hiding your equipment at home

L

lubesicle

Member
over the years ive collected camera equipment in pelican cases that is obviously worth a lot. some of its rare vintage glass that insurance could never replace. and those pelican cases scream, steal me please.

anyone have tips/advice on how they hide/secure their equipment at home in case a thief breaks into your house while youre out?

thanks
 
At the extreme you could make a room more covert with a hidden door or go for something simpler like an IP CCTV camera which alerts your mobile phone to movement.

woodfold-bookcase-doors.jpg

Be warned, the following video is cheese factor 10, as no police force is going to respond to a text.

 
Write 'old socks' on the case...who wants old socks?

If they are opportunists they'll want to be in and out. They'll hit the obvious places, go through built in robes, drawers etc. They're looking for cash and lightweight, easy to fence items. It's unlikely they'll go into an attic unless it's one of those ones with the pull down ladder, they probably won't bother with a heavy locked trunk.

If they've targeted your property because you are on holiday or they know the house is unattended during the day and they'll have time to go through a bit more thoroughly, there's really not a great deal you can do outside of insurance and monitored security. That secret door above is pretty cool (if I ever own property I reckon I'll do it just for fun) but it isn't going to fool any serious robber. I mean houses aren't 12ft shorter on the inside and it just tells the whipcracking, fedora wearing perp there's treasure in there.

The best security I ever used is being the poor neighbour and living next door to people who look like they have more than you. I've had a half a dozen neighbours robbed but only ever had friends steal from me.
 
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A large heavy gun safe lag screwed into your house structure. Most thieves target easily accessible things of value they can sell quickly.
 
Put it in a big plastic tub and mark it "used cat litter"...


But seriously- say you had a walk in closet that was 6 feet deep or wide. Make it a foot or two shorter by installing a false wall. Just screw 2x2's to the walls and ceiling, cut a piece of sheet rock to size (neatly) and screw it in place. Paint the new wall to match and no one will ever notice it's not the actual end of the closet. To get your equipment out takes maybe two minutes to remove the screws.
 
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If they're in pelican cases, the first thing I would do would be to keep the cases locked and have a kryptonite cable connecting every single one of them together so that it can only be removed as one huge mass. This doesn't do anything in the way of disguising the cases as something not valuable, but it would would be quite cumbersome to take out and it could act as a deterrent to go for smaller items.
 
Its a worry to us all but not exactly sure why this question really needs be asked because the answers are all going to be kind of obvious. (Security 101)

Cameras and lenses are just like any other valuable asset one may wish to keep ownership of.

Secure locker, locked room/vault, locked cupboard, alarm system, off site storage.

FWIW: My building does not advertise that film makers and photographers are tenanted there. No external signage. Building and spaces are alarmed. Gear is variously stored as above suggestions.

BTW: a determined professional burglar will get what they want no matter what you do.
 
Insurance, insurance, insurance. Even the most rare of lenses CAN be replaced if you've properly insured them. And I don't mean home insurance, as that won't typically cover this stuff. You'll want a policy just for all your gear.

Hiding stuff *might* give you some protection from the 5 minute burglar, but it won't protect you if there is a fire. Or water damage, or damage while you're out using the gear. But insurance will.
 
My personal solution (scary black rifles, multiple dogs, and multiple similarly equipped fiercely territorial neighbors with backhoes and/or hogs, all located a few miles down a heavily wooded narrow gravel road) doesn't work for everyone. Never had a problem, though.

Definitely get insurance for replacement value. Even if it can't be materially replaced, it might then be financially replaced. Hopefully you use some of this gear from time to time as well, and this will also protect it then.

Definitely don't use any of the hiding places recommended in this thread, as some thief is surely lurking DVXUser and will now target those very areas ;D

Definitely never post Facebook pictures while on vacation or otherwise away from your house. And never geotag your photos, especially of your gear in your home. Ever.

If you have enough money to have pelican cases full of rare vintage camera gear, yet live in a neighborhood where frequent burglary is a serious concern, perhaps you should consider moving. You know, find yourself a nice heavily wooded gravel road somewhere....
 
My father, a photographer, always told me to keep my gear is ratty looking cases. Most people know this, but I would take into account that thieves will only steal what they know is valuable, what looks valuable, and what they can easily carry. I've heard of burglars stepping over expensive cameras to get at smaller and more valuable looking stuff, leaving the cameras untouched.

Consider hiding equipment inside stuff that's large, heavy, and definitely not valuable. Removing the insides of an old fax machine, a big heavy console tv, old computer towers, etc., could makes these items into excellent hiding places.
 
Protect your home with a system such as ADT (fire, smoke, intruder, motion detection, etc.) and then consider electronic heavy duty safes inside (only for small items such as lenses). They are expensive, but you cannot get through them. Some can be installed into your floor and will physically need to be ripped out to be stolen and then they still weigh a lot. They are fireproof as well. Storing equipment offsite is always good too.
 
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