Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/01/26
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Jim Brick wrote:
>the top 15 stolen cars in the US are:
[snip]
>I don't see BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Saab, Lexus, Infinity, or anything
>other than a well known, mundane, run of the mill, easy to sell, N*,
>C*, M*, and P* kind of cars.
Jim: let's see that list normalized for the percentage of each model
that gets stolen in a year. I expect that you will see major changes
in the order. The cars you list are most often stolen simply because
there are so many of them out there, or because they are unusually
easy to steal (Olds Cutlass).
Nikons, Canons, and Minoltas are certainly stolen more often than
Leicas, simply because there are more of them around to steal. But
that does not make a *particular* Nikon lots more likely to be
stolen than a *particular* Leica. Most thieves see only "fancy
camera" (i.e., any SLR), I expect. I'd bet that the average fence
gives 10-20 bucks whether it's an F90x, a Rebel G, or an R7.
It makes me sad to think that my dad's M3 and 3 lenses probably
got some druggie no more than twenty bucks - if that. I hope
he tried out the beta blockers that he stole from our medicine
cabinet :-(.
Now, about red dots and black tape: I like things with simple,
uncluttered appearances. I think that the red dot is silly looking.
I tape over it to make it go away: an aesthetic choice. I also
taped over the Nikon logo when I had Nikons with black bodies, and
would do so if I owned a Canon or Minolta.
And I generally remove labels from clothing, too. I just don't
enjoy doing unpaid service as someone else's billboard.
Not wearing Tommy Hilfiger crap or Air Jordans (or Italian loafers)
is undoubtedly a better way to avoid mugging than taping over a
Leica logo. When I was younger I routinely walked around at night
with a bag of Nikons in places like the SF Mission District and
south of Market. I have never been bothered, probably because I
don't wear expensive clothes and I don't act like a rich tourist.
Most importantly of all, I pay close attention to my surroundings,
trust my instincts, and when I become concerned, I *leave*.
Run, run, run away - and live to shoot another day!
[The combat photographer's anticoda...]
..........................................................................
Alexey Merz | URL: http://www.webcom.com/alexey | email: alexey@webcom.com
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