Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Log in
  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Stolen lenses

tekcin said:
Your job to find them and their lists.

Do you homework, and it still might not be enough.

Ignorance of the laws is not legal excuse.

Tek
Click to expand...

I doubt there's a law requiring you to check PERA. Test is reckless or negligent - and usually based on what the reasonable person would do. The reasonable person buys their shit on eBay and doesn't think any more about it.

I dunno. I should ask some lawyer type here. I think it's safe to assume we don't know (unless Mitch can enlighten us...?)

One day Australia will let me back (as soon as I can get Interpol off my back :ninja: )
 
I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on TV. I'm not about to dispense legal advice, which I think is technically a crime unto itself. But I don't believe that one who possesses stolen goods may keep them if the rightful owner can be identified. That would be the original owner or the insurance company that paid said owner if a claim was filed.

Contact PERA on how to access their list of stolen equipment.
 
Given the 'democratisation' provided by RED and the fact that the market for PL lenses (and other 35mm accessories) is no loner confined to a fairly small group of industry professionals with knowledge of each other and industry organisations, I think it would be good for a site to setup some sort of basic clearing house for this kind of information. A RED-associated one would be good.

Personally I've never heard of PERA (although I'm not in the US) so would never know to check there anyway, and I think many of new RED owners looking to eBay and Craigslist and elsewhere for good deals on lenses wouldn't either.

A website that you can use to at least get some idea of whether an item is stolen would be a good idea. Either run by someone like PERA, or independently (within the RED community perhaps) and fairly well publicised to RED users.
 
JohnF said:
That said in the UK we have "Mense Rea" (Latin: a guilty mind) so for the crime of receiving stolen goods the prosecution would have to prove that the defendant knew the goods were stolen.

I'm not sure, and obviously one should consult a lawyer, about this but I don't think they can seize the goods from you permanently (obviously there would have to be an investigation) unless they find you guilty. Though the original owners insurance company might have a different attitude and insist that the goods/lenses are returned to them so they can recoup their payout.
Click to expand...
Hi John,

I'm pretty sure (and bear in mind I don't play a lawyer on TV either) that Mense Rea only covers criminal culpability - i.e. whether or not you can be tried for the crime of handling or possessing stolen goods. The property itself is still stolen, and will be confiscated from you and returned to it's rightful owner, as - let's be fair - it should be!
 
Yes, that would follow the concept of "innocent before proven guilty," meaning that you won't be held responsible for the crime. But the property still returns to the rightful owner.
 
It's one of my big nightmares to lose gear that's hard to replace... i.e. my Superspeed MK IIIs or my Red One. It would be easier (though no less of a headache) to replace my HDX-900 or Pro-35 or even the Cookes.
Let's all be careful out there!
Cheers,
Harry
 
Ironically, I got an email the other days from the boys at Hand Held Films in NYC. They had a Varicam, Pro-35, and set of Superspeeds stolen last week.
Nightmare.
Cheers,
Harry
 
And it has come to my attention (and therefore to Jarred's) that some of this stolen equipment has been attempted to be sold right here on reduser.

If you ever look into purchasing used equipment, make sure it is through a reputable dealer. If it is from another source, ask for serial numbers and information as to the previous owner. Stolen gear is often reported directly to the manufacturer, which is what thwarted at least one illegal sale.
 
Mitch Gross said:
And it has come to my attention (and therefore to Jarred's) that some of this stolen equipment has been attempted to be sold right here on reduser.

If you ever look into purchasing used equipment, make sure it is through a reputable dealer. If it is from another source, ask for serial numbers and information as to the previous owner. Stolen gear is often reported directly to the manufacturer, which is what thwarted at least one illegal sale.
Click to expand...

That was unbelievably cheeky or stupid of them! Did the police catch the scumbags?
 
http://www.zgc.com/zgc.nsf/product/stolen

Stolen from Hand Held Films, New York City, May 13, 2008

Panasonic Varicam S/N C6THB0195R
Panasonic Viewfinder S/N B6A030MY
Panasonic Monitor BTLH 900 S/N B7A030MY

Zeiss Prime Lens 14 mm T2.1 S/N 8146503
Zeiss Prime Lens 18 mm T1.3 S/N 6752662
Zeiss Prime Lens 25 mm T1.3 S/N 6752685
Zeiss Prime Lens 35 mm T1.3 S/N 7937409
Zeiss Prime Lens 50 mm T1.3 S/N 7554708
Zeiss Prime Lens 85 mm T1.3 S/N 7440085
Zeiss Prime Lens 100 mm T2.1 S/N 6676153

Anton Bauer Hytron S/N 20084, 20085, 10030, 30981
Anton Bauer Dionic S/N 55348, 55047, 51160
Anton Bauer Quad Charger S/N 33620, 35419, 34947

P+S Technik Pro 35 S/N 200184

O'connor Ultimate 2575 Fluid Head S/N 569115
_______________________

Stolen from Hand Held Films, New York City, April 2008

Cooke S4 lenses, Serial Numbers:
18-0280
25-0279
50-0061
75-0280

April 28, 2008: The above lenses were last sighted for sale by Broadcast Visions, a company located in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Broadcast Visions was informed that the lenses were stolen property. The lenses once again vanished.
_______________________

Stolen from The Camera Department, Cincinnati, Ohio, April 2008

Cooke S4 lenses, Serial Numbers:
14-0242
18-0075
21-0054
25-0076
32-0076
40-0284
50-0238
75-0076
100-0077
_______________________

Stolen from Birns & Sawyer, Los Angeles, CA, 2006

Cooke S4 Lenses, Serial Numbers:
18-0117
25-0115
32-0117
50-0117
75-0117
100-0117

my company's HDW750 had been stolen also.
 
We had a visit from NYC detectives last week asking us for help.

There is an organized "gang" or "team" that is following trucks and vans as they leave rental companies in NYC - typically, the PA's will park the locked vehicle to do another pick up - and the thieves break into the van or truck and unload ONLY camera & lenses in MINUTES.

DO NOT EVER do equipment pick ups without two people - and one ALWAYS in the vehicle. "locked" means nothing.

There are rewards being offered. Contact the NYPD if you have any information.
 
Its a complex issue. As a consumer you want a good deal and are looking for "A steal" not literally but a bargain. As a seller when scare tactics have spread the only place to turn to is a "Known" dealer when the situation is like that you are completely at their mercy and don`t expect to make too much of a turn over from your investment. And of course the "Dealer" turns around and does a ridiculous markup. I had that happen to me here with a "Known" dealer who gave me a absurd quote knowing full well that the price he said the glass was worth was a blatant lie.

I think Mitch is right when he says check double check serial numbers etc but that done there is no reason to shy away from private sellers. When there is a lock down of the market it only drives up prices and stays in the hands of the established players.

Marks storys are true and its known that trucks are staked out and then hijacked. Also tips from within companies about what is where unguarded. Insurance scams are also a huge part of business models. And if you have inhouse or friendly apraisers then it can be a very profitable way to make a few extra bucks here and there.

Even two in a truck or sleeping shot gun can be dangerous if the vehicle is parked somewhere off the beaten path. Remeber its stuff worth a lot of money and people get hurt for much less in this world.

DogDay
 
Whatever happened to that RED ONE that was stolen in NY. Just gone... i guess?

I worked with a company doing a corporate shoot in a big name hotel in White Plains, NY. A backup Sony DSR-500 disappeared (removed from the Portabrace bag!) when left unattended (not by me) for less than a minute.

The hotel security somehow wasn't *able* to provide video tapes (from their numerous security cams) to the police. The police mentioned that there was a thief ring that worked out of the hotels for these type of corporate seminar events.
 
Hello,

I recently had my Canon EOS 1ds, lenses and my coat (insulting or what) stolen after a gig.

It was serious bummer, but I did remember that the meta-data records the serial number of the camera. I don't know that would help me track it down, but it would be interesting if it could provide information for the purposes of finding the culprit.

My question is does the RED Camera write the serial number into it's meta-data? I should look at mine, but I just got it on Thursday and I am still figuring things out!

Interesting story, Mark. Makes me want to chain the camera to myself when out shooting.

Best!

ATF
 
ATF said:
Hello,

I recently had my Canon EOS 1ds, lenses and my coat (insulting or what) stolen after a gig.

It was serious bummer, but I did remember that the meta-data records the serial number of the camera. I don't know that would help me track it down, but it would be interesting if it could provide information for the purposes of finding the culprit.

My question is does the RED Camera write the serial number into it's meta-data? I should look at mine, but I just got it on Thursday and I am still figuring things out!

Interesting story, Mark. Makes me want to chain the camera to myself when out shooting.

Best!

ATF
Click to expand...

Yes, the camera PIN number is written in the meta data recorded by the camera.

Cheers,
Damien
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top