Desmolicious wrote:
So you don’t leave your gear in your car and your car was broken into and robbed one time.
I do not understand: what i'm saying is that such events are very rare.
People were telling a very different story here.
I'm just saying my experience has been different. Not that I'm better than them, that my country is better or whatever. Just that I do not feel the need to leave my car open with a note "nothing to steal". And that a window broken and a radio stolen once in 40 years is something I can live with.
Why do you react this way?
I would guess that countries not currently experiencing the fentanyl crisis (and before that the methamphetamine problem...which is still ongoing) to the degree that we suffer from in the US probably have far fewer property crime issues per capita.
It's really sad. Though, the open-air fentanyl market is not quite what it was a couple of years ago in Portland, it's still a thing.
At any rate, I would never leave anything of value in a car.
I also recognize there are many places in the world where that is less of an issue.
pmeheut wrote:
I do not understand: what i'm saying is that such events are very rare.
People were telling a very different story here.
I'm just saying my experience has been different. Not that I'm better than them, that my country is better or whatever. Just that I do not feel the need to leave my car open with a note "nothing to steal". And that a window broken and a radio stolen once in 40 years is something I can live with.
Why do you react this way?
I understand what you are saying. To clarify it is not like this everywhere in the US. It is/has been like this in San francisco and in Venice Beach. There certainly are hot spots where this happens but not everywhere.
retrofocus wrote:
I remember these days in the early 90s. Had my first car which only had an empty space with black plastic frame for a radio to be installed. I never did. My car was never broken into most likely for this reason. My second car came with radio - they were much more affordable by then and no longer a reason for thieves to break in.
It was amazing how often radios would get stolen in the mid 80's. I knew a guy with a Porsche 944 who, after having his radio stolen twice just took the radio out and left the door unlocked. The next thieves didn't even check to see if it was locked, or bothered to see if there was a radio in there. They just smashed the window and saw nothing was there. He resorted to leaving the window partway open in some locations... As far as I know they never took anything except his radios.
Beware of leaving things in the trunk! I once had my entire kit stolen at the beach because a thief watched me put my camera bag in the boot, and then proceeded to break into the car, pull the rear passenger seats down to access the trunk, and then cleaned me out.
Even if its out of sight and locked away, a thief is going to find a way to get at it. Best to take it with you whenever possible!
Mar 20, 2026 at 07:43 AM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
About 10 years ago, I had two camera bags stolen from my car. One had my pretty new Leica M10, a WATE, a 28 lux Asph, a 50 lux Asph, and a 90 cron APO. The other had a pretty new Fuji GFX 50s, a Leica R 80 lux, a couple other lens I don't remember. So, obviously I learned an expensive lesson not to leave gear in the car even if they are in non-assuming bags.
What I also learned is that the laws in Ohio, anyway, I think encourage this type of theft. After the gear was stolen I diligently looked on E-bay and other local online sellers for the gear as I kept the serial numbers and it was gear that was not that common. I never saw the Leica M gear come up anywhere. I don't know if the theif even didn't know what it was worth and threw it away or sold it some other way, but I found the Fuji GFX and the Leica R 80 lux for sale at a local pawn shop. I thought I could just go and get my camera and lens because I had proof they were mine based on the serial numbers, but that is not how it works in Ohio. I had to reimburse the pawn shop for what they paid the theif in order to get my camera and lens back. In effect, I had to pay the theif for the privilege of having my gear stolen. Notably, the pawn shop has zero incentive to avoid buying stolen goods. They paid a tiny pittance of what this camera and lens were worth ($800), had it on sale for triple that, which was still a helluva deal, and had zero risk of losing their money. I did get the police involved, but perhaps given the financial incentives and business model of the pawn shop, they could not "remember," anything about the person who sold them the camera and the lens. Fencing stolen goods is always going to be possible, but in Ohio anyway it could not be easier to fence stuff that is stolen and the fence (i.e., the pawn shop in this case) has zero risk of accepting stolen goods and zero risk of being prosecuted for their role in the operation.
Is there really no solution for your travel plan where you could leave the gear you *don't* need a specific day in your hotel's front desk safe?
I wouldn't want to leave it in a room, but that could open the possibility of just carrying a few lenses and a body or two in a backpack, along with any other gear you might need.
Unfortunately thieves are wildly successful at breaking into cars, at least here in California. Unless you welded a safe into yours, I'd think the gear will be far too easily stolen.
I leave gear in my car all the time but its an old car and relatively inexpensive gear. Even then someone got into my car 2-3 years ago (in rural TX, they could have taken time) thankfully didn't take anything although i had the camera gear with me (they didn't take tripod I left in the car, looked like they were looking for a "free" gun.) Of course i wouldn't want to lose the photos on the card regardless of the gear.
Idk if I'd be more concerned about $10k+ gear , probably but there's no 100% effective way to prevent theft, either. Try to lay low and not dig around in your bag at the location you park might help
