good anti-theft idea when you buy a dslr

[Nass]

Just came across this in photojojo and I thought I'd pass it on.

Take a picture of your name, address & contact details and lock it into your DSLR so it can't be deleted.

[imtheguy]

Unfortunately its not anti-theft. When a thief does a smash and grab I doubt they look to see if the cam has been permanently id'ed. You still have lost your gear.

[Wheatfield]

Gee, and I always thought a serial number was for IDing a camera.
Why does that website want me to join and why should I?

[Nass]

whoah, grumpy people today, it must be monday . That's just their hp, entirely up to you if you want to join, I couldn't care less one way or the other . Sure, serial # is good, but I'd personally also like to leave an email address on there because they're contactable - serial #s are not, usually . As for it not being anti-theft, yes, clearly. Just seemed a vaguely smart move that's all

[Wheatfield]

Originally Posted by Nass

whoah, grumpy people today, it must be monday . That's just their hp, entirely up to you if you want to join, I couldn't care less one way or the other . Sure, serial # is good, but I'd personally also like to leave an email address on there because they're contactable - serial #s are not, usually . As for it not being anti-theft, yes, clearly. Just seemed a vaguely smart move that's all

How about a direct link?

[lithos]

Of course, someone stealing something you own that's expensive and has got your address on it mightn't actually bust into the house at said address and check to see if you've got lots more valuable, easy-to-carry gadgetry.

Nor would someone who nicks something use the detailed personal information to, say, get a shedload of a credit cards in your name, buy a bunch of crap, and skip the country.

Maybe, just maybe, the thief'll see the data and say, "Heavens to Betsy! This camera has an owner! This suddenly puts a human face on my felonious misdoings and has quite thoroughly shamed me and shown me the error of my ways! Best give it back!"

Maybe someone won't crack the encryption used to hold the data within the first five minutes of its implementation and thus render it useless.

Or maybe they'll flog it, spend the proceeds on horse and shove it up their arm. Possibility.

Or maybe they'll never flog it at all, and keep it for personal use, thus handily bypassing what amounts to an honesty system.

Or maybe they'll just think, shit, security system - into the river with it.

And as the guy said: you're still missing a camera.

[Nass]

Originally Posted by lithos

Of course, someone stealing something you own that's expensive and has got your address on it mightn't actually bust into the house at said address and check to see if you've got lots more valuable, easy-to-carry gadgetry.

Nor would someone who nicks something use the detailed personal information to, say, get a shedload of a credit cards in your name, buy a bunch of crap, and skip the country.

Maybe, just maybe, the thief'll see the data and say, "Heavens to Betsy! This camera has an owner! This suddenly puts a human face on my felonious misdoings and has quite thoroughly shamed me and shown me the error of my ways! Best give it back!"

Maybe someone won't crack the encryption used to hold the data within the first five minutes of its implementation and thus render it useless.

Or maybe they'll flog it, spend the proceeds on horse and shove it up their arm. Possibility.

Or maybe they'll never flog it at all, and keep it for personal use, thus handily bypassing what amounts to an honesty system.

Or maybe they'll just think, shit, security system - into the river with it.

And as the guy said: you're still missing a camera.

I bow to your clear mastery of sarcasm. Personally I doubt whether a thief would have enough of a clue how to even use it but that's just me. And I'd just put my email address in there

Direct link - here - my bad, I should have put that in.

[imtheguy]

Originally Posted by Nass

whoah, grumpy people today, it must be monday

No man, not grumpy at you because its Monday. We're grumpy ALL the time but appreciate your post anyway.

[r0ckstarr]

How do you lock it in your DSLR so it cannot be deleted? Couldn't they just take the SD card out?

[dragonfly]

Just buy pentax. No one wants those.

[lithos]

Originally Posted by Nass

I bow to your clear mastery of sarcasm. Personally I doubt whether a thief would have enough of a clue how to even use it but that's just me. And I'd just put my email address in there

Direct link - here - my bad, I should have put that in.

Ah, cheers for the direct link. I don't see how it's an anti-theft device; the original post makes no mention of using it as such:

4. Mark Your Property

Take a photo of your name and address, and lock it on your memory card. That way, if you ever lose your camera, the person who finds it will know who it belongs to.

That's a saner idea. If someone wants to give it back, that'll help. If they're nicking it - not gonna do anything.

You'd have to build a camera with non-volatile flash memory for it to work as you suggest. Doable. But the only way it'd be remotely secure is if it were only accessible and readable by, say, the cops or the OEM.

That would be a massive PITA. I've got cameras - from back in the day when people thought cameras would, and could, last them a lifetime - that have their drivers licence number on them. It's a good idea if you never intend to sell the camera.

But if a cop asks me about why the licence no. on the camera doesn't match my own, I've got some explaining to do, since the sales for these were all cash only, private matters. Hell, my Chinon CG-5 came from a hockshop in Fortitude freakin' Valley. Thing was $25. No, I don't have the receipt.

A changeable "licence," much like a software licence, as you describe would be easier than defacing the camera with an engraver. But you'd have send it back to OEM to get it reset every time it changed hands.

And, as we've learnt from software, that opens up a whole sealed metal cylinder of annelids. What if the camera was only licenced to one person? What if you've got to hook the camera up to the net every other day to ensure it won't lock you out? What if you want your nanna to take a photo of you with it? What if camera manufacturers decide that reselling the camera yourself would be like stealing from them and make them one user only?

[ChrisPlatt]

Can I interest you in an anti-theft neckstrap, too?

Chris

[lithos]

Originally Posted by ChrisPlatt

Can I interest you in an anti-theft neckstrap, too?

Chris

You mean an A string from a bass?

[Nass]

Dunno, anything that helps make the dodgy used camera market harder for both crims and dissuades the general public is a good thing in my book. Not sure about other parts of the world but in the UK it's a criminal offence to handle stolen goods - so if there was a way of embedding ownership info that'd be hard to remove that could only surely be a plus in my book. Yeah I know a pic of an email address is pretty thin, and of course it begs the question so what, but who knows, it might make a difference to someone somewhere

If I remember correctly (someone might be able to correct me on this) I think the latest iphones have some sort of digital widget in it that means you can find where the dang thing is if it gets stolen - tied to gps - who knows maybe cameras might have something like this one day? Hearing the horror stories of gear that gets nicked I certainly wouldn't be upset with something like that as an addition somehow. How hard can it really be to add something like an optional license lockout in there that you have to revalidate every 3 months? Yeah - I know it has flaws - still better than nothing though

[little laker]

Although I've never locked a photo I thought I'd try it, then format the memory card.
Well guess what, formatting a card overrides locks.... so your information is gone anyways