it's one thing to have your camera bag stolen. But what if you could track it down?
I have been following Benj Haisch for a long time. For those who don't know him, he is a fantastic wedding photographer who also puts out a fair amount of content. Some of the content he produces revolves around gear reviews and videos showing how he uses the gear. So, when he took a family trip, it makes sense that he would also bring along some gear to use. For this particular trip, it just happened to be a Sony a9 III and a Hasselblad 907x with a couple of lenses and accessories. In total, the purchase price would have come to well over $25,000.
http://www.instagram.com/reel/C9kgq4fpc36/?hl=en
But just before his trip, Benj happened to share an Instagram reel talking about a new Smallrig accessory that lets him attach an Apple AirTag to his camera. This is great timing for him because due to some unfortunate events, he ended up getting his entire camera bag stolen while on the trip. But after using the AirTag to track things down he was able to confront the thieves. In the video, you'll see how he handles the situation as well as what transpired in order to get all of his gear back in his hands.
As an important side note, it is probably not recommended to confront thieves without some sort of help from law enforcement. So, don't take this as an instructional video on what to do, but rather an entertaining story with an underlying lesson that being able to track your gear could be really useful!
Lucky you! I'm sure if they were pros at this they would have examined the cameras for tags since they are used quite a lot for tracking everything from cameras to children to suspicious spouses (just kidding). They would replant them somewhere to throw you off and head in the opposite direction. Luck for you that they were just looking for a quick buck but not very good at it. Also, luckily they were not aggressive. I am not a tough guy and would not feel comfortable confronting the guy, let alone two of them, and in a foreign country! I'm happy it worked out in your favor!
I would take this a step further and record your serial numbers in your phone in case a policeman or anyone else in a position to resolve this may want to see and help end it. How could the bad guys argue their case when you have the actual serial numbers listed on your cell phone? That would pretty much negate their claims of "it's mine!" I'm adding my own to my phone at this very moment! Thanks for sharing!
I would think that a publication such as Fstoppers would publish something more educational than this useless content!!
Nothing personal Jason Vinson, but......
seriously?
Not every post on this platform is educational. I found the story entertaining so wanted to share it ✌️
I found this rather useful, What better way to recover your gear should this happen to any photographer.
Thanks Jason.