OMFG Gear Stolen in LA

garynyc · Oct 1, 2007

:x Yes...it happened to me! I was visiting my friend in LA for a week...came from NYC. Late May, West Hollywood/LA, K-Mart on 3rd. Guarded lot, 6 parking spots from the front door. My Kata backpack was on the floor of the back seat of my friend's Scion Xa, which has dark tinted windows.

I had came from Sammy's Camera on Fairfax, brought my gear into the store and picked up a $50.00 sensor cleaning kit. Drove straight to Kmart to buy my friend some cleaning products for her bungalow...also on Fairfax. I was alone as she let me borrow her car for the day.

So I get out of the Kmart and the front right passenger window is broken and my gear is gone. The guard on duty saw nothing. All I can surmise is that I was tailed from Sammys(about 2 miles between them) with my stylin' Kata backpack. The pack was virtually invisible, with it turned upside down on the floor of the car.

So, I can tell you that my Canon 5D was stolen, a 70-200 f/4L, a 17-40 f/4L, a iPod Video with 60gb, and a nice pair of Sony MDR-7506s, not to mention about 10 gigs of CF cards. I just felt nothing really when I walked out and saw the broken glass. I said to myself before I went into the Kmart, "backpack is upside down on the floor of the backseat, tinted windows, guarded lot. Its perfectly safe". At least I had just bought a new broom and dustpan for my friend, and I put them to good use cleaning up all the glass inside and out of the car.

The cops wouldn't come as it wasn't an emergency, and my friend didn't want to put it in as an insurance claim because the agency wouldn't tell her how much her insurance would go up as a result. The company who own the property and the security company running the lot have no liability as they post signs saying so. I had no apartment insurance which probably would have covered some of the loss. Oh yes I had to get her a new passenger window of course...

So, DONT be stupid! Get your gear insured! DONT leave it in your car even if your lot is "safe"...and get a good car alarm! Someone might trail you from B&H, or Sammys, or Calumet. Might be me cracking your window next time trying to get some decent gear back lol.

Chiller · Oct 2, 2007

Whoa....sorry to hear about all your stuff. What a drag. I hope all works out for you in the end.
One of my biggest fears, is leaving my camera in the car. I drive a hatchback, and my windows are tinted almost black, which I ya think is safe.
All the best Gary

subimatt · Oct 2, 2007

OMG, sorry about the loss. I usually never leave my gear in my car, If its there it goes in the trunk. I have a car alarm but that is just scary. I think I will look into insurance.

Alex_B · Oct 2, 2007

horrible!

whish i would some day catch somone breaking into my car...

(Ghastly) Krueger · Oct 2, 2007

Alex_B said:
horrible!

whish i would some day catch somone breaking into my car...

... and shoot them?

Kanikula · Oct 2, 2007

some right tw@ts out there!

Alex_B · Oct 2, 2007

(Ghastly) Krueger said:
... and shoot them?

not sure what I would do ... last time I caught two people just demolishing cars, I did help the police to make them pay for it

acaldwell · Oct 2, 2007

i really feel for you. that is something that makes me terribly angry, and i don't get angry too easily. ppl who steal stink.
i hope you are able to get more equipment soon ;(

Mike Jordan · Oct 2, 2007

Most stores like this have so many security cameras around, they probably caught it on their digital recorders. At least it seems that way if it's a news worthy event.

Sorry to hear about your loss. Check the pawn shops around the area, it's probably already been hawked for drug money.

Mike

jon_k · Oct 2, 2007

garynyc said:
The guard on duty saw nothing.

They only make like 7 an hour. They're not as good as the presidents security guards. They're just there for theft prevention (nope, of the stores stuff, sorry :lol:

) and to prevent vandalism of store property. They're not there for the customers really.

The company who own the property and the security company running the lot have no liability as they post signs saying so. .

They will /not/ share the video camera tapes with you or the police either. It is for loss prevention of merchandise and protection of the store as well. I've fought this issue before.

So, DONT be stupid! Get your gear insured! DONT leave it in your car even if your lot is "safe"...and get a good car alarm! Someone might trail you from B&H, or Sammys, or Calumet. Might be me cracking your window next time trying to get some decent gear back lol.

Don't leave the gear visible from the outside, ever. Lock it in the truck, not somewhere where you can smash and take easily. Take it with you, I usually do.

Car alarms don't help, do you look around all alert and cautious when you hear an alarm go off? You ignore it and go about your business. Nobody calls the cops or bats an eye when alarms go off -- they're false alarms 99% of the time. They're essentially useless because of that.

As said above lots are useless if they're guarded, they're guarding the store and the items inside, and the property. Not your property or items.

I'm sorry you lost your stuff! Here's your excuse to upgrade. ;-)

garynyc · Oct 2, 2007

You all are terrific. Thank you for being so empathetic! It was all so f*^%ed up that I really am still numb from the experience and have only myself to blame for not securing my gear properly.

I was kind of sick of the 17-40, and the 70-200 was nice, but never could reach far enough. The 5D was only 5 months old...that was the hard one to digest.

At least I still have my 350D and a 430ex flash. Just picked up a Canon 400mm F/5.6L prime and went to Wyoming with it. Got some nice wildlife shots. I also used it for cu's of faces at a business meeting where I did some videography for in Scottsdale last week. I must tell you that this lens shows any and all imperfections of the skin...even with a 350D! I Photoshoped the heck out of those attendees.

Looking forward to saving the bankroll for the new 1Ds MarkIII. Should take a year or so!

BTW my sister's old college buddy and still close friend's stepdad is Jack Naylor...so if you guys know who he is...I don't think he should let me into his house anytime soon LOL!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Naylor

So, thanks again for the kind words...