This should be more than a rumour

[Marsu42]

PIN No- not a great idea. See point about internal memory charge.

As I wrote - you can just hardcode it in some ic when the camera is built, just like Intel used to hardcode a serial number into their PentiumIII processors until they were stopped due to privacy concerns. It's non-changeable and non-erasable, you could just disable it after being entered, and after a battery drain the default setting would be enabled.

 

[AprilForever]

I fail to see how a pin would do anything other than frustrate me.

It would still be quite pawnable. And, yes, the thief would have no problems with resetting the beast through some measure.

 

[FunPhotons]

"Hey, a once-in-a-lifetime-shot, quick I have 2 seconds to get it ... "

BEEP: Please enter your PIN

Canon will never do it, besides the glass is where the money is.

This is why I have Pelican lockable cases cabled to my car/trunk. Any security measure is ultimately defeatable but this isn't a bad solution.

 

[Marsu42]

"Hey, a once-in-a-lifetime-shot, quick I have 2 seconds to get it ... "
BEEP: Please enter your PIN

I don't think Canon will do it either: but "Hey, a once-in-a-lifetime-shot, quick I have 2 seconds to get it ... "

WTF! I had my gear stand next to me for just a second, and now it's gone!

 

[tron]

"Hey, a once-in-a-lifetime-shot, quick I have 2 seconds to get it ... "
BEEP: Please enter your PIN

I don't think Canon will do it either: but "Hey, a once-in-a-lifetime-shot, quick I have 2 seconds to get it ... "

WTF! I had my gear stand next to me for just a second, and now it's gone!

The Pin was entered wrong 3 times. Camera will now self-destruct!

 

[smithy]

"Hey, a once-in-a-lifetime-shot, quick I have 2 seconds to get it ... "
BEEP: Please enter your PIN

I don't think Canon will do it either: but "Hey, a once-in-a-lifetime-shot, quick I have 2 seconds to get it ... "

WTF! I had my gear stand next to me for just a second, and now it's gone!

The Pin was entered wrong 3 times. Camera will now self-destruct!

Or worse than self-destruct:

The PIN was entered incorrectly 3 times. Camera will now only function in green box mode.

NOOOOOOOOO!

 

[Ellen Schmidtee]

I had an idea attacking the problem from a different angle: a two parts device, one attaches to the owner's belt and the other attached to the equipment, the two communicate wirelessly to estimate the distance between them, and if it crosses a settable distance, both emit an alarming sound.

This can protect against equipment being stolen or forgotten, and can be used for other purposes, e.g. childs getting lost in a crowd. It would be easy to attach to a camera using a miniature version of bike locks on the loops holding the neck strap, but lenses are a different story.

I've consulted a knowledgeable businessman I trust, and he says this idea can't be protected by a patent, so developing it is a problem - if it succeeds, it will be immediately copied, making it unprofitable.