All my cameras were stolen

PDL · 08-07-2008, 05:12 PM

Yesterday (Wednesday - 8/6/2008) when I got home I found that our house had been burgled.

They got my 27" LCD HD TV.
About 100 USD in change (bowls of quarters, state quarter collection and a box of 50 cent pieces)
All but one of my Film SLR's (some of which had been stolen before and)
Fujica ST801, AZ-1, Pentax SF-1 - gone.
Broken Toshiba P&S.
Pentax *ist DS, K10D
Tokina 28-70mm macro
Vivitar 300mm TX mount (Pentax and Fujica)
Kit lens, DA 50-200mm, FA 50mm f1.4.
Both my camera bags with lenspens, SD cards, filters, old flashes etc.
My Fujica 55mm f1.8, 55mm macro, 28mm, 43-75mm zoom, 135mm and AZ-1 autowinder.
My personal laptop, my company laptop, a 30GB Zune and a old Compaq PDA that gave up the ghost years ago. My son lost his Xbox and his 22" Samsung monitor.

Middle of the day, came in through a window that was left open in the back of the house. They went through every drawer in every room and carried the stuff out using my luggage as transport.

Needless to say, no one will be seeing anything from yours truly for a while.

Although - they did take everyone of my DVD's except for The Prisoner and a set of Yo-yo Ma performances. My desktops were not touched - nor were my backup DVD's which were in plain sight --- go figure. They ignored by Wolverine too and two new sealed 1TB hard drives on the floor.

Oh - the alarm system will be installed tomorrow morning. No idea when I can get my stuff replaced - if I can get anything out of the insurance company or not.

This Sucks (sorry to use the language - but it really does).

The Elitist - formerly known as PDL

stevebrot · 08-07-2008, 05:31 PM

Sorry to hear that you got hit. The worst part is that the stuff will likely be sold for less than it is worth never mind the fact some things are simply not replaceable.

Watch Craig's list. Your things will likely surface there. You might also ask the guys at Kenmore Camera (not far from Woodinville) to keep a watch for someone inquiring about values for stuff like yours.

Steve

reknelb · 08-07-2008, 05:42 PM

Watch Ebay also.

The scum bags are getting bolder and bolder. i caught a guy breaking in to my parents house a couple weeks ago. They live across the street. I just happen to come home early from work at 1:30 in the afternoon. Saw him walk up on the front porch and get in the front door. i ran over and scared the crap out of him. i managed to get his name out of him, and his car and liscence plate. I had to ID him in a photo lineup down at the station. He had a pillow case full of check books and jewelry boxes before I could get my boots on and run over there. Good luck I hope they catch the son of a b(&*h!!

*Peter Zack* · 08-07-2008, 05:48 PM

PDL that really sucks. I really feel for you. Hopefully the insurance will go good for all of it. Good luck and my sympathy.

pasipasi · 08-07-2008, 05:52 PM

Originally Posted by Peter Zack

PDL that really sucks. I really feel for you. Hopefully the insurance will go good for all of it. Good luck and my sympathy.

Same here

*hwblanks* · 08-07-2008, 05:55 PM

I am SO sorry !

I can only imagine how violated you must be feeling right now. Just the idea of someone rummaging through my house, even though I may not be there would make me feel awfully insecure.

I will most definitely keep my fingers crossed that the cops will track down and put those jacka$$es behind bars quickly.

Heather

*borno* · 08-07-2008, 06:24 PM

I hate to hear these kind of stories, there is really alot of bad stuff going on lately. glad they left your desktops and files intact and I hope insurance does you right.

*hwblanks* · 08-07-2008, 06:43 PM

I went to take a shower and thought of a couple more things to add to my comments...

--Another place to keep an eye on are the pawn shops in the area.
--While this won't help the OP, perhaps it might help somebody else who reads this thread...I think it would be a good idea to make up a document listing all of your gear and serial numbers. If your gear winds up being stolen, you can simply hand a copy over to law enforcement, so they'll be able to match serial numbers should your stuff make an appearance in the area. This idea can be used either at home or travelling, as long as you keep your inventory in a place other than your camera bag.

HTH,
Heather

*Ash* · 08-07-2008, 06:58 PM

Very sad to hear.
Quite devastating.

Callous calculated robbery. Mostly camera gear... Yes, go figure.
Hope it works out for you and you end up better than before.

vievetrick · 08-07-2008, 08:15 PM

that is just so wrong! If there is an justice you they will find the bastards or some of your stuff. As long as you have a homeowners or renters policy you should have coverage. Not that that is any consolation but it should help. Good luck

*khardur* · 08-07-2008, 08:26 PM

omg that really bites.

I'm so sorry for you PDL.
I hope the insurance company does you right like everyone said. That's terrible.

*ve2vfd* · 08-07-2008, 08:39 PM

Man that really stinks!

Keep an eye on the pawn shops and ebay for your serial numbers...

reknelb ... You only scared him? You are a nice guy... I would have beaten the crook within inches of his life (ok I admit I'm not a small guy). And if he goes to jail, I'd probably bribe other prisonners to make sure that dude has a rough time. (and yeah I'm vindictive!)

Pat

Edit: If you have them, maybe you should post a list of stolen camera gear and their serial numbers so if they turn up on the market place, or ebay people can flag them right away.

*Mallee Boy* · 08-07-2008, 08:49 PM

Hi PDL,

This is so wrong, but sadly more & more common. I can only offer you my best wishes and hope that the insurance was all in place and that there is a prompt pay out.

Also remember not to mess with Pat (ve2vfd).

Cheers.

PS: Pats idea of posting serial numbers is top shelf, how about a special place for this. Great idea, at least we can make it as difficult as possible for these morons to move the stuff.

aleonx3 · 08-07-2008, 09:31 PM

Sorry to hear that... hope at least you have the insurance cover some of your loss, take care and be well.

*Venturi* · 08-07-2008, 09:36 PM

Wow. PDL, reading your post was like I was reading a transcript from 1996 when I came home one evening from work to find my place burgled and ransacked. TV, stereo equip, all my camera gear minus the tripod, jar of change, etc. They left the remotes for the TV, VCR and stereo sitting on the coffee table and didn't touch any of the computers that were mere feet from the TV. Police came out and dusted for prints, took photos and an inventory of what was gone. And then basically said "sorry, but there's almost nothing else we can do."

I didn't have a lot of camera gear then. Just a K1000 that was a graduation present and a couple 3rd party manual zoom/tele lenses; don't even remember exactly what they were. Thing is I was ticked about the TV and stereo stuff, and pissed about them kicking in the back door. But I was devastated about the "cheap" Pentax camera gear and the rolls of film in the camera and bag.

That's the day I completely walked away from photography for 12 years.

I know exactly how you feel right now; I've been there and I empathize completely. But whatever ends up happening just do not let these punks steal your passions along with your stuff.