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Stolen lens, with serial number polished.

Bérenger Brillante

Bérenger Brillante

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Hi everyone

I've got a Rpp set stolen 6 months ago, and two days ago a (Red owner) friend of mine in the search of a RPP set to buy, found a set which appeared to be stolen.

Buy a magic turn of events including my friend shouting at a policeman crossing the street, the seller run away leaving the bag full of lenses (yes, a bag !) in my friend's hand.

Now, the serials are polished and paint. But on the cosmetic side, there are several specific signs (a souvenir from a bad bad AC) that confirms they are mine, but who knows....
I asked Red if a lens service could find another serial, maybe inside the lens... so I can check them. I'm waiting for the answer, but I was thinking maybe Dr Lens or Jacek know it directly ?
No one in France really knows them, or wants to know them.
 
Where were the lenses advertised?
 
My friend has leave with it to shoot a little, so I don't have them for the moment, but I looked at them quite closely. The room where the numbers are, is simply empty. It is flat --well round--... It is like they were no numbers at all. A little further, I can see where the guy paint them, with a big poskas (marker for tags on the street's wall) to match the color. It look flat, but when you touch it, it's like there is a colored tape sticked on it. I tried to take it off, but no, it's a marker :)

There is the same motors sign on the gear ring, and the same spot on the pl mount, a souvenir from the pl mount's ear.

I don't know if i'm really understandable....

Where were the lenses advertised?
Click to expand...

I have no idea, and didn't ask, but it was a french speaking guy in Marocco... I'll tell you more in a few minutes.
 
Sounds like he just filled the engravings with something. Try to just pick out the engravings with something, like a pin or paperclip. Unless he welded over the engravings and polished the barrel, which I doubt, then they must still be there.
 
Sometimes I receive requests from customers to fill the engravings. Specifically on Zeiss Super Speeds since the engravings are facing the scene, customers often ask that we fill them (black them out) so they don't show in reflections or bounce light. I do this by filling the engraving with grease pencil and wiping the excess to leave an almost flush surface. It makes the engravings very difficult to see. This could be why you cant find the engravings on the RPP. As I said, they would have to go to great lengths to remove the engravings entirely.
 
I have them back now. And I have made some pictures that should be posted when I get home (30-40minutes)

The insurance guy told me he would not write it in their records... because it would be stored in a warehouse otherwise...:( but I should told the police about it, so that I won't be charge for --Ii don't know the word in french-- " "recel" of stolen goods"

About advertising...

My friend was on a shoot, in the middle of mohamed street, and the thief asked him if he was looking for gear.
 
Bérenger Brillante said:
My friend was on a shoot, in the middle of mohamed street, and the thief asked him if he was looking for gear.
Click to expand...

This happens more than I care to remember in Morocco and Tunisia, and around the ports in Spain and Marseilles. People offering big camera (Actually D3's and 1d3's) to tourists for only 500 euros, stolen gear from across Europe seems to make its way down that direction.
 
Curious.. how much was the thief asking for the lenses?
Click to expand...

It was outrageously expensive. 11 000€, about 14 000$.
I mean for stolen goods, if I was thinking about buying stolen (which I don't), I wouldn't pay more than 5 000€...

His price was the market price. The guy had 5D around his neck, and a 18-85 zoom too, in another backpack... too bad it needed two hands to carry the RPP set.

My friend phoned again to his number, it was a phonebooth (a lady answered), and the email was on a public provider. Not tracable... too bad. I would have cut his hand old school.

yeah, I think I'm going to spend some time in Marocco to became a vigilente.
 
2 pictures from my phone :

not all the lenses are polished flat. The 35mm has a complete hole in the barrel.
we tried to do as you told, but we made a scratch.


35mm.jpg


85mm.jpg
 
After you determine that they are indeed yours, Wanna sell your damaged set since I imagine your insurance allowed you to buy a new set? It should at least help you recover your lost time, and also your deductible from the insurance co.

Dan
 
Remains of the serial numbers might still be there, they have probably filed them down enough to add and smoothen some material and then paint it.

I worked as a prop master for many years and did all kinds of "faking" and "fixing" and if I had a lens that I would want to hide the serial number on, I wouldn´t bother to do more work than necessary - if I am right, they are buried in there, but you will need to dig out whatever material they put in it , or have the lenses x-rayed. Judging from the pictures it´s pretty easy to see where the new paint is, they didn´t do very nice work imho. (their only interest was to hide the numbers from initial inspection)

Good thing you got your glass back!
 
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