This should be more than a rumour

[Mark Davies]

I have seen on a few photog forums the sad story about cameras getting lost. Now, not to get you all worried, But I was just thinking!!! Why not allow a user to put a security code (like a pin no with a phone etc) into the body of your camera so unless you know the pin you cannot use the camera. With a bit more thought, the pin could be matched to your lenses so if you lose a lens, then unless it is unlocked with the pin then that too is of no use to the nasty person who relieved you of your gear.

What say others? Can we get Canon (and probably other manufacturers) to do such a thing?

Rgds, Mark 8)

 

[Pitbullo]

This would be nice, equipment is very expensive. I do see a problem, software like Magic Lantern would probably not work, since it might be a workaround the PIN-code.
Unless you have to use PIN to install ML...

 

[Bennymiata]

I think that's a great idea.

Another is for cameras with GPS in them, if they get stolen or lost, you could track them on the internet, like you can with an i-Phone.

 

[UrbanVoyeur]

Great ideas. Yes to both pin and GPS locator.

 

[ruuneos]

How anyone have come up with this earlier, that should be in every Canon camera PIN + GPS ( which can turn on via internet ).
Hopefully we're going to see PIN lock prototypes near future!

 

[smithy]

Camera start-up time would increase from milliseconds to minutes as users try to figure out the interface to enter their pin number...

 

[Forceflow]

Not a bad idea, and with touchscreens becoming more and more common in dSLRs it would not be a problem at all to implement. (And for those who think it's too bothersome they could simply switch it off like you can on every cell phone today)
I like it and I would hope to see that in my future cameras!

 

[zaphod]

Camera start-up time would increase from milliseconds to minutes as users try to figure out the interface to enter their pin number...

I think the idea is good, and to work around the problem you describe, the code could be entered every time you change the battery/memory card only. So once per battery reload instead of every time you turn on the camera.

 

[stilscream]

And what would you do for the poor sap who forgets his password? Phones and computers can be reset to original factory settings. Cameras that isn't too bothersome to a thief probably.

 

[Mark Davies]

By the looks of things I should have patented the idea!! I could have been a billionaire like Mr Gates had I done so. Oh well, back to the drawing board; another cup of coffee.
Thanks for the comments friends.
Mark 8)

 

[pwp]

Touch wood I've never left anything at a job or had any gear lost/stolen. But given that 99% of people are pretty honest, I put my phone number on every bit of gear from bodies to light stands. If you picked up a Pocket Wizard with a phone number on it, what would you do? Some mongrels would pocket the item but by far the greatest majority would make the call.

Put your number on everything. I use a label maker. At least you're in with a good chance!

PW

 

[Hillsilly]

How about every camera having a unique code. When you take a photo, the code is embeded into it. If your camera is stolen, you can search the internet for your code to see who's uploading photos from your camera. Maybe this can already be done?

 

[gmrza]

I have seen on a few photog forums the sad story about cameras getting lost. Now, not to get you all worried, But I was just thinking!!! Why not allow a user to put a security code (like a pin no with a phone etc) into the body of your camera so unless you know the pin you cannot use the camera. With a bit more thought, the pin could be matched to your lenses so if you lose a lens, then unless it is unlocked with the pin then that too is of no use to the nasty person who relieved you of your gear.

What say others? Can we get Canon (and probably other manufacturers) to do such a thing?

Rgds, Mark 8)

Unlike a mobile phone, whose IMEI number can be tracked or blocked at a network level, if a camera can somehow be reset to factory settings, it might be possible to circumvent a PIN.

What goes part of the way to track stolen cameras is online searching for EXIF data, including serial numbers. This is provided through sites like http://www.stolencamerafinder.com/.

That said, I checked against the serial numbers of two bodies I have used to take photos I have posted to Flickr, and only one of them came up in a search.

 

[PeterJ]

For something as simple as PIN entry you could place the code in a read-only area of memory at the boot vector so it got called every time the battery was replaced, a bit like the unlock codes used on car stereos. Not sure about Canon DSLRs but many devices already have such a read-only area so a bootloader can still be used to 'unbrick' a failed firmware update.

GPS would be a bit more problematic, unlike a smartphone that normally has an active SIM / Internet connection the camera doesn't, and trying to actively attach to open WiFi access points could be legally questionable.

Good EXIF serial tracking like the site gmrza pointed out would be a good step foward, especially if a few major players like Facebook and Google got on board with providing data. They could always just report back the number of 'hits' on a certain serial number after the date stolen and only provide more detailed information to law enforcement to protect privacy.

 

[hyles]

Touch wood I've never left anything at a job or had any gear lost/stolen. But given that 99% of people are pretty honest, I put my phone number on every bit of gear from bodies to light stands. If you picked up a Pocket Wizard with a phone number on it, what would you do? Some mongrels would pocket the item but by far the greatest majority would make the call.

Put your number on everything. I use a label maker. At least you're in with a good chance!

PW

It is nice to be so positive, and it may work if you leave/forget your equipment somewere... but what about someone whose steal it on purpose? I think he is not going to call you...
And i Think thaf very few people forget their 5DIII + 200 f2 somewhere. But if they put telephone number on it, they may be luky.
Diego

 

[Marsu42]

What say others? Can we get Canon (and probably other manufacturers) to do such a thing?

Imho it won't help much because people will still steal your gear to get your lens, there'd have to some kind of integrated security system for your lenses to only work with your body unless you authorize otherwise.

In a body it sounds like a good idea if it cannot circumvented very easily like attempts in other tech gear (put it in the fridge, short out the battery elements, ...). A pre-hardcoded pin might be the safest way, and the ic where the code is in mustn't be available on the free market and/or exchanged easily. But in any case it should discourage some.

Though the question is "does the manufacturer really want this". First, there is the popular "what's my pin again" support case. And like cars (in Germany it's very clear and semi-proven) they are ok with them being stolen - one stolen, one more sold.

 

[Ellen Schmidtee]

DEC computers used to have a PIN to protect the computer from booting into safe mode, booting from an alternate disk, etc, as a way to protect the computer in case someone had console access.

In case the password was forgotten, a DEC technician could take out the internal battery which supplied the memory cheap holding the password with power, and thus erase it.

Point is DEC computers weren't as steal-able as photography equipment, and it's easier to cheat service people with stories like 'about the owner having died, went on a trip to some remote location,

 

[dr croubie]

How about every camera having a unique code. When you take a photo, the code is embeded into it. If your camera is stolen, you can search the internet for your code to see who's uploading photos from your camera. Maybe this can already be done?

Can be done and has happened. I read of a guy who got his camera nicked, he (somehow) searched the internets for photos a while later, found a pic that came from his camera, got in contact with flickr or whoever, and managed to get the address, called the cops, got his camera back and the other guy got done for receiving stolen goods.
(i should try find that article, but later, it's dinner time)

edit: read here

 

[jebrady03]

In the future when something like this would be affordable, a thumbprint scan would make sense on both the body and lens. It's fast, accurate, and won't require the user to stop what they're doing to enter the info like a pin number. Just simply place the scanner on the camera where the user would normally place their thumb (or a finger) and it's good to go.

Too advanced?

 

[paul13walnut5]

Terrible idea... if you lose it folk can't get into it to get info to find you, and low life types will just smash it in anger.

All you would really need to do would be to store the camera without it's main battery for a week or two and the internal memory would clear anyway (except for higher spec cameras with their Cr2025's etc)

Assuming folks are honest I do the following:

When I format my memory cards (via computer) I give it my mobile tel number as the disk name. This is not over-written unless you low level format in camera.

Enter my copyright details with tel, name and email. That way it's in the files exif, as well as on a menu screen.

There are also ways to trace images taken with cameras with a specific serial number, which cannot be wiped.

Also, the first photo on your memory card should be of a bit of paper with your details written on it.

If it gets stolen then you aren't all that likely to get it back. If you lose it and some honest type finds it then you've got several ways they can get in touch.

GPS - terrible idea.
Touch screen - even worse.
PIN No- not a great idea. See point about internal memory charge.