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Stolen RED in Vegas, #735

T

Tom Funk

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My Red was stolen this afternoon from my car - windows smashed. Also taken was an O'Connor 2575 head and a set of 4 IDX batteries with charger.
The car was parked at my hotel while I was at CES for a bit. I figured it would be ok for a bit in the middle of the day, under a blanket / out of sight, plus with security there (plus I'm having knee problems and didn't want to lug it all up and down to the third floor in several trips each time, so don't bother giving me shit).
But apparently the security guard didn't want to chase the guys he saw stealing it, as they then climbed over a wall; nor did he feel like calling the police. However, he did take a picture of my car and give it to the front desk manager - who later told me "Why don't you walk down to the police station and tell them about it". Best Western, yay.
Well, please keep your eyes open for that serial number in the future!

Tom Funk
tom@highdefmovies.com
 
what is going on???
how could there be all these stolen cameras?

not saying i dont believe you.. but alot of these claims are coming from guys with low post counts so it just seems weird..
 
Maybe there should be a special sticky or section in this forum so anyone can check all the stolen camera SN in one, handy list (Sort of like the early days of stolen credit card numbers that got published in a book). By the way, sorry to hear about the camera and your car.
 
Zakaree Sandberg said:
what is going on???
how could there be all these stolen cameras?

not saying i dont believe you.. but alot of these claims are coming from guys with low post counts so it just seems weird..
Click to expand...

Thefts do happen, low post counts or not....

Just 2 months ago I had about $7,000 of gear stolen from a camera van where my my gear was in shipping cases completely out of sight in a locked vehicle.

The windows were smashed in and the gear gutted in a flash. We were at a restaurant location and the camera van was parked directly behind the restaurant.

Luckily insurance covered it all, but it was a feeling of shock!

I truly hope that I nor anyone else ever has to feel that emotion, it's absolutely horrible.

Sorry to hear about that Tom!
 
insurance

insurance

Jason Ing said:
got insurance? and who with?
Click to expand...

Yep, have insurance, though not sure with whom till I get back from Vegas. I'd gotten it from a company someone suggested here, back in around April... but then some other company bought out the policy. I'll post later about how well they deal with it.



Zakaree Sandberg said:
what is going on???
how could there be all these stolen cameras?

not saying i dont believe you.. but alot of these claims are coming from guys with low post counts so it just seems weird..
Click to expand...


As for some perceived correlation between posting on this site and any other real world events, um ... dude. Some people do have lives beyond Red.
 
Sounds like the security guard could be in on it. Do you remember asking him if it was safe to park your vehicle and or that you had valuables in the car? And second, why wouldn't he call the police or make effort to stop them?
 
Make sure you register this with Kelly or Brent at RED so we can monitor things on our side.. we have lots of eyes and ears out there :)
 
Ivan G said:
Sounds like the security guard could be in on it. Do you remember asking him if it was safe to park your vehicle and or that you had valuables in the car? And second, why wouldn't he call the police or make effort to stop them?
Click to expand...

Ivan G is right. Or he recognized them, Vegas being a small town and all.
 
This is yet another example of a crime of opportunity, IMO. The guys are probably looking at your Red and scratching their heads, "WTF is this?"

I think a lojack tracking device deep inside the camera could have caught these turkeys in an hour or two, with the help of the Las Vegas Police.
 
Really sorry to hear about your camera

Really sorry to hear about your camera

Would it be possible to have the serial number on the cameras ingraved in a visible place. So it would be impossible to use a stolen camera on a production.
And about cameras and cars. Never never never leave a camera in a car. Not even for 5 min.

Could RED make a link on RED.COM to a stolen list..Would be great.

Bo
 
Tom, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. It is a horrible feeling that we know firsthand and you have to believe there is reason for everything. I hope you have the same faith that we do that in the end good guys do finish last. And again in this case, no one got hurt and there is nothing more important than that… just nuts and bolts. We'll keep a look out here on the East Coast.

Zakaree Sandberg said:
what is going on???
how could there be all these stolen cameras?

not saying i dont believe you.. but alot of these claims are coming from guys with low post counts so it just seems weird..
Click to expand...

Weird? What does a low post count have to do with anything? With some of the negative attitude that comes from this forum many people don't even bother joining or trying to contribute. So much for a sense of community. Is he too going to get blamed or attacked like that last few victims?

While there are many, many great people we have met here which have resulted in new business relationships and even friends, there are some real issues with respect. I would hope no one has to go through a theft and feel like their peers don’t even support them.

Grand Funk said:
As for some perceived correlation between posting on this site and any other real world events, um ... dude. Some people do have lives beyond Red.
Click to expand...

Amen.

Regards,
Billy
 
Tom said:
The guys are probably looking at your Red and scratching their heads, "WTF is this?"
Click to expand...

I've had that happen to me a megazillion times with SLRs, DSLRs and even little silly camcorders, let alone the RED One.

My conclusion is that evil eyes will catch on to anything, regardless of what it is, as long as it "looks" expensive enough and, therefore, potentially marketable. They probably haven't even got an inkling of what it really is, be it a Red One, EX3, 1Ds, D3, etc., whatever. If it looks expensive, it's definitely marketable in the black market.

In my experience, any camera larger and spiffier than your regular point and shoot is fair game. Seriously. Makes no difference whether it shoots movies or not. You never know what will trigger a thief's "I must have this" sensation.

That's why "stealth" (in lieu of overwhelming protection) is the obvious answer.

Of course, that's just my opinion...

:waaa:
 
The guys are probably looking at your Red and scratching their heads, "WTF is this?"
Click to expand...

I once had a guy break into my hotel room and steal a bunch of stuff while I was out for the day. Apparently he/they thought electronics were where the money was at, so he dumped out the case of super speeds on the floor, and filled up the case with batteries and chargers........

Sorry about your camera,

Nick
 
Serial Numbers

Serial Numbers

Would it be possible to have the serial number on the cameras ingraved in a visible place.
Click to expand...

Bo, the camera has an electronic serial number (a.k.a "PIN") that appears each time the camera boots up. The PIN is visible in all monitor outputs at that time, and you can also force the display of the PIN in the camera's rear LCD by pressing the UNDO and JOYSTICK at the same time. We also record the PIN into each frame of video recorded by the camera.

Unlike a physical serial number (which can be defaced) the "PIN" cannot be altered. It's attached to that camera for life.

This is the best method of verifying ownership of cameras in the field.
 
arrinick said:
I once had a guy break into my hotel room and steal a bunch of stuff while I was out for the day. Apparently he/they thought electronics were where the money was at, so he dumped out the case of super speeds on the floor, and filled up the case with batteries and chargers........
Click to expand...

HAHAHA. See what I mean... most of these Red thefts are probably pulled off by total idiots.

Even the simplest anti-theft measures could probably help to catch most of these guys. I'm not an expert on lojack, but that seems like the obvious solution. I don't know if criminals have any way to detect a lojack signal? If not, there is no way in hell they are going to pull apart a DSMC's brains or other components to check for a lojack. More likely, they would still be looking at the camera and scratching their heads by the time the cops knock on their door. :biggrin:
 
Check these guys out, never used them but recommended by a friend:
http://www.mologogo.com/

Use thier cheap ($80) phone as a GPS tracker, disable the calling functions and hide one in your camera bag.
Turn it on if you leave your gear untended.
Track online, and send cops to retrieve your gear.
 
guys i wasnt saying i didnt believe him. I guess my post didnt make sense (I was super out of it when i posted it.. bob Marley was in the background...)
I feel terrible for the people who have had a theft of gear:(
Hopefully the culprits are caught and insurance will pay up soon!!
 
Thieves - I hate them.
I had way back in 1985???
A video camera stolen out of a trunk.
Not in plain site.
Thieves just went down a line a cars
and popped all the trunks.

Since then I have not had anything stolen.
Never leave cameras or anything of value
in a vehicle - period.
If you cannot watch the vehicle while your
gear is in there then don't leave it unattended.
If your really have to leave stuff in your vehicle,
look at this idea

http://www.truckvault.com/
 
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