It is 2021, and numerous devices have GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular radios or some combination thereof, and these capabilities provide a certain level of security. There are also passcodes, serial number databases, and much more. And yet, cameras do not seem to take advantage of any of these capabilities. Why is that, and will we ever see some of these features make their way into our devices?
Coming to you from Eric Rossi, this thought-provoking video discusses the lack of security features in camera equipment. Rossi certainly raises an interesting point. We have seen a lot of stories in recent months about camera theft, sometimes violent. In a sense, that is not surprising. Camera gear is highly expensive, and given its lack of security, it makes an especially easy target to steal and flip. Given the price and the tech already built into modern camera bodies, it is rather surprising that there are literally no security features in most of them. Certainly, you should always surrender your gear without fighting if you're unlucky enough to be the victim of a robbery, as no camera or lens is worth your life, but it would be nice to have some sort of ability to track it if that happens. Check out the video above for Rossi's full thoughts.
https://www.popphoto.com/news/petition-to-protect-photographers-from-theft
There are smart trace solutions on the market, that you can buy for all kinds of gear. Not just camera gear.
Check out : https://www.smartwater.com
isn't smartwater a coca-cola product?
Same name different products, in different industries.
Didn't Tony & Chelsea also have a video about this a few years back?
Of their very few videos I can actually appreciate.
So true....when it comes to photography..those 2 are clueless about photography. Typical You,- Tubers thinking they are experts. I lost respect for them when they did a video explaining how time lapse can be used in lieu of ND filters.
My phone’s fingerprint scanner has never worked truly consistent and I turn my camera off constantly to save battery. While I like the idea I’m skeptical if any security would work seamlessly. I had a laptop stolen when apple gave the detective the address where it logged in nothing but excuses why the police couldn’t act. I’ve also got a hard drive that went through an error and now is locked up because I had it encrypted, technicians advice “don’t encrypted your whole hard drive just a tiny partition” for this very reason. Like the idea just know more horror stories about problems “that never happen”. Yes I’ve had two expensive tripods stolen a lens a c-stand etc so I know how disheartening it is to experience a thief
There's a further case too, not just for theft, but potentially to protect photo journalists in potentially volatile situations, photos needing to be encrypted/password protected.
Cameras are wide open from a security point of view.
Some manufactures do put the camera serial number 'somewhere' in the EXIF data of the image files. I recall a story a few years back where an individual had his camera stolen and he started searching for the EXIF entry for the serial number on services where that was available. Low and behold, his serial number showed up on images posted to a group on Flickr and, working with police, he was able to follow through. (Not fully a 'happy ending'--he did get the camera back, but the individual who had it had gotten it off Ebay and they were out what they has spent, if I recall.)
Bottom line--if all camera manufactures did this and the 'big' photo sharing sites made it possible to search for the data (or even, say, Google???), after a few well published recoveries and arrests, it might server as somewhat a deterrent to having them stolen. You'll never eliminate it completely--after all, cell phones are still a popular theft item and you can find them easy!--but something simple like this would help and it really isn't a big technology change.