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tips for camera theft victim

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jonnyapple

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I put this in weird and fun, but it's almost definitely anti-fun. I was on a vacation this weekend and had my D300 swiped! I'm not looking for anyone's pity, but I was wondering if anyone has had experience with this that could give me tips of steps to take when something like this happens.

Here's what I've done (in order of appearance):
1. Filed police report.
2. Ordered new camera (D90, which should tide me over until I get the D700 update that I was waiting for, at which point it can be retired as my backup)
3. Started homeowners'/renters' insurance claim process.
4. Looked to see if there's any way to search for the camera's serial number in the metadata of any pictures that get posted online (there's not).
5. Borrowed a D90 until I get my new one.

My main question is this: does anyone know whether the h/r insurance will cover this? It seems plausible to me since photo equipment is exactly what I had in mind when I listed total property values on the insurance application. I'm just wondering if there will be trouble because it wasn't at the insured location when it was stolen. Has anyone had first-hand experience in a similar situation?

Also, does anyone have any other ideas for tracking it down?

Thanks in advance for any help. I'm just glad one of my least expensive lenses was on at the time (the 35mm 1.8) and that they didn't take my whole bag (basically, I thought it was in the bag with me in the motel when it was actually in the car that it was taken from).

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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Sorry to hear this Jonny. Hopefully your insurance will cover it. Keep your eye out for D300's that get listed for sale on Craigslist in your area. Although if you don't know your S/N it's not going to help you unless you've got some other way of proving it's yours. A friend was able to recover some of his stolen equipment because the thief listed it for sale on Craigslist. He knew his S/N and had all of his gear marked.

As for your insurance, it depends. Some policies cover it others don't. Just depends on your policy. If your gear is stolen from your car or home then yes. But if it's lost while your using it, depending on your policy, then no. Also most homeowners insurance won't cover any kind of loss if you ever use your photo gear for profit no matter where it was lost/stolen. You'd need a separate policy to cover gear that you use for profit.

Posted 3 years ago #
soap

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My camera equipment is on a separate line-item rider. (State Farm homeowners)

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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Thanks for your input. I dug up our policy (it's through Travelers). Apparently, even for property primarily used for business (as this was), they cover up to $5,000 if the property is stolen from the insured premises (this limit was an eye-opener for me, and I'm going to look into getting a setup like you have, soap).

In this case, since it was away from the residence premises when it was stolen, it's covered only up to $1500 (which, with my $500 deductible, means $1000 back--almost enough to cover the D90 and the replacement lens).

Niko, the great thing about digital is every picture I ever took with the camera has the serial number in the metadata. Which reminds me, I also contacted Nikon and reported the camera stolen just in case a buyer tries to register it, maybe the buyer will have info on the seller.

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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In your original post (4) you said your Metadata info wasn't there?

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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Sorry, that wasn't very clear. The metadata is there on the pictures I've taken. I was interested in knowing whether I could do something like a google search for pictures taken with the camera with that serial number. That way, I could keep my eye out for anything the new owner posts to the web. It doesn't look like that's possible--not even on a site like Flicker.

Posted 3 years ago #
Willis

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Ouch Jonny... Some credit cards cover theft of items that were purchased using the credit card. So if insurance doesn't come through for you, you might try that avenue.

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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Jonny what are you using to view your s/n?

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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Thanks for the tip, Willis. I looked that up and it looks like that's only for 90 days on the card that was used to purchase it.

There's a firefox addon called Exif Viewer 1.40 that lets you just right click on an image and 'View Image Exif Data,' but I actually prefer the way Jeffrey's Exif viewer displays things.
Like this file, for example.

If you're interested, I went here: http://regex.info/exif.cgi and dragged the 'Exif' button to my bookmark bar so that I can just click on it when I have an image in the browser. That's the downside--you have to have just the image up, where Exif Viewer can pull up info about an image within a webpage without right clicking and choosing 'view image.'

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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I use Exif Viewer and it doesn't show the s/n that's why I asked. Are you sure you get s/n info for photos that way?

I don't see s/n info on the link you posted either?

Also you won't get s/n of the lens through metadata :^(

Posted 3 years ago #
alphanikonrex

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Yes, it works. Try this image Niko: http://chsvimg.nikon.com/products/imaging/lineup/digitalcamera/slr/d3s/img/pic_005b.jpg

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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It's there. The field name is Serial Number in the XMP metadata and the fields are alphabetical in the info on Jeffrey's Exif Viewer.

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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Niko, the lens serial number is on the box (which was not stolen).

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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Hmm I see it on your example now Jonny, sorry it's buried way down there. But when I use photo's from my camera there's no s/n? Strange?

I've got photos of all my equipment (computers, monitors, cameras, lenses, TVs, etc) as well as closeups of the serial numbers for this purpose.

Good that you kept the lens box.

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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That is strange, Niko. You might want to check what settings are available in the software you're using to process your pictures--maybe it's stripping some of the metadata. The top one was exported from lightroom, then edited in Picasa (well, not really edited. I just added a title) (and I know LR can do that, too. It's a long story).

I tried a jpg straight from the camera and it had the s/n in the MakerNotes section, just like the one that alpha rex posted from the D3s sample website.

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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Can you see the s/n info with Nikon Capture or View? I'm not seeing it there either? My name and copyright info show up fine on everything but not s/n. I never bothered to check s/n before but maybe your right about the info getting stripped somewhere along in my work flow.

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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I can't see it in View (I'm running 1.0.3--I'm sure it's horribly out of date), but when I output the file as a tiff and tell it not to strip any metadata on output, the S/N is still there in the MakerNotes when I pull it up in the Exif viewer.
I'd guess it's Capture that's stripping it. Strange that Nikon would have it do that. What's the point?

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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Yeah it is strange, but it's obviously just an unchecked/checked box somewhere. I'm not worried about it though as long as my name shows up OK. Thanks jonny appreciate it and again sorry to here about your D300.
Good luck

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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Good news. The check came in the mail today. It was for $1450! I was honest about how I had used the gear, so maybe I read the policy wrong (stranger things have happened). Travelers saves Christmas...

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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So can I interest you in a used D2X? :^)

Posted 3 years ago #
alphanikonrex

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You and your D2X *rolling eyes*

Glad things turned out OK jonny :^)

Posted 3 years ago #
ShadeofBlue

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I'd be interested in a used D2X if they weren't still like $1500...

Good to know things worked out.

Posted 3 years ago #
mojo63nr

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At the advice of my insurance agent I have kept all of my camera reciepts in a folder for many purposes but theift is the main reason. I believe it depends on your policy but most cover personal items away from home that where stolen. The question is is your policy written for replacement costs or for depreciated costs. I would recommend replacement cost as the additional cost for the policy very reasonable at least in my situation. I also keep a seperate list of ID numbers for all equipment with my passport so when I travel internationally I show it before i leave the US. There have been times when an imegration agent has made a copy of the list. This is a good idea because some stores sell gray market items which do not have US warranties and is reflected in their serial numbers. Best Regards

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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It also depends on whether you use your gear for profit. If you do then a regular home policy might not cover loss.

Posted 3 years ago #
adamz

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I once tried to insure my camera equipment, and insurance cost was app 60% of the gear value, so.... my recommendation, to all of You who live in countries where insurance policy is sick, stay healthy and be prepared to take Your gear back once someone is running away with it :)

Posted 3 years ago #