Leica Q2 stolen in italy

[bobtodrick]

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6 hours ago, Mikep996 said:

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!

Actually not a joking matter https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-64991862

[Mikep996]

I've carried/used Leicas in travels in Asia, North/South/Central America, Europe and have never worried at all about the red Leica logo that some folks feel necessary to tape over but I MIGHT tape over the "Hasselblad" !!   Maybe I'll make up a label that says "Wung Chi" and paste that over it!!!  

I apologize if "Wung Chi" means something in some language...

[Capww8]

I have a fairly unbelievable update. Ultimately, I did not file a police report while I was in Milan - talking with my hotel concierge, and bartender (both impeccable sources of information in my experience) it was clear that the process to file a report would take several hours out of my already short visit, and the deductible on my insurance policy exceeded the value of the goods (I'm in the process of remedying this!), so I didn't see any real reason to go through the trouble.

This morning, I was contacted by a detective in Genoa that had recovered only the camera, looked through the photos and found a hotel I was staying at last summer - the hotel somehow identified me as the guest, and gave my contact information to the detective in Genoa, and he found me!

[Cogito]

1 hour ago, Capww8 said:

I have a fairly unbelievable update. Ultimately, I did not file a police report while I was in Milan - talking with my hotel concierge, and bartender (both impeccable sources of information in my experience) it was clear that the process to file a report would take several hours out of my already short visit, and the deductible on my insurance policy exceeded the value of the goods (I'm in the process of remedying this!), so I didn't see any real reason to go through the trouble.

This morning, I was contacted by a detective in Genoa that had recovered only the camera, looked through the photos and found a hotel I was staying at last summer - the hotel somehow identified me as the guest, and gave my contact information to the detective in Genoa, and he found me!

congrats. was your airtag active the entire time?

[LocalHero1953]

Is the lesson we learn from this: never delete old photos from your SD card?

[Capww8]

The AirTag was on my backpack, not the camera, and only the camera was recovered . It is still active now, and hasn't moved from the apartment in Voghera in the last two weeks. I shared the location with the detective - tbd if they pursue anything up there. The SD card was literally the only thing in there that wasn't replaceable, and I'm so grateful and surprised to know that it will ultimately be coming back to me. 

They said the other thing they recovered was 23 baby strollers! Can you imagine traveling with an infant, and finding your stroller missing when you get to your stop, and having to manage your luggage as well as a kid! I'm admittedly a Texan, so maybe a little biased, but these guys should get the death penalty, that is a despicable crime. 

[Capww8]

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I ordered a Q3 on thursday to deliver before my trip to Spain on the 10th... the question now is do I keep the Q3, return it, or exchange it for a Q343. Suggestions welcome 😉 

Re: never deleting old photos - I think one lesson might be to take a picture of your business card or a paper that says "This is me, and here is my contact information" or something similar, and never delete that one. 

[Steven Lane]

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I ordered a Q3 on thursday to deliver before my trip to Spain on the 10th... the question now is do I keep the Q3, return it, or exchange it for a Q343. Suggestions welcome 😉 

Fantastic news that your Q2 has been found but it is a kicker about the card. Regarding the Q3, if it was me I would exchange it for a Q343 so that I could take advantage of a different lens to the Q2 😀. I also have a Q2 and it will be joined by the 43 once funds permit it, although it is likely to be a couple of years away yet…now that I am pensioned my disposable income has tanked!

[Mikep996]

"SD cards are not a long-term storage media. NAND memory leaks charge over time and data gets lost."

I know that is true but I have several SD cards from a trip in 2005 and all the pics are there/readable.  Of course, 20 years may not be considered "long term" in the scheme of things.  OTOH, even if the data is OK, in 20 more years there probably won't be anything that can read them!     

[setuporg]

So happy to see a miraculous recovery.  It meant those photos must have been meant to return to you.  I felt a bit of the same when Leica extracted some photos from a failed M11D internal memory and shipped them to me after six months (and they were almost lost again in transit).  It warms the heart knowing there are such diligent Italians working hard to make it safer.  But leaving a card unexported in a camera for six months?!:). In my case ingesting daily would have made it so much easier.

[Elliot Harper]

On 5/22/2025 at 2:20 PM, Mikep996 said:

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!

Egypt is way safer than most of the European countries.

[Matt Stevens]

Great news! I'd keep the Q3 and sell the Q2 and put the funds towards a Q3 43.

 

[gotium]

On 5/31/2025 at 10:38 AM, Capww8 said:

I ordered a Q3 on thursday to deliver before my trip to Spain on the 10th... the question now is do I keep the Q3, return it, or exchange it for a Q343. Suggestions welcome 😉 

Re: never deleting old photos - I think one lesson might be to take a picture of your business card or a paper that says "This is me, and here is my contact information" or something similar, and never delete that one. 

Great outcome. I'd go for the Q3 43, stellar lens and you could carry it alongside the Q2. Maybe upgrade from Q2 to Q3 later if you like the 43's ergonomics. 

[Mikep996]

IMO...

43 as an "only" lens is too limiting; carrying two cameras is a PITA.  The Q3 (28) gives you more flexibility.  It's the reason I'm mounting the 30mm (equivalent) lens on my SUPER Q3  - (Hasselblad X2D) for the trip to Egypt!    

Of course, what works for me may not work for you.  So buy whichever camera's focal length best accommodates your picture-taking preferences!

[jaapv]

7 hours ago, Matt Stevens said:

Great news! I'd keep the Q3 and sell the Q2 and put the funds towards a Q3 43.

 

I never really understood why people will pay many thousands of dollars to avoid the single-click action of cropping to the framing they want. I can think of much better things to spend my photo budget on. 

[Archiver]

How wonderful and serendipitous that this story has a happy ending!

There was a recent news report about thieves who go through overhead lockers while the plane is in darkness. I've even heard of neighbouring passengers going through someone's bag while they are in the toilet! I'd never keep anything remotely valuable in a bag in an overhead bin.

My air travel precautions:

1. Keep the camera kit small enough that it can fit in a compact bag, and have that bag under your feet when traveling. Most airlines permit travelers to have a small personal item and a larger item for carry on - try to fit the camera gear into the small bag.
2. Back up all images every night on to a separate hard drive, and keep the memory cards on your person in some way.
3. Keep passport, cards etc on your person, never in a bag like a backpack.
4. Use small padlocks or mini carabiners on the zip toggles of your bag.
5. Have important travel information like tickets printed and in a zip lock bag that you keep on your person while in transit.
6. If you must take a second watch, make it a reasonably replaceable one like a G Shock or Timex, and wear that while in transit. Again, keep the better watch on your person otherwise.
7. Speaking of watches and wallets, keep them buried deep inside a bag when going through security, as so-called security have been known to surreptitiously pull wallets out of bags while on the conveyor belt. If you're feeling extra cautious, carabiner the zips on the bag going through the x ray machine, too.

[Mikep996]

I never really understood why people will pay many thousands of dollars to avoid the single-click action of cropping to the framing they want. 

 

I agree - I've cropped Q2 images to well over 50mm with no visual loss of detail - with my Q3 I've gone over 90mm with, again, no visible loss of detail in the final pic.  

Of course, despite being a proponent of "Nobody needs 60Mp," and I certainly don't, I just traded in some Leica gear/cash and purchased a 100Mp camera/two lenses.  😱  

As the old saying goes, "There is Nowt so queer as folk."  🙄   

Turns out I'm no better than many people at resisting the "more megapixels AND larger sensor is better" marketing! 🥴

Edited June 3 by Mikep996

[jaapv]

5 Store tickets etc on your and your wife’s phone. 

[Archiver]

16 minutes ago, jaapv said:

I never really understood why people will pay many thousands of dollars to avoid the single-click action of cropping to the framing they want. I can think of much better things to spend my photo budget on. 

Some people might not want the look of a cropped 28mm image, and would prefer the look of a proper 43mm f1.7 lens. Budget is relative, too.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica Q

[jaapv]

Here we go again. There is no xx mm “look”. Perspective is determined by the relative position of camera and subject and not by the lens….   There will be a difference in DOF which is mostly not relevant, unless you go for blurry nose and ears portraits. Does the Q43 really sell on basis of a myth?