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Christmas thieves..


brill64

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dear fellow members, here is a pertinent reminder to please take care of your m9 at this time of year!

 

yesterday i was walking along a very busy street right in the heart of central in hong kong, myself busily taking photographs. in between i let my m9 hang loosely around my neck. stupid! it was slightly surreal or i was distracted and dreaming but a guy walking towards me suddenly reached out his arm towards my camera and lightly grabbed the circular lens hood of my 35 f2 asph. lightly was all he managed because luckily i was awake in an instant, knocked his hand away and yelled "oi, what are you doing!!!!!" and of course he disappeared smartly into the crowd behind me in an instant. call me paranoid but it was smiling face, outstretched hand towards camera, concentrated eyes then fingers around my 35 f2 asph. here's the thing, it took a moment afterwards for me to register that he was actually attempting to lift the camera off me whilst i was distracted or hypnotised or something. lucky for me it was the 35 fs asph. had he actually attempted to lift it up, the lens hood is so loose it would have come straight off in is hand and that would have been all he would have got. had it been a 35 f1.4 summilux, the hood is quite firmly attached and who knows what.. i consider myself lucky...this time around! it may never happen again, to me or to any of you but please...be aware and take care or your camera! it only takes a moment to steal it. since i carry my camera with me every day, i realised that i had become complacent.

 

when i mentioned this later to my friend, he was not surprised at all (hong kong truthfully is an extremely safe city!). he said there are also gangs from the mainland currently targeting people in hong kong carrying their iphone 4's out in the open and on the street at night. you'll feel a small bang to your head, raise your hand up when you feel something a bit painful then whilst you're dizzy and distracted, your iphone 4 is quickly taken from the other hand by someone else. even i've noticed that iphone 4's are very very common in public recently and people are always incessantly doing something on them..probably it will be ipads next...whatever, i'm glad my only vice is my beloved m9.

 

so my message to everyone is please be extra vigilant when you venture out with your camera! it's very simple - take care of your belongings! don't give desperate thieves any chance to steal cherished and difficult to replace booty at this profitable time of year!

 

all the very best!

brill.

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For anyone carefree or foolish (or rich) enough to not already have it, the best holiday gift is camera equipment insurance.;)

 

And, have a back-up camera to bridge the time to get new gear in the event of misfortune (not just for theft, but damage and loss).

 

A rider to a homeowner policy to insure a digital M and a set of lenses, for instance, costs little more than one used to spend annually on film. No-brainer IMO.

 

Jeff

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I have never really understood why people carry a camera around there neck or over there shoulder only. It always seems to get in the way, is a weight pulling on your neck or can slip off of your shoulder.

 

I have always carried cameras bandoleer style because it is much more secure, more comfortable, easy to move the camera in front of you or around to your back side out of the way.

 

 

Well take care.

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i used the term, "gangs from the mainland" very loosely but in hindsight, inappropriately. i am very sorry if this may have offended anyone on the forum or if it was perceived by any member to be a racist remark. it was not. any country is equally prone to criminal "gang" activity. i am caucasian and i have a long-term chinese partner. my friend who told me about the iphone gangs is himself chinese.

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