Anti-theft?

[Roger Van Duyn]

Often the venue has a reasonably secure place to store your gear, locking office, store room, locking closet, if you know who to ask. I always ask, whether shooting in a church, restaurant, arena, stadium. Many venues, even churches, have someone in charge of security. Just ask. Plus security cameras are getting more common everyday. Look for where an active security camera is pointed.

Sometimes when shooting outdoors, I use a steel cable and a padlock going through the handle of the Pelican cases (with padlocks too!) wrapped around a big tree, utility pole, or through a fence.

[Long Truong]

Buy insurance

[George Kilroy]

Whilst it would be foolhardy to run a business without the appropriate insurances, insurance will not help out on the day property goes missing. Whilst many of the suggestions are sensible not all options are always available so I used the method that Peter suggested, flexible wire loops with combination locks.

I was at a venue where there the manage told me that a week before someone had walked away with all of the couples gifts that evening guests had brought and put on a table which had been set out for them. At some point someone had walked in from outside and taken them out. Nobody batted an eyelid as the staff thought that it must have been someone the couple had asked to do it and the guest thought it was one of the staff. When everyone is either partying or working few people if any would think anything if someone looking smart moving things, guests and staff would just assume that anyone walking away with a camera case was working with the videographer, yellow or not. I found that looped and locked in an open area was my most confident solution. If I ever left a camera on a tripod I use a combo cycle lock to loop through the handle and tripod legs.

Though in all of the 20+ years I was doing weddings I never lost anything to theft even before using the loop and lock. I did loose things through leaving behind though which were rarely there the next day when I went to collect them, except in churches. Anything I left in a church was always still there when I went back.

[Peter Rush]

I have insurance of course but the disruption on the day - not to say increased premiums - would be a pain!

George I am interested how you chain your camera and tripod. I frequently have a camera/tripod on a church balcony that could easily be stolen!

Pete

[George Kilroy]

Originally Posted by Peter Rush

I have insurance of course but the disruption on the day - not to say increased premiums - would be a pain!

George I am interested how you chain your camera and tripod. I frequently have a camera/tripod on a church balcony that could easily be stolen!

Pete

I agree about insurance as I said above, it's no help to you on the day but I think it would be daft not have not to have any though it's best to make sure items will be covered if left unattended, many policies will exclude that.

Locking my camera to the tripod, as in the the above situation is something I often did (I'm not doing weddings now), i.e. set up remote usually way before anyone is arriving at church, or the civil ceremony room. I used something like the item below through the camera handle and between the tripod legs and if convenient round a fixed post or even a chair. It won't stop a determined thief but may stop or slow an opportunist that may think they can just lift the camera off and walk away, even causing a clatter as the tripod comes up with the camera.

205 Combiloop Cable Bike Lock

I had thought about motion alarms but feared they would go off either accidentally or someone moving the kit for a benign reason or just being over sensitive. I'd hate to be the one that had to go and switch it off during the vows or the groom speech, or even the first dance.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Guys

In Churches with old fashioned type wooden pews it's hard to find something to lock the cable onto unless it's quite long ....I think the only thing in a pew might be the footbar near the floor which would mean quite a long cable. I have never locked cameras inside a Church despite the fact that I'm waiting outside for the limo to arrive with one camera and the 2nd cam is inside the Church ready to go. It's not very pleasant to think that people would actually steal from a Church and a wedding but I guess it happens!

At reception venues I use my custom aluminium trolley which takes all my gear and I normally befreind the DJ and park the trolley near his console so it's in his line of vision 99% of the time... stuff I'm not using is on the trolley and the bungee cords I use to keep everything in place are also fastened...never lost anything yet and never had an insurance claim yet either.

I have done some stupid things too like leaving a lav mic/transmiiter still clipped to the lectern and after a call to the venue the next morning I found staff had carefully put it away for me.

Maybe we need to have a "security officer" who walks around watching your gear ...That might be something we have to look at in the future or be obliged to employ a second shooter whose main job is not get extra footage but keep an eye on our gear. Common sense surely must prevail here and not leave $3000 lenses lying on tables where they can be easily picked up?

Chris