Stolen Gear: Leica Summicron v4 & other gear

[BestWesterman]

I'm sorry to post here and hope that if there's a better place for this notice, please let me know or relocate.

A few days ago I had a camera bag stolen in Portland, Oregon which included my favorite lens of all time, a Summicron 35 v4. It had even been the subject of the tattoo on my left arm. The lens had a B+W clear filter attached.

Should anyone see this lens come up for sale or in possession of someone, I would greatly appreciate you letting me know.

Thank you!
Andy

 

[xmas_one]

That’s terrible. I’ll keep my eyes peeled on CL and eBay.

 

[raid]

I hope that someone will find your stolen equipment for you.

 

[madNbad]

It was most likely a crime of opportunity and not a Leica thief. Start by checking the pawn shops close to where the theft happened. Many of the shops are on the lookout for stolen goods and won't take it but there are still a few that will look the other way. Crooks like to unload stuff quickly and being specialized gear, not easy to sell (unlike bike parts). The few remaining camera shops require both identification and a stolen goods check before they will issue any funds. Keep checking Craigslist, most of the sellers of leica gear are regulars but if they start listing your gear it will be a bargain prices and easy to track. Check Offer Up and any other selling sites.Most likely, whoever stole your gear fenced it to a second party, for fast cash, they will be the one trying to sell it Remember, with the current way crimes are prosecuted, even if they catch the guy with your lenses in his bag he will face little, if any, repercussions. Sorry for your loss.

 

[Fjäll]

That sucks! I had my Leica M4-P + 35mm Summicron V4 stolen last winter. I buy & sell a lot of camera gear but that set up I was never gonna sell. Regretful I didn't engrave the stuff with my personal details like I had planned to.

I guess you have to monitor the market in case it shows up online.

 

[madNbad]

Along with all of the above, file a report with the police. Occasionally long after the crime has happened, they will come upon a pile of stolen goods. If your stuff is in there and they have descriptions, it increases the likelihood of having it returned.

 

[Beemermark]

Along with all of the above, file a report with the police. Occasionally long after the crime has happened, they will come upon a pile of stolen goods. If your stuff is in there and they have descriptions, it increases the likelihood of having it returned.

I think all pawn shops are required to provide the local police with a list of equipment and identifying marks on things placed in pawn. Having been robbed twice in two different cities/states that is what I was told. Not that it did any good.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I think all pawn shops are required to provide the local police with a list of equipment and identifying marks on things placed in pawn. Having been robbed twice in two different cities/states that is what I was told. Not that it did any good.

It's not like this in Jersey City, NJ.
Phil Forrest

 

[djnato10]

I think all pawn shops are required to provide the local police with a list of equipment and identifying marks on things placed in pawn. Having been robbed twice in two different cities/states that is what I was told. Not that it did any good.

I think this varies from city to city. The camera shop I worked at was required to provide a list of everything used we took in at the end of every week. The shop two cities north of us; same company, was not required to provide any such information to the authorities.

 

[giganova]

Andy --

So sorry for that loss! Can you give some hints how this happened and tell us what you would do differently so we can all learn from your experience?

 

[xmas_one]

There’s a 35mm cron on offerup in Portland right now with a clear filter on it. The pictures posted do not show the serial.

 

[analoged]

There’s a 35mm cron on offerup in Portland right now with a clear filter on it. The pictures posted do not show the serial.

Thats an Asph version, OP has V4

 

[BestWesterman]

Andy --

So sorry for that loss! Can you give some hints how this happened and tell us what you would do differently so we can all learn from your experience?

My advice is to not be stupid like me. Don't trust the universe and leave in a Public Storage unit in a vulnerable part of town. And don't let the front desk people see what you're putting in your unit.

 

[raid]

Accidents can always happen, but we try to avoid such events from happening to us.
I use beaten up cheap looking camera bags, and I do not carry the camera openly. I keep the camera inside the camera bag until it is needed. I carry it with the lens pointing to the ground so that little can be seen of the front of the camera or the lens. I have insurance on the expensive photography items. It covers any loss at all. In case of a burglary, immediately report it to the local police department. Get a report (in any language). Then after you return home, contact your home insurance agent and report the theft. The insurance policy will cover documented burglaries as long as you have the police report.

The rest is luck.

 

[oftheherd]

I think all pawn shops are required to provide the local police with a list of equipment and identifying marks on things placed in pawn. Having been robbed twice in two different cities/states that is what I was told. Not that it did any good.

Definitely a good idea to notify police in the hopes that the thief is new to camera theft and tries to unload it him/herself on ebay, Craigs List, or another site.

I don't know about now, but when I was in Colorado (many years ago) the police were pretty sure one or two levels above the thief, was a part of a group that would ship stolen goods to Texas, Kansas City, or other places that far away so they wouldn't show up in local police theft records. Perhaps that is no longer true.

Regardless, do report it as that establishes it as stolen goods from you on a particular date.

 

[raid]

Our rental car was burglarized (while driving through Denmark), and all our luggage was stolen. This happened about 4 years ago. A local RFF member there helped us getting a police report (in Danish). I submitted it to my home owner insurance, and they covered it all.

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

On vacation, driving from Liberia, Costa Rica, parked rental car at a nice looking restaurant, open air, nice place. From our table, I saw that another car had pulled up, parked next to ours, couple of guys, one standing near the cars smoking. I sensed trouble, went out, and stood there taking in fresh air. Waited. Didn't confront, but stood nearby, arms crossed. Shortly they left. Checked car; they had been trying to burglarize it for our luggage and, yes, camera bag.

 

[maartenmoerman]

tip: write down the serial numbers in text instead of an image in this thread, so google can index it, and people at some point might look it up.

 

[ornate_wrasse]

I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience. Unfortunately, theft is rampant in Portland, especially with all the homeless that this city has. My daughter had a MacBook Pro, hard drive with four years of work stored on it, a Nikon camera I'd bought her for Christmas and a camera bag stolen in Portland a few months ago. She had left it in a friend's car in a part of Portland with lots of homeless living on the street in tents. She didn't know it at the time, but that part of Portland is known for car break ins and theft.

I hope you can recover what was stolen from you.

 

[Beemermark]

Small consolation, but at least you have the tattoo -🙁