I've had all my gear stolen!

[ted_smith]

I'm gutted.

I've been at an annual workshop group for my day job for the last 2 days, and I volunteered to do the photography. I took my Nikon F5, SB800, 80-200mm, 60mm prime Macro, 50mm 1.8 prime and 20mm prime. All was going well on the first day, then we all (250 people) went for lunch - I left my gear in the room, where I thought it would be safe given that our whole group had booked the hotel and given that the hotel was in the middle of nowhere in the countryside. While we were eating, some **** walked into the hotel, hung about a bit, and then walked into the conference hall and took my bag and camera - nearly £1800 of kit!

I'm not insured for theft of property outside of my home and the workshop was an informal group of enthusiasts. And the hotel is the usual "all items left at own risk".

We have notified the police and have them on CCTV but I'm not confident.

I'm just gutted that the gear that I have bought honestly over the last 5 years has all been taken by some bloke who'll just sell it for next to nothing to buy some cocaine or something. I am left with nothing and it will take me a long time to get the money together to replace it, especially having just had a second child 3 weeks ago!

A sad day for me :-(

Ted

 

[Rick A]

 

[brucemuir]

Sorry to hear it Ted.
I really hope you get it recovered.

 

[jcoldslabs]

I've had photo gear stolen three times in my life and it's a misery each time. You have my sympathy.

 

[Chan Tran]

You have my sympathy! I lost my Nikon F2AS and the 28mm lens in 1984 while working in a 1 hour photo lab. It was a real pain.

 

[OzJohn]

Hope you get all or at least some of your gear back. I suppose its black humour at your expense but I'll bet the thief kicks himself when someone tells him the F5 is not a digital and not worth a cracker (not true BTW - I own one - but that is the general view on the street about film cameras). Good luck and commiserations. OzJohn

 

[guitstik]

I feel your pain.

 

[Curt]

I'm very sorry to hear that, I too would be sickened if it hsppened to me. I'll say congratulations on your new child. Family is everything.

Best,

Curt

 

[zsas]

So sorry to hear! Maybe by sharing with us the story of your loss we can all be reminded that nowhere is safe to leave any of our goods. I know that is no consolation given your loss and am really sorry to hear!

 

[Sirius Glass]

I am really sorry to hear this.

Keep checking Craig's List and eBay and see if they show up there. If they do arrange a meeting and call the police.

I hope you get your equipment back.

Steve

 

[jp498]

Keep an eye on craigslist and local pawn shops.

I wouldn't put it above hotel staff either. It's often seasonal work, low pay, and sometimes attracts the less settled down help.

 

[M.A.Longmore]

.
That's A Bloody Shame !

Ron
.

 

[MattKing]

File a claim with your insurance anyways. It will at least force them to review the limitations in your policy in detail. Even if they deny it in full formally, at least you will be protected in the event that some of your coverage actually does apply - you will be protected from any argument about missing a deadline.

Check your auto insurance as well.

And you have my sympathy!

 

[JBrunner]

Ted, that really blows. Hope the thief is caught.

There is a sticky thread for posting serial #'s etc. here: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[Plate Voltage]

I'm really sorry to hear about your equipment being stolen. Hopefully somehow, some way the people that stole it will get caught and your kit recovered. In the meantime, congratulations on your second child!

 

[unohuu]

We can certainly sympathize with you. It is painful and messes with the trust in humanity!

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

Oh Lord. Yes Ted, I can readily recall the shocked, gutted, sick-to-the-stomach feeling to come back and find your prized possessions looted.
My much-loved, long-held photography kit was stolen from my niece's car on Boxing Day evening 2003. It does not bear repeating my feelings, especially for the low scum who prey on others. Bad karma.
I sincerely offer my feelings that you can be repatriated by whatever full, proper and due means are available.
Do you have a record of serial numbers and any specific identifying features for each piece of equipment? Invisible data dots and serial numbers are a thief's worse enemies, the former undetectable.

 

[Leigh Youdale]

This a fairly common occurrence unfortunately. Thieves identify major hotels or conference venues where it will be impossible that the staff will know by sight everyone attending. They dress appropriately for the type of clientele, mingle for a while during morning tea break to observe, maybe make a fake name badge (even pick one up from the registration desk left there for a late arrival who hasn't shown up) and then at lunchtime, unless the organisers have been quite anal about having the room locked for the duration they brazenly walk in as if they're a delegate returning for some reason (the staff are usually thinned out serving lunch or refreshing the room), target any interesting looking bags, purses, computers, phones etc and calmly walk out with them in hand or on shoulder. Both men and women are involved and blend in seamlessly with the hotel or venue population. Sorry you got caught but it happens a lot more than most people realise and the Innkeepers Liability Act usually means you have no recourse on the venue. If you haven't insured your gear yourself you're cooked!

 

[Vaughn]

Man...been there. Sorry that you have too.

Vaughn

 

[steven_e007]

Hope you get all or at least some of your gear back. I suppose its black humour at your expense but I'll bet the thief kicks himself when someone tells him the F5 is not a digital and not worth a cracker (not true BTW - I own one - but that is the general view on the street about film cameras). Good luck and commiserations. OzJohn

The really sickening thing is that when these low life scum steal something - if they think it will be difficult to sell or might be easy to identify, they'll probably just chuck it in the trash. There was a story on here a while ago about some **** going through tents at a festival. The tents were next to a river. Anything the thief wanted, like digital cameras, went in his bag. Anything he didn't want, like the posters film camera, went in the river.
It isn't just about stealing - it is about not giving a s*** about anyone else.

I really hope your stuff turns up.

 

[Jeff Kubach]

That is a bummer.

Jeff

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Happenned to me once, but it was at home, and we were insured. The thieves were caught, but the cameras were already gone. Good luck, and congrats on the new child.

 

[AlbertZeroK]

This thread is one of the few reasons I still keep an LLC (company), I'm insured for $25,000. The bad part is that some of my gear is almost irreplaceable, especially both zoom lenses for my Pentax 67 which are exceedingly rare.

 

[ParkerSmithPhoto]

Get your gear insured!!

Most of you who are not full time photographers make the mistake of thinking your gear is covered by your homeowners insurance policy. It is if it stolen from your house, but not from your car or anywhere else (ie. where you will actually be using it).

If you are in an apartment, you probably don't have any sort of policy whatsoever, and you need renter's insurance to cover it. For homeowner's you will probably need to add a rider. Neither of these is very expensive. Our studio has a professional policy with $2 Million in liability coverage and it's only $700 a year. For someone (non-professional) who needs just equipment coverage, you should be able to find something around $100 a year, maybe less.

Hopefully Ted's story will get you all to take action and get yourself insured.

 

[Chuck_P]

Hate to hear that---I know the feeling. While in the Navy in 1988, I had a whole Canon system stolen, an A1 body with motordrive, 50mm, 100mm, 28mm, 200mm lenses and a Domke bag.

Best of luck to you.