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Over $100,000 of camera gear stolen from YouTuber

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Thieves broke into the studio of the popular YouTube channel Cinecom.net this week and stole over $100,000 of camera and cinema equipment. According to the video posted to their channel, the thieves forced entry and ransacked the locked studio. They took almost everything.

Security camera footage shows the three men sorting through the gear. It almost looks as though they knew exactly what they were looking for. They stole laptops, a brand-new computer, and all the cameras, lenses and batteries.

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$65,000 worth of gear stolen from California camera shop

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A camera store in California was robbed last month, with $65,000 worth of gear stolen in only three minutes. A recently released security camera footage shows what happened: robbers broke in by smashing a car into the storefront. After that, 13 people stormed in, taking all they could get and damaging the store along the way.

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Canada’s The Camera Store robbed, over $30,000 worth of gear stolen

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The Camera Store (TCS), one of Canada’s most popular photo gear retailers, has been robbed. Two individuals broke in, smashing the shelves and grabbing all the gear they could get. In this robbery, the thieves took $30,000 worth of gear and caused material damage to the store.

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Photographer attacked and pistol-whipped while shooting a wedding in San Francisco

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Two masked men recently attacked a photographer in San Francisco. The men were holding him at gunpoint, trying to take his gear bag. As he was struggling and holding on to his gear, the thugs pistol-whipped him, causing him multiple injuries.

The terrifying incident took place in broad daylight at the Palace of Fine Arts. It’s a popular location crowded with people, and someone managed to catch it all on camera.

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Don’t leave your gear in your car: More smash & grabs in San Francisco

I was in San Francisco this week to make an appearance on KRON4 TV, plugging PhotowalksTV (thank you Ken Maccarone!) and in-between, naturally, cruised all over the city photographing the magic.

I didn’t get robbed of camera gear this time, but it did happen near me, in real-time, to two people, as I stood in Alamo Square, photographing the “Painted Ladies,” the row of Victorian homes made famous in the opening credits to the old “Full House” TV show.

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How to clean up San Francisco from camera thefts

If you missed the explosive report by KGO-TV reporter Dan Noyes on the theft epidemic in San Francisco, I want to both share his stories, and offer some common-sense solutions to a problem that’s gotten way out of hand.

You know that thieves in San Francisco (and elsewhere) are smashing the windows of cars to rob stuff, sensing that the police won’t chase or arrest them. Photographers have been followed by thieves, had their gear taken, which got quickly resold on the streets. They easily move laptops in broad daylight, and even though they’ve been recorded on video doing so, the city continues to allow it to happen, with few arrests.

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Watch: Film crew robbed at gunpoint in San Francisco; $35,000 worth of gear stolen

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A Canadian film crew was recently robbed at a gunpoint in San Francisco’s Twin Peaks parking lot. Two men attacked them from a car, and it’s estimated that they took the gear worth $35,000.

Since Twin Peaks is a popular spot, there was another group of people in the car behind. They filmed the entire incident, where you can see one of the victims getting pistol-whipped and the other held at a gunpoint.

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Where NOT to bring your camera in San Francisco

As you know, there has sadly been a raft of camera thefts in San Francisco of late, putting a spotlight on places you might want to think twice about hauling expensive camera gear with you the next time you visit.

The news reports on the thefts usually aren’t very specific about the exact location of the heists, so I thought I’d simply point them out here, in a little more detail, before you, like me, get victim to camera theft in the city.

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Photographer followed home and robbed of his gear at gun point

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This video posted recently by Chelsea and Tony Northrup is a bit of a wake-up call for all of us and tells the story of their friend Louis Chan who was out shooting at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and then followed home by armed thieves. Many of us carry around a huge amount of camera gear that adds up to thousands and we need to be aware of how to minimise our risk of being a target.

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