disguising your gear. do you do it?

I prefer an H&K or Sig.

...a lot of countries functions just fine w/o a gun.

When I do go into NYC or any urban area, I take the least equipment that I can get away with. I took my 10D with 28-135 my 3 days in NYC while touring with a high school group last year. No one even cared I had it. Now that I have a little more gear, I take my Velocity 9 and I swing it in front of me in a crowd. I separate my full CF cards from my bag. I have insurance and I purposely don't bring anything I would cry over if taken or lost. I can understand why Canon puts "Canon Digital" on all their straps, but really, it's a little much. I also have the POTN strap and I love it. The whole time I was at Jackson and Yellowstone, didn't see a single POTN strap. The strap is the comfiest and least obvious one.

Where would one obtain a POTN strap?

At the top of this page and every page is a link. Just click and you will see a menu of all the stuff available. Let me just warn you, though, if you have 2 cameras, you'll want 2 of them. They are that great. I'm considering the vest now. But don't be surprised if they are on back order. All of a sudden, they are getting very popular.

...and America functions just fine w/ them. Gotta love our Constitutional rights, eh? Unless you live in the "Republik of California". LOL

Now let's get off the subject and back to discussing photogaphy before someone gets in trouble.

[double post]

Lord_Malone wrote:
Now let's get off the subject and back to discussing photogaphy before someone gets in trouble.

+1 on that.

Being raised in NYC, most muggers don't want resistance from their targets. If you are not cocky (over confident and loud), people tend to ignore you. If you are careful and stealthy, people ignore you. If you look like you are going to knock them over the head with equipment you know all too well, people will ignore you.

1. keep all equipment close to you, never put anything down unguarded.
2. have a record of all your serial numbers and even take pictures of your gear regularly.
3. my equipment is clean and scatch free, but I use it all the time, so I'm constantly taking it out to use it in public. Be very familiar with your gear so it doesn't look like something thieves would want.
4. Never leave any equipment in your car, even in the trunk unless you know it's being watched. Even private garages aren't that safe.
5. If you leave gear at the hotel, make sure it is safe in a luggage, in a closet, behind other stuff, so the people coming in to clean your room, have to do unnatural things to get to it.
6. Guard your gear as if it is an expensive laptop that has private data in it. Most of my camera equipment cost more than my laptop, so that is the case.
7. When you eat at restaurants, put your bag under the table on top of your foot. That way if someone is looking to steal something, they can't get to your stuff. I've seen women put purses on the backs of their chairs and thieves have gotten to them without being noticed.
8. If you are going to the restroom, don't put your bag down by the stall entrance. This is the time to keep the bag on a hook, if possible. No one can grap the bag from the top if on a hook, it's too heavy.
9. To avoid leaving camera equipment in cabs or buses, keep the bag on your lap at all times.

I fought off muggers in Barcelona after my EOS 50e a few years ago. It taught me a valuable lesson. Now when I'm a tourist in a threat area, I keep the camera in my bag, and plan the shot mentally. Once this is done, I get the camera out and take the shot. I know my (sparse) kit very well, so I can go bag-setup-shot-bag in about 15 seconds.

I might invest in a POTN neck strap though - seems quite a sensible precaution, and comfort thrown in! Bargain!

I have found that the Crumpler camera bag can come out of the crumpler and fits perfectly into my scuffed up Nike bag. So get all the protection but not much notice.

I am moving down to South London in September so I may get that special black tape for cameras to cover up the canon bit.

all my gear is insured..But I also got a Carry permit and a XD 40 as my backup

I use State Farm for all my insurance (kind of like people have all their phone/internet/cable from one service) - cheaper that way. at least for me.

I can only think of possibly one company that might provide act of war insurance, but I doubt you would want to pay it. Lloyd's - They also insure rocket launches, but not the first 3 seconds of launch (unless you pay extra - a lot extra), from what I have heard.

I have used a simple supermarket carrier bag to disguise my camera before now... I am going to insure my equipment, got a quote from photoguard for insuring £2500 of gear for travel in the UK, with 'in car' cover and a 10% excess for £73 per year.. not bad...

I live in Toronto, a large urban centre with plenty of crime, but I have never worried about walking around with my gear...in fact, I'm usually the one staring and drooling at everyone else's L lenses!!

There are LOTS of people walking around with high-end cameras and lenses with no fear at all....if someone wants my camera that bad, they can take it...it's insured and I'll get a sparkling brand new one!