Leica Q2 stolen in italy

[Capww8]

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My Q2 was stolen in Italy, my bag was grabbed on the train to Modena, and the AirTag last reported it in Voghera. 

Posting here in case anyone happens to find a suspiciously good deal on a Q2 in the area. It has an Oberwerth case and strap with red stitch. I would happily pay for a no questions asked return - my biggest concern is recovering the photos on the camera. 

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[F-train]

That sucks.

[Matt Stevens]

That does suck... was your bag taken from overhead storage or was it snatched off your body?

I travel in Europe annually and this is something I think a lot about. 

Edited May 19 by Matt Stevens

[Capww8]

* Train to Milan, not Modena… I was pretty tired when I initially wrote this. 

My bag was taken from the overhead while I slept - woke up a few minutes before the final stop, and found it missing. I immediately checked the AirTag, and saw it was off the train ~ 30 kms behind us. 

I travel alone frequently, and frequently alone through Europe (10-12 weeks per year). For what it’s worth - these are the changes I’m making personally:

* Instead of booking the single seat side of the train, I’m going to take the double side. The luggage rack is slightly further from the aisle, and I imagine that makes it slightly less likely to be a target. 

* I typically would have had my passport and wallet in that backpack. Never again - those will forever stay on my person in similar situations. In that way, I was lucky here that I happened to break my usual habit. 

* I think I may try clipping my bags together with a small cord and carabiner if I can do it discreetly. At the very least, that would cause more of a ruckus if a person tried to grab just one of them, and I imagine they’d flee when it got tangled. 

* I’m never traveling with an ‘extra’ watch anymore. I didn’t have one in the bag on this trip, but ordinarily it would have been there. 

* I’ve asked my insurance dude to put together some new options for coverage to schedule valuables that I frequently travel with. In this case, my deductible is almost exactly the value of the goods, so there is no sense in making a claim.  

* I’m going to be much more consistent about uploading photos after every trip - that’s the biggest problem here, I had probably six months worth of travel on that camera that I hadn’t transferred over, that is obviously irreplaceable. 

Beyond that, I don’t know what I could have done differently - it would be easier to blame myself if the luggage had been further away on a rack (like on DB, Eurorail), but it was directly above my head. FYI - I was also traveling with very plain luggage on this trip. My roller in this case was a pretty dirty Briggs and Riley Essential, and the backpack was a plain black Peak Design Travel Backpack. I don’t think either of those is an obvious ‘target’ bag, and I didn’t unpack and reveal anything on the train, I think they just got really lucky (and I got very unlucky). 

 

[setuporg]

This is heartbreaking and a second report of gear stolen on a train in Italy.  Having travelled there recently, I’ve been lucky as the backpack was away and I fell asleep a few times too.

The lesson seems to be have the camera bag on you or tied to you at all times.  Also looks like one camera or a very small bag you can always have on you works better.  A big bag that does not fit under the seat on a train was the reason it got separated in the other case.
 

[PhotoCruiser]

Sad to hear that and i feel sorry for your loss.
Italians Trains are known for luggage (or other) theft, particularly the Milan - Rome leg and sleeping in a Italian train is never a good idea.
Even awake no-one should leave any personal item a second unattended what may be difficult when travelling alone what i frequently do.
One of the best things i have for travelling is a Photographers Vest with many pockets to have documents and valuables on me and my Q2 would fit in one of the pockets.

Yes, frequently backups pay off, but need either a cloud solution, a laptop or similar to download them or many SD Cards. If a Laptop is available then a SSD is tiny and can be carried in the vest or somewhere else on body.

I had 2 MacBooks, a iPad, 2 external disks and other gear stolen and fortunately i had al my devices crypted so thief had no access to the data what would have been a huge disaster for me as i have also personal and business data on them. Apple and Windows has a integrated disk encryption and it's worth to activate it, for external disks there are freeware solutions to encrypt the whole disk.

Chris

[LocalHero1953]

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It's difficult to know what to do with a backpack or other large luggage, unless you can both keep them near you and stay awake and alert. I normally carry my camera in a shoulder bag, together with my passport, which goes down by my feet, and my laptop is either on the table in front of me or in a seat pocket. My backpack may disappear, but it would contain little of significant value. I have taken risks before without consequences, but become more cautious with age.

[Smogg]

There are very compact kits (receiver-transmitter) on the market. The distance between them is adjustable (for example, 3 meters can be set). When the set distance is exceeded, a loud sound signal is heard (60-100 decibels). One part is carried in the pocket, the second is in the luggage.

[Simone_DF]

A few years ago, for a train trip, I purchased a 1m steel cable like the one below, and a padlock, and used it to tie my suitcase to the train in the luggage storage area. It's not perfect, but it makes it more difficult for thieves

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[PhotoCruiser]

vor 3 Stunden schrieb Simone_DF:

A few years ago, for a train trip, I purchased a 1m steel cable like the one below, and a padlock, and used it to tie my suitcase to the train in the luggage storage area. It's not perfect, but it makes it more difficult for thieves

Good point,
i have a SS wire mesh from Mosko Moto for my two panniers / soft side bags on my BMW motorcycle, it fit in a small bag and is reasonable light.
It seems the don't have them anymore, but Touratech have them, a travel/expedition shop most likely as well and preventing theft is better than running behind.
 

 

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Edited May 20 by PhotoCruiser

[oldsalt]

So sorry to hear of your "loss" ... my wife and I have just returned home from 5 weeks in Northern Italy and Switzerland... my Q2 is in a small carry bag that slings around my body, and thats where it "lives" - the things I saw people do with bags & phones etc on the trains was amazing...they left stuff in plain sight and then wandered off to the restaurant car etc...it's a sad world but I just don't trust anyone !!!!    Using my Q2 in Milan (particularly) I noticed it got some extra glances from a few shady looking characters... it's the way the world is nowadays I'm sorry to say.  Maybe next time you could try one of the small security cables and lock your case to your body as you sleep... cumbersome but effective...

good luck

[Qwertynm]

I‘m really sorry that happened to you but thankful for you sharing this story so others won’t make the same mistake in leaving a bag unattended in a train while sleeping. A suitcase of our family was stolen in 1996 in a overnighttrain in Italy so this definitely isn’t a new phenomenon just poor decision making. Thiefs existed as long as humans.
 

Keep your valuables close to you or even on you and make backups. Six months worth of traveling without backup is just a disaster waiting to happen. Again, sorry that happened to you but as a seasoned traveler you should have known better. 

Edited May 21 by Qwertynm

[Ozymandias]

On 5/20/2025 at 5:50 PM, Smogg said:

There are very compact kits (receiver-transmitter) on the market. The distance between them is adjustable (for example, 3 meters can be set). When the set distance is exceeded, a loud sound signal is heard (60-100 decibels). One part is carried in the pocket, the second is in the luggage.

Thanks for that info... do you have a name or link to these devices?

Cheers,

Paul

[jaapv]

Sorry for your loss. Southern Europe has the reputation, but this can happen anywhere. When falling asleep with my camera bag in a public area, be it a train, waiting room or airport holding area, I always take the precaution of wrapping the strap around my arm or leg. 

[Smogg]

4 hours ago, Ozymandias said:

Thanks for that info... do you have a name or link to these devices?

Cheers,

Paul

https://www.repusel.com/ENGLISH/catalog/product_detail.php?categories_id=28&products_id=22

[setuporg]

In the old times, you’d hire a couple of bravi and visit the AirTag.

[Qwertynm]

the AirTag only gives a false sense of security. Usually the valuable contents of the bag will be taken out and the bags will be discarded. Unless the device itself has an AirTag built in there is little to no hope in recovering the stolen goods. And even if there is police is usually too slow to act in a timely manner to achieve anything anyway. The goods then leave the country so police is unable to do anything anyway.

I think it's best to invest in some kind of travel insurance or camera insurance and back up the files regularly. Unless you're somehow emotionally attached to the camera a theft like this only becomes a nuissance and another life lesson is learned.

[Ozymandias]

22 hours ago, Smogg said:

https://www.repusel.com/ENGLISH/catalog/product_detail.php?categories_id=28&products_id=22

Thank you Smogg - I've just ordered one. And the shipping cost to Australia was reasonable as well.

Paul

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica Q

[Mikep996]

We're going to Egypt in Oct for a Nile cruise.  I was originally going to take my Q3 but now am taking a Hasselblad X2D.  Maybe I'll have it shackled to me and hope they don't cut my arm off to get it!

[Steven Lane]

Quote

We're going to Egypt in Oct for a Nile cruise

We did one of these last year. I took my Leica X113 for walking around the sights and Leica T with 55-135 lens for use on the boat. The X113 was around my neck at all times when out and about and I made sure never to put it down where it could be seen. The T and lens remained in the cabin safe when not in use. That said, I did feel safer in Egypt than many other countries I have travelled to.

I really feel for anyone having personal things stolen and no matter how vigilant we are, there are always undesirables wiling to take their chances when our guard is momentarily down.