Equipment stolen at football

KIPAX

KIPAX

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KIPAX Lancashire UK
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I believe someone got all there camera gear pinched prior to the Huddersfield v Chelsea game a few days ago (from pitchside) and also happened at other grounds around the country.( pitchside and media rooms) .. We can't be lumping our gear everywhere we go.. What do you do if anyhting to make sure safe?

I rarely leave mine but I do ahve to on occasion and trusted it to be pitchside when i get back.. I am going to have a rethink as it would finish me if i got mine taken...

On a side note.. surely the insurance companies will blame you for just leaving it unattended and refuse to pay out.. thats just a guess by me..
 
At that rate you will have to hire minders for your kit.
 
I try and keep gear to a minimum and within sight and reach. Max is backpack plus Pelicase which can double as a seat. Only time I’d leave it elsewhere is under watch of a trusted photo editor or similar in media room (if there is one).

Worth checking with your insurance company what measures they would expect?
 
Going around the ground to take pictures..
Going from your spot to tunnel for manager greet shots
Going to get a team sheet if your there too early to get on arrival
Going to the toilet

probably lots of reasons to leave your spot and taking a peli case and laptop and stuff usually a no no

Maybe small chain and padlock to the adevertising rail or soemthing..
 
KIPAX said:
On a side note.. surely the insurance companies will blame you for just leaving it unattended and refuse to pay out.. thats just a guess by me..
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That is 99% likely IMO.

KIPAX said:
Maybe small chain and padlock to the adevertising rail or soemthing..
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Probably something more substantial like a coiled steel security wire.
 
Don't football grounds have pretty decent CCTV covering the ground? I know.. usually not the Media Workroom.

I try to usually say to fellow photographer, who sits next to me, that if I need to pop to the loo.. could she/he look at the gear while I am away.
But sometimes one just has to trust it's there when you get back.. like prior/after games when picking up remote cameras from the catwalks.. it can sometimes be 15-20 minutes before you are back.. and at those times it's only the crew who build or take down the court that are present...

Luckily at quite a few events there are lockers with locks provided .. so I can leave my bags and extra gear there, so don't have carry it all with me at all times...
 
GooGaBu said:
Don't football grounds have pretty decent CCTV covering the ground? I know.. usually not the Media Workroom.
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yeagh but there usualy at height and pointing into stands not pitchside.. am guessing hood up and head down would make cctv useless... again a guess...
 
KIPAX said:
yeagh but there usualy at height and pointing into stands not pitchside.. am guessing hood up and head down would make cctv useless... again a guess...
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Who knows where it points .. but guess you are right that not so much pitch side. But then if you think - most of (the bigger) grounds are in an area that is covered by CCTV... so might be picked up on those.
If the police would have the time to look through hours of CCTV footage..

But guess you can never be 100% certain if you leave your gear somewhere.. be it in locked locker, or attached with a cable to the railings.. if someone wants it.. they'll find a way to get it.
 
The UK has gone to the dogs long ago.

Leave something unattended and you can assume it will either be stolen, urinated on, vandalised, written on, moved or burnt.
 
This depends on the ground, but I try to get to the car parking/suitable parking and get everything ready out the back of the car. Three cameras with three lenses - 400, 70-200 and 24-70. Then a super wide and flash in the belt pouches. Then a backpack which has in it laptop, waterproofs if needed, stool/step, and remote camera and bits if wanted.

The I'm completely mobile. I'd only do this at certain grounds, and it depends on weather too.
 
KIPAX said:
On a side note.. surely the insurance companies will blame you for just leaving it unattended and refuse to pay out.. thats just a guess by me..
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My insurance covers it (USA). Heck, if I forgot it on a bus it would still be covered... or drown it in a river, drop it off a cliff, etc. And I don't have a deductible (yes, I've tested it). If the job basically requires that gear be left about, I wouldn't have insurance that didn't cover such theft.

If I have to leave the pelican somewhere I use a 3ft length of plastic sleeved 1/8" stainless cable with loop ends (DIY). The cable goes around something immovable/obvious (weave through 1 loop eye) and the free end gets locked to the pelican. I use a small Master Lock combination lock (643D). It's not great protection really, but it will make it obvious that the person trying to take the case isn't the owner. I also use this setup if I leave the case in the vehicle. Sometimes I use a pelican that a backpack fit's inside of so that the backpack can be secured the same.
 
sk66 said:
My insurance covers it (USA). Heck, if I forgot it on a bus it would still be covered... or drown it in a river, drop it off a cliff, etc. And I don't have a deductible (yes, I've tested it). If the job basically requires that gear be left about, I wouldn't have insurance that didn't cover such theft.
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In the UK at least, many insurers would have a 'reasonable care' clause ... it may not preclude a claim but it would certainly affect the resultant payout.
 
A couple of 16-35s were stolen from photographers' in the Aviva stadium,Dublin,on two different occasions. I think it was other photographers' as they probably knew the value and the small size,you could hide it in a pocket. So now if I'm taking team shots etc,two padlocks on the pelicase ,until I return. I doubt if Joe public will lift the whole pelicase!!
 
Good thing to bring this up, it may just trigger something in the back of someones mind if they suddenly walk off for a quick unplanned shot or someone may say to someone walking away watch your bag. I know Peli cases are different but with my Think Tank it comes with a security cable built in so i could place the cable around an immovable object ( our centre forward would be an excellent object :) ) is there not anything you could do with a Peli or is it perhaps something people could suggest to peli on their website Just a thought. Again Thanks for flagging this up.
 
KIPAX said:
I believe someone got all there camera gear pinched prior to the Huddersfield v Chelsea game a few days ago (from pitchside) and also happened at other grounds around the country.( pitchside and media rooms) .. We can't be lumping our gear everywhere we go.. What do you do if anyhting to make sure safe?

I rarely leave mine but I do ahve to on occasion and trusted it to be pitchside when i get back.. I am going to have a rethink as it would finish me if i got mine taken...

On a side note.. surely the insurance companies will blame you for just leaving it unattended and refuse to pay out.. thats just a guess by me..
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Where has the information come from that items have been stolen ? You don't say you only say I believe?
 
steelydan said:
A couple of 16-35s were stolen from photographers' in the Aviva stadium,Dublin,on two different occasions. I think it was other photographers' as they probably knew the value and the small size,you could hide it in a pocket. So now if I'm taking team shots etc,two padlocks on the pelicase ,until I return. I doubt if Joe public will lift the whole pelicase!!
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such a shame that it gets nicked by you'r own kind,
 
shapeshifter said:
Where has the information come from that items have been stolen ? You don't say you only say I believe?
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On a facebook page for pro photogrpahers where they say you will be banned if you post information from it to anywhere else..
 
mark richards said:
such a shame that it gets nicked by your own kind,
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From past experiences it has been the security people that you have to keep your eye on. Not seen any issues at football grounds but at tennis events (including two of the grand slams I've covered) laptops and lenses have been stolen from both the working area in the press room and the locker rooms where photographers are assigned lockers which are supposed to allow them to leave their gear in a secure place overnight. In both cases it was an employee of a well known security company that was later found to have used their position to help themselves to the items.
 
fhoneill said:
From past experiences it has been the security people that you have to keep your eye on. Not seen any issues at football grounds but at tennis events (including two of the grand slams I've covered) laptops and lenses have been stolen from both the working area in the press room and the locker rooms where photographers are assigned lockers which are supposed to allow them to leave their gear in a secure place overnight. In both cases it was an employee of a well known security company that was later found to have used their position to help themselves to the items.
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perks of the trade like.:D
 
shapeshifter said:
Where has the information come from that items have been stolen ? You don't say you only say I believe?
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I was there with him at the game so 100% genuine!, The thing is, the gates hadn't been opened to the public at the time so only stewards/catering staff or anyone who was official etc where mulling about.
dunno if cctv would even have been operating at the time but he's reported things to the police etc so guess it will all come out in the wash eventually.

personally I will now be using the ThinkTank "wired tether" & bag combo lock at all games. Regards Graham.
 
sk66 said:
I would never use a zippered bag for security.
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It's not for security, it's for embuggerance factor.

These items are being stolen from pretty much under the noses of the photographers. Anything that makes the object less easy to grab and walk off with is going to yield a significant level of protection.

Except of course for the poor sods at the Eastbourne Aegon Tennis where the thief ripped the kensington locks out of their Macs.
 
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KIPAX said:
On a side note.. surely the insurance companies will blame you for just leaving it unattended and refuse to pay out.. thats just a guess by me..
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I've asked about this & as long as you have taken every reasonable precaution ie using all supplied devices to secure your equipment, (not sure if he did?), & it was left in a secure area? (dunno how you stand pitch side? but there are suppose to be Stewards around the ground who are technically security right?), then equipment would be covered as long as the use of the equipment had been disclosed to the insurers!.

Steven I don't believe you can open a Think Tank case like that the zips are of a very high & hard standard not like a holiday suitcase!, & it has High tensile steel cabling in it to, as Mark so eloquently puts it provide an "embuggerance factor". Also the lock is not of a padlock design rather an integrated combination lock that "traps the zipper ends. Kind regards Graham.
 
Bluesman graham said:
Steven I don't believe you can open a Think Tank case like that the zips are of a very high & hard standard not like a holiday suitcase!, & it has High tensile steel cabling in it to, as Mark so eloquently puts it provide an "embuggerance factor".
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I just opened one of my Think Tank bags that way... rather easily.
I get the "embuggerance factor," even attached to a pelican case a small diameter cable and little locks aren't a lot of protection.
 
There has definatley been two incidents of theft of kit this year from the media centre at Brands Hatch,one at British Superbikes and the other at a recent Britcar event.
 
sk66 said:
I just opened one of my Think Tank bags that way... rather easily.
I get the "embuggerance factor," even attached to a pelican case a small diameter cable and little locks aren't a lot of protection.
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Well Steven I guess I either didn't press hard enough or was unwilling to f**k up my case?;).

As I've said you can only administer all available aids or do we "not bother turning up just in case?, (no pun intended)"!

I'll now be tethered to the new LED advertising boards so hopefully it will be a bit of a drag for the would be thief to tealeaf my gear me hopes lol.
 
Yeagh I heard about this earlier,,workign for pinnacle.... terrible terrible terrible.. heard they ahve a pic of the person who took it... hope that helps them but not a forgone conclusion... hope the poor guy gets sorted :(
 
steelydan said:
A couple of 16-35s were stolen from photographers' in the Aviva stadium,Dublin,on two different occasions. I think it was other photographers' as they probably knew the value and the small size,you could hide it in a pocket. So now if I'm taking team shots etc,two padlocks on the pelicase ,until I return. I doubt if Joe public will lift the whole pelicase!!
Click to expand...

That's what I'll be doing from now on too.
 
Yes - you can just walk in through a door in the main concourse under the stand. I never liked it there and never left anything in that room.

Twickenham has a double door with a lock code on the outside, and a security guard as you get inside, so is rather better, but I still used to lock my locked case to a desk before leaving it.
 
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apparently saturdays photographer wasnt insured and has started a crowdfunding page to get money to start again.. When I last looked he had made 4 grand of his 8 grand target......
 
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Given that you are experiencing these thefts prior to the stadia being open to the public, it seems to me (not a pro sports tog but I do do BBL) that some responsibility for vetting the people who are supposed to be on your "side" must lie with the club. I know that is probably la la land however in these challenging times. I asked an insurance company at the Photo show, beginning with A, about this kind of thing. The rep on the stand said that you had to have your kit on you at all times. I walked away from them pronto. I wear mine in a ThinkTank waist bag but god knows how anyone could do that with the kind of hardware being described here.
 
Cheffievrs said:
Just seen this on Twitter,

https://BANNED/sportsja/status/950293985456771072?ref_src=twcamp^share|twsrc^ios|twgr^com.apple.UIKit.activity.Message
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Some harsh comments on twitter... about him not having insurance.. On the flip side lots are saying he is young and inexperienced so wasnt insured...

Well sorry but he is old enough and to be shooting pro sports at fulham with thousands of pounds worth of gear i absoloutly refuse to believe that nobody mentioned inurance to him or it didnt cross his mind... Reality is he has cut costs to get ahead of the game with less overheads than others and now paying the price.. I genuinely feel sorry for the guy but he took the risk .....

PS I did look at the funding page.. had it taken paypal i would have shoved a tenner in... dont like to see somoenes dreams killed because of a cost cutting mistake he wont make again... but the above still stands
 
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