Cursed pickpocketers!

[DionM]

I just got back from 2 weeks in Sweden. While it was great, my Lowepro back got pickpocketed and they took a memory card wallet with my Ultra II 512MB and 1GB cards. Along with the photos on them :evil:

Luckily my most expensive card (2GB) was in the 20D ... but still ... losing the pix was annoying :confused:

[CyberDyneSystems]

The pics is allways the worst loss,. especially whn it is a trip like that.. :(

Very sorry you lost them :(

[cactusclay]

Sorry to hear that.

[DReb-MO]

Two words for you.. That sucks!

Sorry to hear that. Losing the pictures is sometimes worse then losing the gear. The gear can always be replaced. The Pics can not. I guess that's why I am so fanatical about backups.

[tim]

I'm sorry to hear that, and thanks for posting, it's a good tip for everyone to remember.

[andygrif]

Hanging is too good for some people. At least a camera could be replaced....but no they nick the cards. Grrr.

[Hellashot]

And the theif probably thought it was a money wallet! Maybe label your next card wallet "flash memory, radioactive"

[DionM]

Thanks for the comments guys. It was quite annoying, as there were some rare ones with me in them (sat the 20D on the ground, armed the timer and ran away from it far enough to get in the shot). I was travelling alone so wanted some for my wife :(

I am now rethinking my "several CF cards" approach and may just have 1 or 2 big CF cards (2x 2GB) and do away with wallets and the like. I also backup like crazy, but I was backing up to my laptop each day. This was just a day's shooting.

It was weird too, I have ALWAYS shot the 2GB, then 1GB, then 512MB cards. Yet on this day I shot them in reverse, meaning I had the two cards full of photos in the wallet and the near empty 2GB in the 20D. Yet if I had shot the 2GB first it would have been just on full and the other cards would have been empty. C'est la vie ..

[robertwgross]

When you replace your camera bag, take off the brand label and replace it with something that says "Baby's Bag", implying that it is a diaper bag.

I guarantee you nobody will steal it.

The only problem is that you get funny looks when you show up with it when you shoot a wedding.

---Bob Gross---

[jaypie77]

The general lack of pickpockets is the one best thing about crime in the United States and that's largely because so many of us carry guns. If a pickpocket tried to take the wrong wallet, he'd/she'd be surprisingly likely, especially in some areas, to get a slug in the back. I don't know if this is worth having so many guns on the street or not... but at least I can feel comfortable carrying my camera bag around with me wherever I go (except really crappy neighborhoods that are full of guns).

[DionM]

I've never had a pickpocket problem in Australia, and we have banned guns ...

[poke]

I got pick pocketed in St Petersburg, Russia. They got $300 USD, and if that wasn't enough... they threw in 5 good punches to the ribs to say thanks. I didn't put up a fight, as I had my 10D in the camera bag over the shoulder on the side away from them, and was REALLY not wanting them to get that.

[poke]

I've never had a pickpocket problem in Australia, and we have banned guns ...

Some models... and the carrying of them concealed. Not all guns.

[Citizensmith]

If a pickpocket tried to take the wrong wallet, he'd/she'd be surprisingly likely, especially in some areas, to get a slug in the back.

So what you are saying is, after they have committed the crime and are leaving, therefore posing no physical threat, you shoot them in the back. I wonder how long your sentence would be?

[DionM]

Some models... and the carrying of them concealed. Not all guns.

Yes true. It was a gross generalisation.

[poke]

So what you are saying is, after they have committed the crime and are leaving, therefore posing no physical threat, you shoot them in the back. I wonder how long your sentence would be?

Well... you wouldn't want to take the chance of hitting your wallet.

[dewmuw]

The latest wheez in London is to wait for people withdrawing cash from an ATM and to take a peek at their pin number over their shoulder. The they will point to a £10 note on the floor and say "I think you dropped your money." When you bend to pick it up they grab your card and head to the nearest ATM with your pin number! Happened to me, but I put my foot on the £10, put my card away and them picked the money up - they lost £10 that day! :)

[dphotomania]

The latest wheez in London is to wait for people withdrawing cash from an ATM and to take a peek at their pin number over their shoulder. The they will point to a £10 note on the floor and say "I think you dropped your money." When you bend to pick it up they grab your card and head to the nearest ATM with your pin number! Happened to me, but I put my foot on the £10, put my card away and them picked the money up - they lost £10 that day! :)

Excellent move!! I think I am the lucky one, I was never rob at gunpoint, or pocket picked. But was mug a few times when I was a kid.

One time I almost got mugged by 14 kids. They want my backpack so bad, I didnt give it to them. And then some adult broke them up and some undercover cop drove up and long story short. I think 3 - 5 of them were arrested and in jail for 2 years.

Another time I was walking in the park w/ 2 other freinds and they have Jansport backpack and those were hot back then, and they have like 10 of them. And I said do you think you can mug us, you see those park rangers over there, all I need to do is scream and you will get nothing. They thought I was joking. I start walking over to the park ranger and scream for help. Hehehee, they ran like I have a gun!! Maybe the park ranger did.

People these days... I mean everyday. If they cant afford it, they have to rub / steal from others. I wish we can have tought laws. Put them away for good!! Like "The One" from Jet Li, beem them to another dimension!! :p

[D4VE]

Sorry to hear you lost your pictures, that is my worst nightmare when travelling with my camera. :(

[steven]

Put them away for good!! Like "The One" from Jet Li, beem them to another dimension!! :p

Maybe this is the "Other Dimension", and all the other dimensions are sending their crooks to us ;)

[D4VE]

Well in Britain we used to send them to another dimension called "Australia". :D

[cruzyn56]

They would never know who shot them. Just make sure no other witnesses.

[dewmuw]

Well in Britain we used to send them to another dimension called "Australia". :D

Now they're sending them back.

[TSEE]

That sucks. I lived there for 18 years and never had a problem (even when going back there on vacations to visit family and looking like a tourist with all my camera gear). Where in Sweden were you if you don't mind me asking.

[DionM]

Now they're sending them back.

:D

[Claire]

That really sucks. I'm not as worried about losing memory cards as I am about losing the whole camera. I've lived here my whole life (minus Uni days) and never been pick-pocketed. Of course it happens though, and my friend's younger brother was once with a friend and got mugged. They were surrounded in broad daylight by a teenage gang who wanted their cell phones. They refused and when they moved to leave the brother's friend was stabbed with a knife. Thankfully it wasn't too bad, but his mom went hysterical when she found out.

We've only been mugged in Nice, France. Mom was in our rental car and in Sweden we normally don't look the car doors. Suddenly the door was janked up, a guy on a Vespa (wearing helmet) reached for mom's handbag, and she instinctively clung to it. They struggled, but she finally had to let it go, and the guy left with another Vespa guy. Mom was panicking and yelled at the car behind them to stop them, but that car must have been with the guys, as he drove extra slow to stop the traffic.
I had heard mom's screams when dad and I were crossing the street with the groceries. Remember that I ran straight into the street as she sounded so scared. Trying to talk to the French police wasn't easy for various reasons. The hotel was helpful though, but I've never seen mom so pale. She had nightmares about it for months after. We haven't been to France since.