, but if you do need to go, don't go alone.

If you don't go asking for trouble, thats most of the work done for you

 

[wickidwombat]

Of course I know that I can get insurance for it, and I probably will.

No 'probably' about it - get insurance. If a thief wants to take something, they will. I pay $7.60 per year per $1K covered gear. Low cost for piece of mind...

Could you please send me a link regard to that insurance?

State Farm. You'd need to go through your local agent, and I don't think they write just a Personal Articles policy, you probably need to have home/renters insurance with them.

As stated above, it's for personal use only, not business.

Do you happen to know a good quote/company for business uses?

I go through AON they are a global insurer and have a special photography camera division that deals exclusively with this stuff it also covers public liability insurance all unde 1 policy and full worldwide cover
if in australia i can give you a contact number, not sure about other countries

 

[Alpine]

It may not prevent it from getting stollen, but might help you catch the thief. I have a small GPS locator unit (the size of a pack of gum) that I can attach to my camera bag or camera and it can track where I am through a phone or web browser. It was around $200 and costs about $50 a year. The only major negative is making sure I charge it up, it only lasts about 1 week. Also can be used to track the kid or dog or wife...or for friends to track you down without having to give directions.

 

[jdramirez]

I just got a policy through Erie Insurance. $46 bucks a year for $4500 in coverage. Ditto with no deductible and it covering theft and accidental breakage.

 

[RLPhoto]

I always look at sheep carrying there gear in Big Branded Camera bags that look like camera bags full of nice expensive goods, Wearing branded camera straps that say "Im a really expensive camera" and lastly, looking too much like tourists.

Pad a cheapo ugly run-down backpack, and no one will think twice about it.

 

[Jamesy]

Another useful thing could be to use a camera bag that doesn't look like one, to not draw attention. Of course, that only helps when you're not shooting.

I have heard of gear getting stolen out of people's packs while on their backs. What helps here is a pack like one of the Lowe Pro "Flipside" packs that open on the "inside" - i.e. you have to take it off your back (or slide it round in front of you with the hip belt still done up) in order to be able to open it. That way, in order to get anything large out of your bag, someone has to get it off your back first. Of course, almost any Lowe Pro bag does still scream "camera bag"....

There are some fairly decent Crumpler camera bags that look more like courier bags... you just want to avoid one of the "Canon EOS" branded ones that Canon Australia was throwing in with DSLR kits a year or two ago......

I just picked up a Flipside 200 - nice and compact and will carry most of what I need for a day excursion. I have also in the past used the Lowepro Classified 160 (For a Paris and London trip last year) and Crumpler 7MDH. All of these bags are supposed to be stealth however the reality is once you pull out the hardware everyone knows what is in the bag.

That said, these days sooo many people are popping out SLR's, most people can't distinguish between one or the other. A shopkeeper the other said to me while I was reviewing pictures on my 5D3/24-105 "Wow, noce camera, what kind is it?". I said Canon - that is it, nothing else required. Her response - "Cool - I used my mothers $3000 D5100 Nikon when I go to music festivals" - LOL