Everything stolen so hello M8 and a question

[Olsen]

Generally speaking, most European cities have low crime rates. There is a low probability for a tourist to get in trouble neither in Madrid or in Rome. In most cases I hear of that people have been 'stolen from', they rather lost things. Like leaving a bag in a cab, under a restaurant table, on the train or the bus etc.

I 'forgot' my photo bag in a Singapore cab. The next passanger and the driver went to great lenghts to track me down at the hotel I was staying at. Litterally ran after me....

Rome has a bad reputation, but the worst I heard of lately was this British couple driving their Landrover from Cape Town, South Africa to North Cape, Norway. - Their car was burgled in - Oslo...

 

[kuzano]

And, for the "Slash and Grab" thieves....

And, for the "Slash and Grab" thieves....

An inner liner soft for the camera equipment, but wrapped with chicken wire directly inside the bag you choose. Slash and grabbers usually work in pairs or more, and on skates and skate boards. The initial pass slashes your bag with a box knife, and the accomplices swoop in and snag up the contents that fall or hang out.

I was warned about this tactic when traveling in South America 20 years ago. In fact the Peruvian Govt tourism dept advised a group of us before going there. The suggestion was to put chicken wire around the whole bag or pack, but it seems to me that would clearly indicate some value inside the bag. OTOH, maybe it's also a way of diverting a pass at your backpack or bag.

 

[meltedARTS]

Everyone's going about this all wrong. You need a ringer. Get a HOLGA, and put a Leica sticker on it. Keep it in a tacky Dolce & Gabbana bag that you "forget" to keep an eye on while you hold onto the goods.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Many of you guys are assuming thieves know that there are Leicas in the world, and that they are expensive cameras. Wanna hear the truth?

Thieves can't tell a Leica from a Canon or a Pentax or a Nikon.

Besides, as Olsen, our Oslo poster, pointed out, in Europe thieves only grab stuff that's not secured and then they don't care much about it because they'll sell it for peanuts anyway. Covering the camera with tape and all those tricks only attracts undue attention... if any. In sum, keep your bag with gear always in sight, and don't walk into places in which you won't feel secure. I traveled and walked a lot in Barcelona (where I lived for a year) in 2004 with two Leicas in tow... and nothing happened.

The only thing I'd be leery about is buying a camera like the M8 in a place in which I cannot invoke a warranty... but if you want one, go for it.

 

[NickTrop]

Wear a fez and a cape. By wearing a fez and a cape, you are 90% less likely to have your camera gear stolen in a foreign country (including Morocco). Fact. The exception being the Isle of Malta where your odds of having camera gear stolen actually increases by 15% by wearing a fez and a cape for reasons currently not known to science. Fact.

 

[Rayt]

I'm just wondering about what other scams/ploys/strategies i need to be aware of.

Be aware of distractions, for example like you are walking down the street and someone points to a 5 Euro bill on the ground, or somebody faints or falls in front of you. Same on the Metro when someone drops something and is looking for it next to your feet and constantly bumping into you. When that happens just walk completely out of the way.

The suggestions about bags are great (I carry a billingham myself) but eventually you'll have to take out your camera and shoot with it. Nothing has happened to my Leicas yet and I am in the numero uno hit list: East Asian. Somehow I think I would look cool in a fez.

 

[jaapv]

second, i haven't done it yet (as i just got my M8), but i plan to put some black tape over the "M8" and red dot. has anyone done this? my first thought is to use black electrical tape. i would put a little piece of paper directly over the "M8" and red dot ... so that there's no adhesive on the actual camera labeling.

That screams to the average thief: I'm expensive and camouflaged!! Steal me!!

would the tape hurt the black exterior of the camera? (sorry for answering your question with another question ... )

Not if you use Gaffers tape. If you use Duct tape or something like that: Yes, I have seen reports of that problem.


The real solution: Buy a beat-up 1930-ies folder for ten Euro, cut it open and hide the M8 inside, rigging up a connection to the shutter release.....😛

 

[gavinlg]

That screams to the average thief: I'm expensive and camouflaged!! Steal me!!

Don't listen to that, taping the camera works quite well in deferring attention away from your 5k camera and onto some unsuspecting sods shiny canon G9 or nikon d80

 

[Olsen]

Michael Reichman of Luminous-Landscapes (link here: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/whatsnew/daterange.php/2008-01-01/2008-07-01)
tells of a trip to Paris at which his hotel room was robbed. He had to report it to the police, and all that, but never got a satisfactory answer to how that could happen with these magnet cards which serves as hotel keys today. Was it an inside job?

I have a similar experience from a business trip to Paris with my wife. We were arriving at Concord La Fayette (link here: http://www.concorde-lafayette.com/en/ ) by cab from Charles de Gaulle Airport when these uniformed porters insists on carrying our luggage. I usually carry my luggage myself and say no-thanks to that kind of service - which demands that you have small change in a foreign currency for tips. But my wife was all charmed by this hospitality and the porters picked up all of ou bags, including my laptop - excluding my wallet with creditcards, passports, tickets etc. The luggage was brought to our room, - all too late since we were about to go out and eat with friends. The laptop bag was missing. And still is.

The hotel staff were very helpful. They drove us to Surte' - of Inspector Clusseau/Pink Panter - Peter Sellers fame. I was impressed. The Paris police had a computerized tracking system for 'lost & stolen luggage', the Tricolour in the corner and a picture of the president on the wall. A white gloved police officer made a salute when we arrived, pollished shoes and all. - A police officer back here in Oslo looks more like a New York taxi driver (Colombo, you know!).

The bag with the laptop and vital business documents were never found, but I was compensated with 38.000 NOK - which was the actual cost of the computer back in 2001, from the Hotel's insurance company....

Inside job? I don't know, but when Michael Reichman has a similar experience, one can wonder. The reception area of Concord La Fayette is also an entrance to a shopping mall and - eventually, a metro station. A lot of people were walking through.

 

[Ben Z]

An inner liner soft for the camera equipment, but wrapped with chicken wire directly inside the bag you choose.

Google "Pacsafe" and/or "Daysafe". I have one of their daypacks, which has wire mesh embedded in the lining. it also has a length of braided cable inside that closes a drawstring inner bag, goes around something heavy or bolted-down in a hotel room, and then fastens with a padlock. Most hotel thievery is opportunistic, they aren't going coming in with bolt-cutters, hacksaws or liquid nitrogen, and they aren't wanting to come out holding a backpack cabled to a chair or bedframe 😀

As for taping the logos, it's like putting an old sock over the hood ornament so a car thief won't know it's a Rolls. To anyone who knows what a Leica is, taping the logos is not much of a disguise. Nobody could tell that Robin was really Dick Grayson with that little black eye mask, but that was the comic books.

 

[jaapv]

Don't listen to that, taping the camera works quite well in deferring attention away from your 5k camera and onto some unsuspecting sods shiny canon G9 or nikon d80

No - those muggers are attracted by the large number of buttons...

 

[ramosa]

thanks for the varied input on the tape-over-label idea. i guess such a plan may not achieve any benefit (so, for now, i won't follow that path).

 

[WoolenMammoth]

omg, what a bunch of ninnys on this board.

do any of you guys live?

buy what you want. go have an adventure. Sure beats the alternative...

none of the photographers any of the people on this board worship would have achieved anything if they had some of the gear anxiety that some people here have. What *is* the point of having a camera if you are afraid to take it into the world?

 

[Artorius]

Security Neck Strap

Security Neck Strap

These work great against slash and grab. About the same size as the Domke Gripper straps(my preferred choice for straps). Now I use these;

http://www.pacsafe.com/www/index.php?_room=3&_action=detail&id=16

I use mine without the padded strap. You can get larger ones for your camera bags.

 

[NickTrop]

Put a mousetrap in your camera bag. Just don't you forget about it.

 

[shimo-kitasnap]

I spent 3 months on a study abroad tour in Vietnam last fall doing photoethnography and learning Vietnamese. I took an M3 and Canon P in a domke F5XB which I bought new a few days before leaving NYC, stocked up on film in Shinjuku, Tokyo while spending a few days with my parents (they live there) then hopped a flight to Bangkok which then conected to Saigon.

I found out right away that wearing shorts was a tourist stamp and wearing teva sandles was too (vietnamese don't wear them). I eventually just went into a local tailors shop (there lots of cheap ones) and had a pair of black slacks made for $12USD, bought a linen short sleeve collar shirt for $2 USD and a pair of rubber flip-flops (most men dress like this and usually wear the flip flops or leather dress shoes. I got rid of my rediculous seiko dive watch which too many passers by had asked me how much and where I got it from. Just used a cheap pre-paid phone to keep track of time. After that people would only speak to me in Vietnamese and not ask me to buy anything if I wasn't looking at them (wandering street vendors.) I'm half Thai so many times people would aske if I was Viet-American.....

Funny thing though everyone was very happy to let me take their picture, nothing but smiles all over which I got a real kick out of. One guy who was running a small gas station aske me to take a picture of him while he posed with his wife when I was filling the tank in my moped.

The only person who even batted an eye at my Leica was this old Vietnamese guy who was a combat PJ for the NVA who now does weddings, beauty pagents and birds, when he came in to give us a lecture and show us some of his original prints from the war. He took one look at the M3, said "Germany" and gave a thumbs up and then he showed me his Praktica which he still uses to to B+W street candids.
Awsome guy very friendly.

I vietnam and south east asia motorcycle theives are very commom thing and it's very hard to even know when they're coming. (yes just like in Full Metal Jacket only they don't stop to show off kung fu moves.)

While walking back from a nightclub with friends a bike came zipping by when the guy on the back snatched and ripped off a purse that a girl I went on the trip with was wearing across her chest. I was right next to her and had the M3 around my chest only inches away in plain sight and he didn't even go for it. I was paralysed, couldn't even react until they had took off.

be careful out there people........

 

[shimo-kitasnap]

yikes that'll put a hole in your wallet/pants.....

 

[ChipNovaMac]

Went through this thread and there is lots of great tips. Too bad we haven't yet heard from the OP on how his 5D gear was lost.

That being said, bear with me as I add my thoughts to what has been said.

About insurance. Right on. But at least here in the US, two claims in many cases within two or three years may make it difficult to get insurance down the road.

Talk of diaper bags can work, as well as other bags that don't look like camera bags. I use an Osprey messenger bag that has seen some use. My M8 is in a never-ready case inside designed for the Canon Rebel K2. Keep the M8 safe in the bag. The lenses are in pouches from PortaBrace that came with my HPRC rollabout. I have an REI compact umbrella hooked to the strap, so it looks like I am just a "local" on his way to or from work or whatever.

As others have said, try not look like a tourist. Sometimes that means dressing differently from what you do at home, or for what the climate would dictate for your home city. Jeans and shorts in many countries says tourist! As well as one mentioned, foot ware as well.

There is a side benefit to this as well. It can lead to great conversations and new friendships. During my first overseas trip in '06 to Reykjavik and London - some locals took me as as an ex-pat, not as a tourist - because I did not dress as one.

The advice about not using tourist maps is a good one. Sometimes this means planning your trip. On my last trip to SF this year I wanted the off beaten path. I did the photo copy thing; but placed them interleaved in a recent magazine. In overseas travel I would have bought a magazine in the city I was in and taped the photocopies in to it.

If you do have to use tourist maps or guides - then use them in "safe" places. Be aware of people around you. If someone follows you, go back to some where you feel "safe" in. Reviewing your next move in the restroom can be "safe".

If you do want to travel in places with a bit more gear; like a tripod then you have more work ahead of you. And that is called the internet. There are plenty of places that you can meet folks. Even here. The more people around the less of a target you are. Sometimes meeting folks might mean an afternoon of going out with just your P&S till you get a feel for them. Or being referred by other friends to new friends.

I look forward to a return trip to after spending an afternoon with friends of friends; we spent the afternoon playing with their dog at the dog park, a "picnic lunch" in the Goldengate Park, and then sometime just watching a movie. Turns out one of the couple is in to photography as well, and wants sometime to go out explore some of their hidden treasures of SF. Some of which they admit that they don't go to unless they have some others along. I felt no fear in meeting them, but just did not want my photography to hinder in getting to know them.

There are many security products out there for the photographer. PacSafe has many options. One that I have used for hotels that did not have a safe or security that I could leave my valuables in or with is the original PacSafe mesh security "net".

ThinkTank Photo has two new products that I think are worth mentioning: Lock It Up™ and Security Tag ™.

Lock It Up I like for my concerns when at the airport with delays. I admit that I am a nervous sort when I need to run to the bathroom or the such - even while waiting for a flight. I normally haul everything with me, which is a hassle. I can see having a couple of these along with me.

No it won't prevent folks from going through your bags (unless you put a zipper lock lock on your bags), but that is not the intent I believe of this product. It is simply about securing your bags to a secure object.

Their Security Tag product is for the instance that one poster here mentioned, an honest person - folks that do the right thing. Hopefully ThinkTank will allow use of this tag on non ThinkTank products.

 

[aniMal]

This is simply what any camera should be used for - moving about & seeing new places!

1. Black electrical tape - patch it up so that it looks ugly, and tear & wear it a bit...

2. No tourist maps.

3. Dress like a local - maybe even go buy some clothes when you land.

Should do the trick... Remember going to India and Nepal with an M-2 mid nineties; I made my own rucksack out of old postal sacks. When it came out on the belt at the airport it blended in totally ;-) In general, ugly and torn makes the trick!

 

[ChipNovaMac]

Dressing like a local is key.....

In my shop I can pick out the "Euros" over the locals.

Dressing "down" in the key for "Euros" visiting the DC area. Fancy sweaters and such seem to be a clue. Maybe being slobbish is the key to fitting in here in the US. And dressing up in Europe is the key for those of us from the US......