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Author Topic: Robbed, stabbed and lost all my gear - what to replace it with?  (Read 12467 times)

shadowblade

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Re: Robbed, stabbed and lost all my gear - what to replace it with?
« Reply #40 on: May 15, 2017, 03:17:59 pm »

Insurance has proved worthless. I bought my gear mostly when the Australian dollar was 50% higher than it is now, and mostly on discount. The Australian dollar purchase price of the gear was very low. Factor in depreciation and the amount they will pay is minimal - nowhere near the current replacement cost in AUD.

Furthermore, the required receipts are mostly torn or faded to illegibility due to time.

Re: continuing with makeshift equipment. I have no interest in hiking or camping for its own sake - I do it to get to landscape photography locations, with all the necesaary gear for the best possible image. That's why I came home. At the moment, there's probably a mule driver and horse owner in Peru wondering where I am.

Re: Argentina - this wasn't a camera bag. It was an old rucksack hacked apart, with a zip installed in the back for access to a laser-cut closed cell foam block holding the camera gear.

Re: buying the Cube first. I bought the Cube first because it's the one thing I can get that will be the same regardless of what system I go with. I'll need to replace it at some point anyway. And I can't travel again until I have my full kit back (or, at least, the parts of the kit necessary for that particular destination) so it doesn't particularly matter what order I buy it in.

Re: used A7r2 - if the A9 and 5Ds2 come out with 70MP, good AF and DR, there's no way I'm going with a 42MP A7r2.

Re: f/4 zooms - none of them have the performance of the top-tier f/2.8 zooms, except at the 11-24 and 200-400 extremes, where they are the top tier. They are built for size and weight, not ultimate sharpness. The situation would be different if they made some f/4 zooms with no optical compromises.

Re: Canon vs Sony - a lot of this will hinge on how the A9 does with Canon lenses with regards to AF speed  (faster than on a Canon body?) and the availability of eye focus/eye tracking using adapted lenses. Although automatic CA and distortion correction is another big plus in using native lenses.
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hogloff

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Re: Robbed, stabbed and lost all my gear - what to replace it with?
« Reply #41 on: May 15, 2017, 08:16:54 pm »

Insurance has proved worthless. I bought my gear mostly when the Australian dollar was 50% higher than it is now, and mostly on discount. The Australian dollar purchase price of the gear was very low. Factor in depreciation and the amount they will pay is minimal - nowhere near the current replacement cost in AUD.

Well if you purchase worthless insurance, you get worthless results in the end. My insurance covers complete replacement cost of equivalent equipment. So today...my equipment would be replaced with the latest equivalent equipment available for purchase.

You need to purchase replacement cost insurance....
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D White

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Re: Robbed, stabbed and lost all my gear - what to replace it with?
« Reply #42 on: May 27, 2017, 11:18:43 am »

Well if you purchase worthless insurance, you get worthless results in the end. My insurance covers complete replacement cost of equivalent equipment. So today...my equipment would be replaced with the latest equivalent equipment available for purchase.

You need to purchase replacement cost insurance....

I would have to agree that the first new equipment choice would have to start with some real insurance that actually works, and replaces the full value short of maybe some deductible.

In the last few years I bought a life long friend a new Canon 300f2.8 IS II and a Profoto B1 set to help him with his professional work. Despite his assurance he would insure it, I freaked out when it came to light he did not. This is a guy who has been ripped off at least twice in his life of equipment he needs to make a living with and he can not afford to replace it. I am not sure what it would take for this message to sink in for him. If you can not afford to replace it you can not afford NOT to have insurance.

I do greatly feel for the loss not only of equipment but the whole trip. It is sad that some areas of the world are basically no fly zones that I will not even contemplate visiting given the much higher odds of violent theft. Not much fun trying to photograph while while constantly at high risk.
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Dr D White DDS BSc

JKoerner007

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Re: Robbed, stabbed and lost all my gear - what to replace it with?
« Reply #43 on: June 04, 2017, 01:07:09 am »

Well if you purchase worthless insurance, you get worthless results in the end. My insurance covers complete replacement cost of equivalent equipment. So today...my equipment would be replaced with the latest equivalent equipment available for purchase.

You need to purchase replacement cost insurance....

Wisdom.

As an insurance adjuster/investigator since 1988, I can truthfully say, "You get what you pay for."

Homeowner's (and even renter's) insurance is something that every serious photographer, with a heavy gear investment, should have in place.

ACV = Actual Cash Value = Replacement Cost less depreciation.
RCV = Replacement Cost Value = The cost to Replace the Item in new condition.

Farmer

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Re: Robbed, stabbed and lost all my gear - what to replace it with?
« Reply #44 on: June 04, 2017, 01:50:25 am »

In Australia, I got my insurance for camera gear through PPIB (Professional Photographer's Insurance Broker), even though I'm not a pro (but my gear costs the same).

www.photoinsurance.com.au
www.wscbrokers.com.au

I had contact with Jacqui Thomson, the Brokerage Manager, and found their cover, pricing, and guidance to be very good.  She literally said in one email:

"Our recommendation is that you insure for the current replacement cost but if you are trying to keep your premium down just be aware that whatever sum insured you elect for each item is the maximum we can pay for it in the event of a claim.

This goes for new items, if you purchased something on sale then we suggest you insure it for the recommended retail price."

I can also update the cover if I want to (say, for example, because the AUD goes lower and I'm worried replacement costs might go up - all I need to do is show what the current replacement cost is).

It sucks hugely that you're not going to get as much cover as you need in terms of pay out :(  But if it helps, I'd recommend these brokers for future coverage for anyone in Australia.
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Phil Brown
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