# My studio was broken into.



## Joellll (Apr 2, 2015)

Greetings. Surely most will not know me, as I mainly lurk. 

My studio in NYC was broken into and I lost a good deal of photo equipment, including an IR modded DSLR, three L lenses and some lovely M42 lenses. Not to mention my video games were stolen too! :c

Fortunately, I have some serial numbers under my CPS account so it would make the search a bit easier. After filing a police report and hating myself for not having insurance (as a studying abroad student, this is the last thing I expected to happen), I am here to ask a few things and have some discussion with you.

Okay, my stuff is gone, I filed a police report, what's next? I'm going to call or visit pawn shops around the city and look for clues, but how should I go about it? Even if I find my gear, how am I going to retrieve it from the pawn shop? I'm also checking craigslist frequently, but no cigars yet.

To prevent this foolishness to happen again, I surely need to get insurance. As an international student, I fly around often. What would be a good insurance plan that would cover internationally, or is flexible on rates depending on whether I'm staying within the country or flying?

On the bright side, the day the theft happened, I came to the studio with a Canon 85mm f/1.2 that I bought off craigslist for a fantastic deal. Seller no longer has a studio in the city, and he sold his soul to the Fuji system. I was going to sell my Helios 85mm to a studio mate, but I guess not anymore.


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## Valvebounce (Apr 2, 2015)

Hi Joe. 
Sorry to hear of your loss, hopefully you might get some of your gear back but don't put yourself at risk confronting a seller that may be the toe rag that stole it. Also there is a piece of software that trawls the internet looking for the serial nos of your gear, might be called camera finder? 
Worth a shot, if the camera is used to post an image and the new user doesn't know it is stolen and strip the exif, you might be able to retrieve it. 
Good luck. 

Cheers, Graham.


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## Joellll (Apr 2, 2015)

Valvebounce said:


> Hi Joe.
> Sorry to hear of your loss, hopefully you might get some of your gear back but don't put yourself at risk confronting a seller that may be the toe rag that stole it. Also there is a piece of software that trawls the internet looking for the serial nos of your gear, might be called camera finder?
> Worth a shot, if the camera is used to post an image and the new user doesn't know it is stolen and strip the exif, you might be able to retrieve it.
> Good luck.
> ...


I'll definitely be ruthless if I see my lens on craigslist. After all, I know my serial numbers and have proof.

I didn't know I needed photo proof to register on lenstag, so I can't use lenstag on my 100mm macro and 70-200mm. However, I flagged my 24-70mm because I had photos of it prior being stolen. I was trying to trade it with someone's 35mm f/1.4 on craigslist.


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## agierke (Apr 3, 2015)

it is illegal for a pawn shop to receive and sell stolen property. not that it doesn't happen...but it is illegal. 

the reputable ones will take steps to authenticate proof of ownership. if you are able to identify that your items ended up in a pawn shop and can prove it, the police will confiscate your property from the shop and return it to you. problem is...if they are in a pawn shop then the shop is likely not reputable and if they catch wind that you are snooping for your stolen property they might take steps to make it disappear before the cops get involved. so you have to be careful in your approach and not tip your hand.

finding your gear in a pawn shop in NYC (if it is indeed in a pawn shop) will be like looking for a needle in a haystack. good luck to you if you attempt this but you may find it fruitless.


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## Vivid Color (Apr 3, 2015)

I recently got insurance for all of my photographic and computer equipment through Hill and Usher. They cover my equipment whether it's home or with me in other countries. 

www.hillusher.com


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## Dylan777 (Apr 3, 2015)

Sorry to hear.

I know the feeling. It happened to me few months back. I was able to work with the Home Insurance and got back 75% on total value I lost.


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## cardad (Apr 3, 2015)

Sorry to hear of your loss.

My understanding of the insurance in the U.S. is as follows. If you are a professional photographer such that you have a business (LLC, etc.) that is insured, you can cover your gear under an inland marine floater or such. This type policy also allows you to cover rental equipment used for your business.

If you are a hobbyist like me, you can "list" your equipment as "scheduled personal property" on your homeowners or renters policy, for which you will pay an additional premium (based on so many $ per $100 of equipment value). The value of this listing is that the insurance company will then provide coverage for loss "away from premises". I am not sure about other homeowners insurance policies, but my insurance company will not insure rented equipment.


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## kennephoto (Apr 3, 2015)

Don't forget about eBay!!


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## mrzero (Apr 3, 2015)

Try this as well: http://www.stolencamerafinder.com/


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## mackguyver (Apr 3, 2015)

Very sorry to hear about the break in and given that you are in NYC, there are few pawn shops, so calling around shouldn't be an issue. I'm not sure about NY's laws, but in FL they are not friendly to victims. If you find your gear in a pawn shop, you have to pay them what they paid to get your gear back. Then again, there are 3,000+ pawn shops here, vs. around 30 in NY from what I have read in my work with law enforcement.

Unfortunately being in such a big city, the odds aren't in your favor for recovery of your gear unless it shows up on Craigslist. There are so many fences and illegal markets in big cities making it very easy for thieves to sell stolen items. I would definitely attempt to recover your gear, but would focus more on making an insurance claim (if possible) and planning on your recovery from the theft. 

There are many posts on this forum about insurance (use the Search tool at the top of the screen), and most of them offer international coverage. I wish you luck and sorry again about the theft.



Dylan777 said:


> I was able to work with the Home Insurance and got back 75% on total value I lost.


Dylan, I'm happy to hear you were able to get something out of them.


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## Vivid Color (Apr 4, 2015)

cardad said:


> Sorry to hear of your loss.
> 
> My understanding of the insurance in the U.S. is as follows. If you are a professional photographer such that you have a business (LLC, etc.) that is insured, you can cover your gear under an inland marine floater or such. This type policy also allows you to cover rental equipment used for your business.
> 
> If you are a hobbyist like me, you can "list" your equipment as "scheduled personal property" on your homeowners or renters policy, for which you will pay an additional premium (based on so many $ per $100 of equipment value). The value of this listing is that the insurance company will then provide coverage for loss "away from premises". I am not sure about other homeowners insurance policies, but my insurance company will not insure rented equipment.



This may be true for some US insurance companies, but not mine. I have Allstate homeowners insurance and, for a while, I had a separate, scheduled rider for my camera equipment. But, and this is a big BUT, my Allstate rider would not cover me if I became a professional photographer. Since I have started to sell a few photos, I decided I didn't want to have to argue with Allstate over the definition of what is a professional photographer. So I got a policy through Hill and Usher, which provides much better coverage including all of my computer equipment. And best of all, it is not attached to my homeowners insurance. And, you can get coverage with them for your rental gear. It's a very comprehensive policy.


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