Stolen camera finder

[Martin Weiss]

http://www.stolencamerafinder.com/

Checks to see if there are any online photos available with your (stolen) (stills) camera's serial number, which is embedded in the EXIF code.

Hopefully none of us will ever need it.

 

[Chris Luker]

Wow, that's pretty cool!

 

[paulherrin]

that is intense!

if you just wanted to see where the number you own has been... can you search for it just to look?
(without triggering it as stolen in the database of course)

 

[Richard Foster]

Good to know.

 

[Imran Farouk]

Pretty cool but according to Engadget if the criminal is smarter then...

"It's a nifty idea, but one that would probably pay dividends only under certain circumstances. For instance, the thief would have to take pictures with the camera (rather than selling it) and post the images online without wiping the EXIF data"

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/03/stolen-camera-finder-promises-to-find-your-camera-with-exif-data/

 

[paulherrin]

yeah... when i tried it, it seemed to only be using it's own database, and not searching elsewhere. it appears the criminal would have to load images into the stolen cameras database for you to find your stolen camera, which i'm sure they'll be keen to do.

 

[Gavin Greenwalt]

yeah... when i tried it, it seemed to only be using it's own database, and not searching elsewhere. it appears the criminal would have to load images into the stolen cameras database for you to find your stolen camera, which i'm sure they'll be keen to do.

But perhaps some kind hearted soul shopping for a used camera would be willing to check the camera before buying it. Ask the seller to take a picture "to ensure there were no sensor defects."

 

[Sven Seynaeve]

this is at least a step in the right direction, maby someone could built a similar application, or the ones that did could expand the search over the entire internet.

this could be one of the greatest ideas ever to get your camera's back

 

[Sven Seynaeve]

anyone willing to by a used Red could indeed insert the picture send by the seller, and the application could assist whether a camera is stolen or not.

 

[Imran Farouk]

would require though that we all upload pictures to this site...

It'd probably be easier if they asked for the serial number and a picture of it then crossed that over with RED... (If its faked then just like the Ebay RED sales it'd be flagged by users here or by RED itself right?)