Q3 Anti Theft Ideas?

[mrkennethtong]

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Is there a way that the Camera can be locked down like a stolen iPhone to stop it being such an attractive target? 
 

How many of you tape up the Logo?

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[Indeepthought]

Thieves know cameras! putting tape over the red dot  is only fooling yourself. Get a good quality insurance policy. Or keep the Q on your shelf and take a Lomo. 🍷

[LocalHero1953]

1 hour ago, mrkennethtong said:

Is there a way that the Camera can be locked down like a stolen iPhone to stop it being such an attractive target? 
 

How many of you tape up the Logo?

No to both questions.

[jankap]

Lock down would not help. Stolen is stolen. Follow the recommendations of member AussieQ.

On the other side, a camera can be insured. So you would get a new one paid.

To address Leica, wouldn't it be an idea to add a tracker into these steal prone cameras? Could even be a marketing advantage!

Edited January 6, 2024 by jankap

[Photon42]

2 hours ago, AussieQ said:

And most of all, don't be a show off in public. Splashing too much in the water is what brings the sharks in. Keep it low key.

 

1 hour ago, jankap said:

Lock down would not help. Stolen is stolen. Follow the recommendations of member AussieQ.

Aussies are shark experts 😎

[Stuart Richardson]

It's usually more about you and your behavior than the camera itself I think...avoid bringing the camera to crowded, extra popular tourist sites in populous touristy countries (talking the Eiffel Tower, Venice etc more than Iceland or Patagonia, for example). Generally those photos are super boring anyway. Be aware of the social, political and cultural context of the place you are visiting. If you are walking into a neighborhood where you know nothing of the cultural circumstances and norms, and you start flaunting an expensive camera you may make yourself a target. All the more so if you are clearly in a totally different socio-economic bracket than the people you are photographing. I go to Paris at times to go to Paris Photo, and I read once where there was a scam where people would act as if they were giving you something that you had dropped, and they would take advantage of the natural impulse of people to stop and say that no, it wasn't theirs etc. Sure enough, a year or two later I was crossing a bridge towards the Grand Palais where it is held...a very touristy area, and some guy tried to pull that trick on me. I just waved my hand and kept walking briskly and it was immediately apparent in the guys face that I knew what he was up to, and he immediately moved on. In the end, if someone really wants your camera they are going to take it, and unless you want to risk getting beaten up, stabbed or shot, you should probably let them have it. Again, this is what insurance is for.

As for taping...I do often tape up the logos, but that is not for fear of theft as it is keeping distractions to a minimum. I find it is more people you are photographing who ask things like "oh, is that a Leica? That must be really expensive". With the logo taped it truly does cut way down on that...even many photographers don't necessarily know the models by site...especially non-m models. Most thefts are going to be more of opportunity. Most thieves know that they are at way more risk as well by attacking someone or trying to snatch something than by grabbing it off a table or smashing a car window, taking it from a hotel room etc. Getting caught stealing is usually a much less severe punishment than an assault or armed robbery.

Edited January 6, 2024 by Stuart Richardson

[Anbaric]

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Portable version of this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMtqRir7dco

[thegobi]

A guy at Leica suggested that you can fit an Apple AirTag in the bottom of a Q3 half case.

You actually can’t… but you could—with a bit of chopping and filing on the AirTag.

Wont stop it being stolen, but might help with it being recovered (if they don’t open the base)

 

….and sharks are bad, but dropbears are worse, just ask AussieQ 😜

[jankap]

vor 58 Minuten schrieb Anbaric:

Portable version of this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMtqRir7dco

That is it. I was thinking of proposing to insert a handgrenate. But that would produce a lot of mess. 

Edited January 6, 2024 by jankap

[thegobi]

…also, if you are too scared to take your camera out you won’t get any photos 😜

…also, also: if you are just getting super boring photos in Venice you aren’t trying hard enough 😆

[Stuart Richardson]

To be clear, I didn’t necessarily mean the entire city, but the most touristy parts. It is the same here…if I see another photo of Skógafoss or Kirkjufell I am going to keel over…it’s sad to because the first time I saw them I was also blown away, but it was long before most people outside of Northern Europe even knew Iceland was a country. I came around a corner and watched this huge wide mountain turn into a skinny shard. Or drive along the highway and look to my left and see a massive curtain of water coming straight off a cliff. I had never seen or heard of them until I came upon them. The biggest bummer of all this mass tourism is the loss of surprise and wonder. The last TV I bought was a Korean company  (LG) and it had a giant picture of Kirkjufell on it. A few years ago Apple used a picture of Skógafoss to sell their iMacs. 
Anyway, sorry for the tangent, I guess I just equate camera theft heavily with mass tourism as well. Wherever there are a bunch of unprepared tourists, there are often thieves as well. Thankfully, however, that is at least not a problem here despite the crowds. 

Edited January 6, 2024 by Stuart Richardson

[thetoness]

I just purchased an Oberwerth Q3 half case which has a compartment for an Apple Air Tag.

Not foolproof by any means, but another layer of security.

[Stuart Richardson]

Apparently one thief was caught on camera saying: "the last real Leica was the M4..."

[Siriusone59]

Charles Bronson had the right idea in Death Wish 3...and that was for a Nikon. 😜

[Dannyred]

If someone did steal my Q3, my preference would be to file a claim with my insurance. I'm not sure I'd want to retrieve the stolen one (via tags etc) since it would be very difficult to determine what prospective abuse the camera incurred in the hands of the thief. I use my homeowners insurance and itemize the camera, it costs a bit more but - for me - it's worth it.

[Phil75]

My house, household goods and cars are properly insured, but I personally don't see much sense in insuring a single Qx camera that I carry around my neck or hold it in my hands most of the time. If you pay around 25% to >35% of the original MSRP in insurance costs over a 10 year holding period, then there is, IMO, no valid business case.

If I carried around a M with lenses worth 20k or so, or if I was a professional, the situation would be certainly different.

I recommend instead to check your household goods insurance to cover luggage and also when staying in hotels.

[mhasman]

AirTag is not a solution, most of the time it only let people to see now their goods running away.
99.9% that police is not following that direction even it shows "it is right there, come with me please". And for sure, going somewhere by yourself is bad idea. 

[jaapv]

I rather doubt that  Leica in general is extra risk-prone. They are harder to sell and fence than more common cameras and less savvy thieves prefer to go for multi-button machines with big zooms. A friend of mine a while had to park his BMW car in Amsterdam Centre. He lost a radio every few weeks. He replaced it by a Ferrari. Never again- the junks found it too complicated to steal stuff from exotic cars. 

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica Q

[mrkennethtong]

13 hours ago, Stuart Richardson said:

It's usually more about you and your behavior than the camera itself I think...avoid bringing the camera to crowded, extra popular tourist sites in populous touristy countries (talking the Eiffel Tower, Venice etc more than Iceland or Patagonia, for example). Generally those photos are super boring anyway. Be aware of the social, political and cultural context of the place you are visiting. If you are walking into a neighborhood where you know nothing of the cultural circumstances and norms, and you start flaunting an expensive camera you may make yourself a target. All the more so if you are clearly in a totally different socio-economic bracket than the people you are photographing. I go to Paris at times to go to Paris Photo, and I read once where there was a scam where people would act as if they were giving you something that you had dropped, and they would take advantage of the natural impulse of people to stop and say that no, it wasn't theirs etc. Sure enough, a year or two later I was crossing a bridge towards the Grand Palais where it is held...a very touristy area, and some guy tried to pull that trick on me. I just waved my hand and kept walking briskly and it was immediately apparent in the guys face that I knew what he was up to, and he immediately moved on. In the end, if someone really wants your camera they are going to take it, and unless you want to risk getting beaten up, stabbed or shot, you should probably let them have it. Again, this is what insurance is for.

As for taping...I do often tape up the logos, but that is not for fear of theft as it is keeping distractions to a minimum. I find it is more people you are photographing who ask things like "oh, is that a Leica? That must be really expensive". With the logo taped it truly does cut way down on that...even many photographers don't necessarily know the models by site...especially non-m models. Most thefts are going to be more of opportunity. Most thieves know that they are at way more risk as well by attacking someone or trying to snatch something than by grabbing it off a table or smashing a car window, taking it from a hotel room etc. Getting caught stealing is usually a much less severe punishment than an assault or armed robbery.

Thank you for your detailed response. 

I am pretty cool with the Leica Service Center here. May ask them to change the Red Logo to the Black one if they have spares.

 

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[jaapv]

They won’t and can’t. It is not permitted by the brand owner. Leica only licenses the logo. They don’t have black logos. They once put black on the M8.2 but it landed them in a heap of legal trouble. They don’t stock or sell black M8.2 logos but will happily provide you with a red one.