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An expensive lesson

  
 
Chris Court
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p.1 #1 · An expensive lesson


Midway through 2025, my wife and I quit our jobs and decided to travel for a while and dial up the amount of quality time we spend with our son. We started in Vietnam, found a town we loved (Hoi An), and leased a small house near the beach. For months, it was exactly what we’d hoped for.

Then, about a week before Christmas, our place was broken into while we were asleep.

They took a bunch of stuff – wallet, cash, iPads, speakers, even my prescription Ray-Bans – but the real gut punch was my Nikon kit: Z8 + 14-30, 24-120, 100-400 and 105 macro. As you can imagine, I’m completely bummed. It wasn’t insured (yep… lesson learned), and like most of you, I’m embarrassingly attached to my camera gear.

The bright side is that nobody got hurt. They didn’t come into the bedroom, we still had our laptops with us, and they didn’t find our passports. Weirdly, they also left my tripod, filters and a couple of Laowa macro lenses – nice of them, but not very useful without a body to mount them on. I’m also grateful my big guns are in storage back in the U.S., so it could’ve been worse.

Even though I haven’t been shooting a ton lately, losing that kit still stings. So consider this a reminder: insure your gear, and keep it physically secured (PacSafe mesh or similar), even in places that feel “safe.”

Now that we’re coming toward the end of rainy season here, it’s getting absolutely gorgeous again – the light is fantastic, and those rice paddies are screaming for photos – so I’m looking to put together a modest starter kit to get back on my feet. I’m not ready to jump straight into a full pro setup again. I’m thinking something like a D7200/D500, or Z50II, maybe even a Zf.

If anyone has a body (and maybe a couple of sensible lenses) they’d be willing to part with at a reasonable price, I have friends visiting in March who can bring it over for me. Feel free to DM me with what ya got. I'll be looking locally, too, but options here are limited.

Be safe out there.

C



Jan 15, 2026 at 10:43 AM
MikeEvangelist
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p.1 #2 · An expensive lesson


Ouch! Glad you and yours are safe.

Hope you can find some gear to get you back on track.



Jan 15, 2026 at 11:12 AM
Wezre
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p.1 #3 · An expensive lesson


Sorry to hear about this and hopefully you're able to get back on your feet. I have a Z7ii that I no longer use - I'll PM you.


Jan 15, 2026 at 11:33 AM
AmbientMike
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p.1 #4 · An expensive lesson


Getting robbed isnt any fun for sure. Such an invasion of privacy

But the d7200 looks impressive, D3200 probably the least expensive 24mp aps. Good gear isnt as expensive like 15+ years ago, youll be able to get something, and a lot of times using less expensive gear, you wind up a lot lighter



Jan 15, 2026 at 11:47 AM
nineblade
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p.1 #5 · An expensive lesson


Ouch. Sorry to hear.

Yeah, I've heard enough horror stories, including backpacks falling into rivers, and taxis driving off before gear is taken out of the trunk. I got insurance to give me a little peace of mind, but regardless, it would be awful to have a trip ruined.

On the plus side, it's good you walked away without a scrape.

Where I live, camera theft is common so I'm reluctant to walk out in the open in sketchy neighborhoods.



Jan 15, 2026 at 12:12 PM
 


Search in Used Dept. 

Alistair1
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p.1 #6 · An expensive lesson


Sorry to hear about the loss of your gear. But what a great experience/circuit-breaker you have embarked upon!


Jan 15, 2026 at 12:59 PM
NightOwl Cat
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p.1 #7 · An expensive lesson


There is a guy in the manual focus nikon glass thread that lives in Ho Chi Minh City, I'll PM you the link to his user profile, and him the link to this thread. Hopefully at least, he can hook you up to a reputable source for gear there.

Manual Focus thread:
https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/929565/

But what an adventure of a lifetime, thankful nobody hurt, just the aggravation of replacing gear..



Jan 16, 2026 at 07:22 AM
EB-1
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p.1 #8 · An expensive lesson


Did you not have insurance?

EBH



Jan 16, 2026 at 08:50 AM
fjablo
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p.1 #9 · An expensive lesson


Chris Court wrote:
Midway through 2025, my wife and I quit our jobs and decided to travel for a while and dial up the amount of quality time we spend with our son. We started in Vietnam, found a town we loved (Hoi An), and leased a small house near the beach. For months, it was exactly what we’d hoped for.

Then, about a week before Christmas, our place was broken into while we were asleep.

They took a bunch of stuff – wallet, cash, iPads, speakers, even my prescription Ray-Bans – but the real gut punch was my Nikon kit: Z8 + 14-30,
...Show more

You didn't really mention the type of images you intend to make, which would be relevant for any gear recommendations.

Obviously it sucks that your gear was stolen. But I think using a more limited / minimalist kit can also be a very positive experience from a creative perspective (but probably not if you're into some technical genres like sports & wildlife, hence my comment above).

For DSLRs I'd suggest taking a look at D750s or D610s. They're well below €1000 over here. Of course I have no idea what the used market in Vietnam looks like. For lenses I'd keep it simple with an AF-D 28-70mm f3.5-4.5, a 50mm f1.8G and maybe a 70-200mm f4G. Sigma 100-400mm could also be an option for the tele end.

Or start again with Z-mount with a Z5II and 24-120mm f4 or 24-200mm. Maybe add the 40mm f2 or 50mm f1.8S




Jan 16, 2026 at 09:04 AM







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