The issue with gps ok cameras apparently is that it drains battery life a lot, especially if it has to be on all the time. Apple gets around this by using Bluetooth to connect to nearby Apple devices and have them get the location and update it online.
@@glemau9667 it’s not going to work how he want it to work, soon as they take you gotta act quick or the tag will tell them it’s in the bag if they are a apple user
The problem with this stuff is that in many countries, police won't cooperate with you if you go and tell them "they stole my gear and it's tracked, can you help me". And going after thieves yourself is way too risky.
The problem with that, is that it's made to find if you loose it but NOT IF IT'S STOLEN ! It is not made for that for a lot of privacy reasons, its tracking abilities can be disabled from any iphone, once it recognize you're with it for a few minutes, and if you don't have an iphone, it starts f***ing bleeping !!! It can be convenient but almost nobody needs it really...
Yes, also AirTag's "Anti-Stalker Feature" will automatically inform the thief about the AirTag if he/she has an iPhone. Apple has recognized this and told that AirTag isn't an anti-theft device. Here's a video about this: th-cam.com/video/h9FfUFzg4SE/w-d-xo.html
I don’t know why people forget traditional info cards still exist that you can put outside your bag in case a kind stranger finds it and wants to return it to you. May not be as flashy as tapping your phone, but most people might not know about it or how that works anyways. Keep the actual airtag in the bag so a theif doesnt toss it out, or worse, make your bag a bigger target because it has this flashy device sticking on it
I use that one and I also tape my contact info on the back of the Touchscreen of my Canon, but it would be nice to have that extra safety feature too! Especially since kind strangers may be rare :(
@@GiacomoZonco well air tags in the bag is the additional safety. I'm just saying the reason for putting yours out shouldnt be to provide contact details
Where are the best places to put these AirTags? Here’s a quick update, if your bag goes missing it will notify the person that is carrying it a.k.a. potentially stole it, and let them know that a tag is tracking them or if they have android it will start making a noise. I don’t know how long it takes for that to go into affect. But if you put your air tag in lost mode, it won’t notify that person or make noise theoretically. But then again what stopping someone From putting it in lost mode and attaching it to someone. Will have to figure out more soon
I have a Nikon d500 and 3D printed a mount for inside the camera as a dummy battery. I am trying to figure something out for lenses but a mount for the airtag as a back cap might work.
I only leave my gear in my car if I can see the car. Otherwise take it. Or I just take the expensive stuff with me and leave the heavy stuff like c stands. Never let go of you’re expensive gear
I'm in europe, I've left stuff in my car all my life... same goes for almost everybody I know. The asshole is the one stealing stuff! Sad how the US seems so far down the drain that we're even discussing this?!
@@randfee you’re not in East Europe are you? Not in Spain or even Germany I’d think. Maybe England but certainly not in any major cities. So I’m gonna guess Finland or maybe Italy but once again in no major city
I don’t think air tags are good for theft, I hope I’m wrong but I think the fact that Apple had to address the potential of stalkers nerfed them hard for theft. They might work in the very short term, but I think by the time you went to the cops and got some support you’d be shut out of luck. Anyone can disable your AirTag, except you. I don’t think you can disable your own. So if you notice one following you around that isn’t yours, android or not, you can disable it, either by finding where the beeping is coming from and chucking it, or by using your iPhone to find it. But I don’t think there is a “keep my airtag invisible to others” option because that would literally be “enable stalker mode” which they said they were careful to prevent. Still great for lost items though! And maybe you can list a reward or something in the software to try and basically buy back the shit from the thieves, get yourself into a random situation? Seems like insurance is likely the cheaper option. Still going to airtag my backpack, 25 bucks is a small gamble if it does work, but it certainly isn’t going to be my main defense against theft.
There was a video floating around with instructions on disabling the sound playing on the AirTags. Only other way for now to disable them is to take the battery out.
Another possibility would be to 3D print lens and body caps with airtag/tile/chipolo compartments attached. Maybe create a cap for the cap that would hold the tag.
I think camera manufacturers could implement this into the cameras using the bluetooth features already there. Maybe link them to a smart phone app which prevents the camera from being used when out of range and notifying the owner via an alarm.
great ! You might follow up on insurance. I was on a trip when a friend dropped his camera into a lake ... 600' deep. The insurers wanted to see the camera to "prove" it was broken. er, right. So I asked and the small print did NOT cover camera loss. Several insures here in the UK also had small print that said loss was not covered. Theft is loss too right? wrong! Several (well 3) said that your house insurance covers theft! So what's the point of insurance? Just accidental damage.
I have a Nikon d500 and 3D printed a mount for inside the camera as a dummy battery. I am trying to figure something out for lenses but a mount for the airtag as a back cap might work.
Pro tip cut a small hole in the fabric and sew this into your camera bag. You aren't going to notice the 3 small stitches. Would you rather have a minor cosmetic difference or lose $1000s of dollars of equipment when someone steals your bag and removes the obvious Airtag in a pocket? Exactly. Just do it.
Airtags battery is rated to last over 1 year. But with all battery ratings its lower than it actually is so expect 1.5 - 2 years before you have to remove the stitches and replace the battery. Takes like 5 minutes.
Another great idea that I have is if you have a PeakDesign strap, it comes wkth this thing that you attach to the bottem of the camera like a tripod, and you can attach up to 4 dangling things there and attach one AirTag there to dangle around if you don’t mind. Obviously it’s better to keep in on a battey grip (if you have it) but yea, just my idea.
The battery grip was a location I was considering. Now I know there is a chance it may work. I hadn’t considered removing one battery if it won’t fit in place of the door on my camera.
I live just outside of Atlanta, and we have had a large uptick of car break-ins since the pandemic started. I know someone who lost over $10K of gear. This is going to be a game-changer here. I'm going to pick up a set next week.
It's not that good a deterrent against theft cos it's so easy to get rid of it. Even if it's hidden, if the thief has an iphone, his phone will inform him there's a tracker on him and that will warn him to look for it. So, maybe not everyone has an iphone, but I"d think many thieves do cos it's one of the most stolen phones.
but those AirTags won't work. If the theif has an iPhone, the tags will deactivate themselves and start beeping soon after they realize they might have been attached to the 'poor thief' by you in order to track that person. Apple clearly states that one must not track anybody with these and that they have taken precautions against it. While I perfectly understand the privacy implications for them doing this, it makes the airtags useless to me!
Love this video! I have totally have been doing this with a Tile tag before the air tag came out I cut into the bottom corner of my camera bag, secured it in the inside, and sewed it back shut (I also did this with my suitcase and carryon). I am now replacing my tile cards with air tags because they work better overall and there are more apple users than tile users for the search network. I like your idea of securing one on the outside of my bag also will probably do that with the airtags.
Problem with apples version is that is a tag is following someone around, the person who stole your stuff, it alerts them by notification or an audible beep if they are android users.
On the A1's vertical grip do you screw off part of the stem that goes into the camera in order to make the airtag work, or does the airtag just fit in there with no alterations?
I hope that in the future camera manufacturers will include a similar device which will be in their expensive cameras, or at least provide a place for this gadget to fit inside the camera.
From what I’ve read, this product won’t work as a LoJack for cameras, because it’s set up to warn the person who stole your property that they are being tracked. It’s purposefully designed to prevent people being tracked without their consent (like from a stalker) and the minute the their gets a warning about the device, they can disable it.
I think for sports shooters and people who always have a camera strap on you could either sew it onto your camera strap or use one of those loops. it’s not gonna stop theft but i always use the same two straps on both my bodies so i wouldn’t have to worry about it. and for the lens idea, even on a 70-200 if you want you can put it on the lens hood. i always have the lens on when shooting or in backwards when storing so it wouldn’t hurt
Hi Jared: I would have to think that the camera manufactures could simply install the chip in the body of the camera or within the actual circuit board of the camera and then the owner would simply have to subscribe to the service to activate the signal. If this become an option, let it be known that I suggested it today. L.O.L. Cheers, Keith
The perfect way for thieves to find your air tag??? “AirTag is designed to discourage unwanted tracking. If someone else’s AirTag finds its way into your stuff, your iPhone will notice it’s traveling with you and send you an alert. After a while, if you still haven’t found it, the AirTag will start playing a sound to let you know it’s there.” - Apple’s website. In other words, thieves just need a $25 air tag of their own to make the stolen ones sing.
I think this is a great product. My issue is that I don’t think that you can locate the item real time, if it’s far and just follow it. I don’t think Apple is taking things that are stolen into consideration, more than things being misplaced.
I find it ironic that the video showed the car window being smashed with a sign pointing to Oakland. I had my iPhone stolen by a person on a bike that ripped it out of my pocket in Oakland. I showed the police where the phone was on "find iPhone." The police said that that building was too dangerous for them to go to without a SWAT team and they were not going to call out a SWAT team for an iPhone. Heck in San Francisco and Oakland, the police won't even respond to someone breaking into your car. That was two years ago and it is much worse today.
Only issue I see with having things stolen is that if the burglar has an iPhone, they will be alerted that a puck is being used to track them (ref. LewLater/Laterclips)
I believe Rene Ritchie has mentioned that the puck alert on strangers iPhone triggers only until the airtag reaches a location and become stationary for a period of time. During that time assuming you realised the gear is stolen already you would have marked the tag as missing. It’s not foolproof but it’s something. If you think about it. Thieves can easily download the Tile app to locate Tile trackers too on gear they’ve stolen.
I think you’ve covered most places to put the air tag except possibly the lens hood! However I thing an additional accessory or accessories would be more beneficial, such as a 3D Printed cold shoe mount for any camera! Velcro back to mount to any lens or Speedlight etc.
Here's a plan. Put two in your bag. Have one on the outside - a gimme if you will. That's the one you want them to to find. ;) Then hide one deep within the bag. That's one they might not find because aren't looking for it. And if you really want to get sneaky, have 2 within the bag. LOL
Since I had a bag stolen on a recent trip I am also looking into these air tags (the 4x bundle is priced about right). My idea so far has been to put it into one of the thin compartments that most bags feature on the interior, more specifically the biggest one that just goes to the bottom of the bag if there is any. Take a needle and carefully use some garn to stitch it to the bottom of interior side four or five times (that way you don't destroy your bag and can take it out after 2 years to replace the battery). You will have to bend the beg inside-out to do that. If there is a similar texture small piece of clothing I can get I will even wrap that on top of the air tag before doing so. The idea is that it requires extensive search of every single inch of the bag in order to even realise it's there and find it. So in case your bag is stolen hardly anyone dumps the bag right away and just carries the stuff without. At some point they will take out the goods but not until they have reached their destination and took the time to take out everything. They will probably get rid of the bag at some point but might have it lying around for even a couple of days there. More than enough to give you a good chance to track it and notify the police. I personally don't think it's crucial to have them visible. You just give away that other ones might be nearby and the classic name, phone number, address etc is more than enough to make it simple for an honest finder to track you down. An honest helpful person will just attempt to text your on your phone, that's something you can put on the outside visible on your gear. I am still thinking about a good hidden solution for my camera and lenses themselves but have not come up with a very neat hidden and practical solution yet. But that's where the real value lies to me. For my purse I will put it into a thin and long compartment which is stiff and nobody really would check in there for cards or money since they are clearly visible.
@@muzlee7479As far as I understood the Air tags they will track until that person reaches the location which is based on his device stored as his home location. This means that until then you can track it anyways and he won't notice unless he sees and removes it physically. Even if he reaches his home you will see that marked as last location where your bag went, quite useful information (maybe it's a person from the hotel room staff who stole your gear and you find out that the last seen location was the flat of one of them) and if they don't bring it home it will keep tracking since it's not time based but location based. Maybe I misinterpret how they work but that's the information I gathered and while not being a great solution for that case (since if the person gets home a notification will pop up so they know and can bring the goods away) it's better than nothing. If that person happens to not own an iPhone then that person won't notice at all, in that case you get lucky so to speak. The attractive thing about them is that there are so many Apple device out there so that tracking has a good chance of success. Some of the other products out on the market just have a network of devices which is far too small in comparison. It just doesn't help all too much if I get a last seen a full block away and there are like 500 flats.
@@andreas7278 What apple said was it will detect when it’s following someone and will ping the iPhone or if they don’t have one it starts beeping. And even if it works, there is a good chance that the police won’t cooperate with you and 100% that you won’t convince the authorities to do a house search.
@@muzlee7479 If it is exactly as described by you then they make no sense for that use case. Petapixel wrote something different about them: petapixel.com/2021/04/26/apple-airtags-anti-stalker-feature-explained-how-it-can-track-thieves/ Maybe there is a solution out there on the market that really covers that use case well. The products of other companies I have seen so far all have the problem of using the same bluetooth concept and therefore too few people might have it .
@@andreas7278 It makes literally no sense. If it's true it has zero privacy, you can track anyone with it. Most people won't set their home in their phone because why would they? And with this you can track to someone's home, really cool. And the biggest issue wasn't even stated, what if they don't haven an iPhone? Can't wait for stalkers to start using it if the website's info is correct.
A roommate had his electric bike stolen, and it had a built-in tracker. He went with the police to the exact house, but they couldn't go in without a warrant. By the time they got it, the bike was chopped to bits and the guys were gone. Unless you plan to be Rambo getting your shit back, these are pointless as anti-theft devices, especially in places where thieves have the advantage over cops stuck in red tape. I did buy a 4 pack of Air Tags to help me find my keys, wallet, and vehicles when I can't find them. Stick to insurance for your camera stuff.
I'm afraid that there's a small issue that you didn't mention: Lets say that I steal your bag and I'm also an iPhone 11/12 owner. As soon as I steal your bag and I start walk away with it, the iPhone will warn me that I have an unknown Airtag on me. As a thief, guess what I would do? I would take the bag and look really deep to throw away any air tags, and then go to my way, and you just totally lost your hardware. Apple should have thought deeper how to handle this issue, but they didn't.
If you have a Domke bag you can gaff tape it to the underside of one of the bag inserts - so it’s sandwiched between the bottom of the bag and the insert which is held in place by velcro.
Quick note. I had this same idea, but, if an airtag is following someone who isn’t the owner (aka) a thief, it will notify them that they are being followed by an air tag. Which is a bummer, because I wanted to buy one. It’s mainly designed for losing things, not for thieves unfortunately.
Not sure how the authorities in your country would handle this, but I’m pretty sure the cops over here won’t have the jurisdiction to bust in and search a house just because your apple fridge magnet tells you it’s inside that house.
Gratitude for sharing an important discussion we need to start for something many know has insightful utility in a Gear Acquisition Syndrome heavy community. I’m looking forward to Michael’s Arts & Crafts posting video to DIY AirTags holders. (I see you CRICUT!!!) I think the moment stick on is a starting point for what we need in the short term. It’s better that what Hermès & Apple are initially offering. The Accessory market is the game. Also, countdown to Camera/drone/lighting manufacturers looking at that eBike company & offering AirTags built-in options.
Okay, I've got an idea. Get a couple of cheap ND filters from amazon, sandwich the airtag between them, then screw them onto the lens you want to protect. Or, instead of an ND filter, you could spray the inside of another type of filter with black paint to hide the airtag.
Electronics are shielded. Wouldn’t the metal frame and components block out the RF from Apple’s chip? Bluetooth uses ultra high frequency that can be blocked easily.
I don't think that this works. AirTag's "Anti-Stalker Feature" will automatically inform the thief about the AirTag if he/she has an iPhone. Apple has recognized this and told that AirTag isn't an anti-theft device. Here's a video about this: th-cam.com/video/h9FfUFzg4SE/w-d-xo.html
It still has some value in the theft scenario. The thief gets a notification only if he takes the tag into his home location. So there’s a window of time to track and a home location revealed to the person tracking. A thief might dispose of a bag that is tracking them before bringing it home, that might lead to recovery.
@@rosnow Oh, I only read this info from Apple (wasn't that specific): "...To discourage tracking without your knowledge, Find My will notify you if an unknown AirTag is seen moving with you over time. An AirTag that isn't with the person who registered it for an extended period of time will also play a sound when moved so you can find it, even if you don’t use an iOS device. If you detect an unknown AirTag, use the steps below to learn about the AirTag and how to disable it."
I stuff one in the foam of my pelican cases. Through the case it still reads and no one knows it’s there. So with a combination lock and an air tag it should be good to go.
Or pay the $100 a year to insure your stuff and just replace it. I've seen plans even less than that. Don't leave crap in your car, but if you can't help yourself, get the proper level of auto insurance that covers break ins. If you have $10K in equipment it's a bit odd to leave it exposed like that. Because if you're in a big city, the cops will spend 0.0 secs of time looking for your stuff. I live in Chicago and had at least 8 friends have their car stolen, only one was recovered because it was found abandoned by the side of the road soaked in blood. The rest hit a car fence and vanished.
my r5 and 85rf are insured directly through canon, it was like 300 bucks for both for 2 years of repair/replacement for normal ware or accidental damage
I am not a pro but my home insurance company insured about $2500 worth of camera gear I have for something like $30 for the year and no deductible, the won't insure my drone though, had to do that through DJI. I have Progressive.
You where saying if got stolen, then your suggesting putting air tags on hot shoe, on lens loops, would a thief throw it away if it sees it, you should put it where it is not obvious, but if a thief has an apple phone then he can will know and throw it away. I think the GPS where only you would know where it is, is much preferable.. I think others will try to scan lost bags or belongings near by and get to it then throw the air tags and keep the stuff..
Ok everyone, listen to Jared. Here's my experience to validate this video. I went to Europe for a couple months. We flew into Venice airport and went to baggage claim. My wife went to the ladies room while I waited at a luggage carrosel. I had my sling bag on me that had my cell phone, camera, a couple lenses, wallet, cash, and a 360 camera. When my bags popped out, I hooked my sling onto the luggage cart, bent over and got the bags on it and went to sit down and wait for the wife. I reached for my sling to get my phone and it was gone. Panic set in, we went to the airport Carabinieri (police) to report it. While there I remembered the air tag in the sling bag... OMG, the wife loaded the app and there is was, still in the baggage claim ... the police retrieved it with all contents intact. God is good.
Jared, the idea to put the tags into the battery compartment sound really good, but is definately a bad idea. you will reduce significant the reach though the metal housing of the camera maybe from 100 to 10 meter. so the probability to contact the tag to other ios devices is badly reduced...
My main idea to hide an airbag is to connect it to the shoulder strap of my camera, and make like a fully black version and clip it on there. But that may be too obvious to find.
The Thief is watching the video too ,Guys take care of your gears . Make sure you change the look of Airtag as its very appealing to eye,coat it with some Carbon fiber film. 1. Place the tag on the inner part of Lens hood. Or if you are not using MF Ring you might place it inside MF Ring (kinda stupid) 2. Cut a small part of bag from inside and place it in there and stitch it back 3. On Camera bag inside Rain Cover 4. Outer part of Camera Sensor Cap . Cheers!
Thief #1 to Thief #2: We got it! But what if it has one of those GPS tags thingamajigs? Thief #2: Oh, simple. Just watch Jared Polin's video about where people put the tags. Update: Thief #2: And besides, Amazon says it's out of stock! (as of May 4)
Does the TILE have some sort of "Anti-Stalker Feature" like AirTag? If not, then it could be a good option. Because of this function the thief will be automatically informed about the AirTag if he/she has an iPhone.
@@kc7159 I have understood that with AirTag that's not possible. Otherwise it could be used for stalking and the whole "Anti-Stalker Feature" would be useless. Here's a short video about that: th-cam.com/video/h9FfUFzg4SE/w-d-xo.html
@@rosnow (For clarity I answer here too 😂) Oh, I only read this info from Apple (wasn't that specific): "...To discourage tracking without your knowledge, Find My will notify you if an unknown AirTag is seen moving with you over time. An AirTag that isn't with the person who registered it for an extended period of time will also play a sound when moved so you can find it, even if you don’t use an iOS device. If you detect an unknown AirTag, use the steps below to learn about the AirTag and how to disable it."
Didn't know about my gear vault, looks awesome. I haven't tried it yet, but for those of us with 3d printers (or access to 3d printing, such as at public libraries), I bet there will be some interesting ways to incorporate these trackers into lens cap designs and hot shoe mounts. As well as potentially clips for tripods, etc.
The bluetooth signal probably cooks your brain more than it interferes with the camera. If you like to emit signals yourself, maybe swallow an airtag. Could be painful on the way out though. Or have one implanted.
I think Cameramanufactures all ready build GPS in to most of there cameras. They should develop some sort of software that detects, if the funktion is on, that the Camera is stolen and sent you live position updates on to your phone. I don't really see that the Airtag is a good solution to theft.
Camera manufacturers needs to put their own smart trackers in expensive cameras.
Lmao Sony make more money like that gotta go buy a new camera right
The issue with gps ok cameras apparently is that it drains battery life a lot, especially if it has to be on all the time. Apple gets around this by using Bluetooth to connect to nearby Apple devices and have them get the location and update it online.
@@glemau9667 it’s not going to work how he want it to work, soon as they take you gotta act quick or the tag will tell them it’s in the bag if they are a apple user
@@TrapBoiFuse561 yea the anti stalker abilities works in favor of a thief maybe if they can’t find it fast enough they leave it somewhere
@@dgrace27 yea so you got run quick to catch them
I don't need that because I'm an Olympus photographer.
Me too 🥲
Ha!
? it has tracking
@@hansherrera6969 No one is going to want to steal it…
@@obsidian00 lol oh ok
Now I’ll never lose my lens cap
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
That’s it! The AirTag lens cap! What a great application! 🤣🤣🤣
😂😂😂😂
😂😂😂
The problem with this stuff is that in many countries, police won't cooperate with you if you go and tell them "they stole my gear and it's tracked, can you help me". And going after thieves yourself is way too risky.
Someone once told me their iPhone was stolen and she showed me the ‘find my phone’ locator but it was inside a 30 story building smh.
LA Sheriff came with me to a house in East LA for my wife's phone.
I had that exact situation in Mexico
The problem with that, is that it's made to find if you loose it but NOT IF IT'S STOLEN ! It is not made for that for a lot of privacy reasons, its tracking abilities can be disabled from any iphone, once it recognize you're with it for a few minutes, and if you don't have an iphone, it starts f***ing bleeping !!! It can be convenient but almost nobody needs it really...
Yes, also AirTag's "Anti-Stalker Feature" will automatically inform the thief about the AirTag if he/she has an iPhone. Apple has recognized this and told that AirTag isn't an anti-theft device. Here's a video about this:
th-cam.com/video/h9FfUFzg4SE/w-d-xo.html
The location inside the R5/R6 is inspired, thank you
@@flashforum939 Good idea
🤯
Now if any potential thieves are watching this, they know where to look if they find anyone’s gear lol
Was thinking the same thing... but do photographers steal from each other?
Every real photographer should carry a Sword, a bow, a hammer or an axe!
And an ICBM as well 😂
Lightsaber
I carry a Hellcat.
My bare hands ...
Good luck not getting looked at funny trying to explain to the client why you carry any of those with you lol
I don’t know why people forget traditional info cards still exist that you can put outside your bag in case a kind stranger finds it and wants to return it to you. May not be as flashy as tapping your phone, but most people might not know about it or how that works anyways. Keep the actual airtag in the bag so a theif doesnt toss it out, or worse, make your bag a bigger target because it has this flashy device sticking on it
I use that one and I also tape my contact info on the back of the Touchscreen of my Canon, but it would be nice to have that extra safety feature too!
Especially since kind strangers may be rare :(
@@GiacomoZonco well air tags in the bag is the additional safety. I'm just saying the reason for putting yours out shouldnt be to provide contact details
@@0741921 definitely agree
Where are the best places to put these AirTags?
Here’s a quick update, if your bag goes missing it will notify the person that is carrying it a.k.a. potentially stole it, and let them know that a tag is tracking them or if they have android it will start making a noise. I don’t know how long it takes for that to go into affect. But if you put your air tag in lost mode, it won’t notify that person or make noise theoretically. But then again what stopping someone From putting it in lost mode and attaching it to someone. Will have to figure out more soon
Hi bro
In the bag or inside camera sounds cool.
Jared what kind of huge lens is that!?
I have a Nikon d500 and 3D printed a mount for inside the camera as a dummy battery. I am trying to figure something out for lenses but a mount for the airtag as a back cap might work.
@@MichaelSuperbacker it is a cannon 600 f/4 great for wildlife and sports.
The Anti stalking Functionality basically disables any use outside of a utopia where strangers actually return bags...
Yup this is not for use with anything that would be intentionally stolen
Yep, it will only work when the thief does not have a apple product :P
@@Telhmaaa not even then. The air tag will beep after being away from the home device for too long
I leave my belongings in my locked car to go in a business, some thief steals my stuff and I'm the "asshole"? You've got some twisted logic bro.
yes, you’re the asshole. you leave expensive equipment in a place where it’s easily stolen but you wanna cry why me
I only leave my gear in my car if I can see the car. Otherwise take it. Or I just take the expensive stuff with me and leave the heavy stuff like c stands. Never let go of you’re expensive gear
Unfortunately that is what we’ve come to. Can’t leave anything in the car without the risk of having it stolen, and we need to understand that.
I'm in europe, I've left stuff in my car all my life... same goes for almost everybody I know.
The asshole is the one stealing stuff! Sad how the US seems so far down the drain that we're even discussing this?!
@@randfee you’re not in East Europe are you? Not in Spain or even Germany I’d think. Maybe England but certainly not in any major cities. So I’m gonna guess Finland or maybe Italy but once again in no major city
Sorry, but it doesn’t make someone an „asshole“ if s/he leaves the stuff in the car.
An asshole is who gets in there to steal it.
I don’t think air tags are good for theft, I hope I’m wrong but I think the fact that Apple had to address the potential of stalkers nerfed them hard for theft. They might work in the very short term, but I think by the time you went to the cops and got some support you’d be shut out of luck.
Anyone can disable your AirTag, except you. I don’t think you can disable your own. So if you notice one following you around that isn’t yours, android or not, you can disable it, either by finding where the beeping is coming from and chucking it, or by using your iPhone to find it.
But I don’t think there is a “keep my airtag invisible to others” option because that would literally be “enable stalker mode” which they said they were careful to prevent.
Still great for lost items though! And maybe you can list a reward or something in the software to try and basically buy back the shit from the thieves, get yourself into a random situation?
Seems like insurance is likely the cheaper option. Still going to airtag my backpack, 25 bucks is a small gamble if it does work, but it certainly isn’t going to be my main defense against theft.
You nailed it
There was a video floating around with instructions on disabling the sound playing on the AirTags. Only other way for now to disable them is to take the battery out.
Another possibility would be to 3D print lens and body caps with airtag/tile/chipolo compartments attached. Maybe create a cap for the cap that would hold the tag.
Genius
Never would have thought to hide it in the battery grip. Great idea!
That was an excellent suggestion!
I think camera manufacturers could implement this into the cameras using the bluetooth features already there. Maybe link them to a smart phone app which prevents the camera from being used when out of range and notifying the owner via an alarm.
great ! You might follow up on insurance. I was on a trip when a friend dropped his camera into a lake ... 600' deep. The insurers wanted to see the camera to "prove" it was broken. er, right. So I asked and the small print did NOT cover camera loss. Several insures here in the UK also had small print that said loss was not covered. Theft is loss too right? wrong! Several (well 3) said that your house insurance covers theft! So what's the point of insurance? Just accidental damage.
I have a Nikon d500 and 3D printed a mount for inside the camera as a dummy battery. I am trying to figure something out for lenses but a mount for the airtag as a back cap might work.
Pro tip cut a small hole in the fabric and sew this into your camera bag. You aren't going to notice the 3 small stitches.
Would you rather have a minor cosmetic difference or lose $1000s of dollars of equipment when someone steals your bag and
removes the obvious Airtag in a pocket? Exactly. Just do it.
Airtags battery is rated to last over 1 year. But with all battery ratings its lower than it actually is so expect 1.5 - 2 years before you have to remove the stitches and replace the battery. Takes like 5 minutes.
Idk about you guys, but I’m in Canada, ain’t nobody gonna steal my stuff
Another great idea that I have is if you have a PeakDesign strap, it comes wkth this thing that you attach to the bottem of the camera like a tripod, and you can attach up to 4 dangling things there and attach one AirTag there to dangle around if you don’t mind. Obviously it’s better to keep in on a battey grip (if you have it) but yea, just my idea.
The battery grip was a location I was considering. Now I know there is a chance it may work. I hadn’t considered removing one battery if it won’t fit in place of the door on my camera.
I'll make sure to check all of the spots for a tag when I'm out stealing cameras ;)
Would be cool to see a 3D printed bracket that could hold the tag on the inside of a body cap.
Or you could just tape it. And if you're worried about residue, use gaff tape. You're welcome
Stay tuned! :)
@@MrPhilbautista I wouldn't suggest tape of any kind near the rear element of your lens.
I live just outside of Atlanta, and we have had a large uptick of car break-ins since the pandemic started. I know someone who lost over $10K of gear. This is going to be a game-changer here. I'm going to pick up a set next week.
They left their gear in their car???
It's not that good a deterrent against theft cos it's so easy to get rid of it. Even if it's hidden, if the thief has an iphone, his phone will inform him there's a tracker on him and that will warn him to look for it. So, maybe not everyone has an iphone, but I"d think many thieves do cos it's one of the most stolen phones.
but those AirTags won't work. If the theif has an iPhone, the tags will deactivate themselves and start beeping soon after they realize they might have been attached to the 'poor thief' by you in order to track that person.
Apple clearly states that one must not track anybody with these and that they have taken precautions against it.
While I perfectly understand the privacy implications for them doing this, it makes the airtags useless to me!
Love this video! I have totally have been doing this with a Tile tag before the air tag came out I cut into the bottom corner of my camera bag, secured it in the inside, and sewed it back shut (I also did this with my suitcase and carryon). I am now replacing my tile cards with air tags because they work better overall and there are more apple users than tile users for the search network. I like your idea of securing one on the outside of my bag also will probably do that with the airtags.
Problem with apples version is that is a tag is following someone around, the person who stole your stuff, it alerts them by notification or an audible beep if they are android users.
@@marcusnartatez if you select in your app find my that have been stolen it will not make any sound our make any notification
smart thieves will probably be able to locate the tags INSIDE the bags using a device
On the A1's vertical grip do you screw off part of the stem that goes into the camera in order to make the airtag work, or does the airtag just fit in there with no alterations?
Jared, what brand is that white megaphone to your right? staged behind the Canon and Sony cameras?
I hope that in the future camera manufacturers will include a similar device which will be in their expensive cameras, or at least provide a place for this gadget to fit inside the camera.
They can actually implement the AirTag in the camera itself. Third party products can be certified as airtags.
I think others have asked this already. But wouldn’t the anti stalking feature alert thieves?
From what I’ve read, this product won’t work as a LoJack for cameras, because it’s set up to warn the person who stole your property that they are being tracked. It’s purposefully designed to prevent people being tracked without their consent (like from a stalker) and the minute the their gets a warning about the device, they can disable it.
I think for sports shooters and people who always have a camera strap on you could either sew it onto your camera strap or use one of those loops. it’s not gonna stop theft but i always use the same two straps on both my bodies so i wouldn’t have to worry about it. and for the lens idea, even on a 70-200 if you want you can put it on the lens hood. i always have the lens on when shooting or in backwards when storing so it wouldn’t hurt
When you do your review for the R3, please add this in if you have a location for it? Thank you
Does it work on the tv remote?
Yes
Thank you for this informative video @jared. I have watched videos about this product but the way you explain the use of it, completely awesome.
Hi Jared: I would have to think that the camera manufactures could simply install the chip in the body of the camera or within the actual circuit board of the camera and then the owner would simply have to subscribe to the service to activate the signal. If this become an option, let it be known that I suggested it today. L.O.L. Cheers, Keith
Already bought the 4 pack 1 for keys , wallet, giving one to sister; and the last one will either be fore camera or mini safe I have.
I would suggest taping/glueing a tag inside your lens hood
Dont you have stealth fro velcro for the tags :)
The perfect way for thieves to find your air tag???
“AirTag is designed to discourage unwanted tracking. If someone else’s AirTag finds its way into your stuff, your iPhone will notice it’s traveling with you and send you an alert. After a while, if you still haven’t found it, the AirTag will start playing a sound to let you know it’s there.” - Apple’s website.
In other words, thieves just need a $25 air tag of their own to make the stolen ones sing.
I think this is a great product. My issue is that I don’t think that you can locate the item real time, if it’s far and just follow it. I don’t think Apple is taking things that are stolen into consideration, more than things being misplaced.
I find it ironic that the video showed the car window being smashed with a sign pointing to Oakland. I had my iPhone stolen by a person on a bike that ripped it out of my pocket in Oakland. I showed the police where the phone was on "find iPhone." The police said that that building was too dangerous for them to go to without a SWAT team and they were not going to call out a SWAT team for an iPhone. Heck in San Francisco and Oakland, the police won't even respond to someone breaking into your car. That was two years ago and it is much worse today.
Only issue I see with having things stolen is that if the burglar has an iPhone, they will be alerted that a puck is being used to track them (ref. LewLater/Laterclips)
Oh crap seriously? That would be a serious problem.
The NFC works with Android phones as well so the thief has a greater choice.
That’s a good point
I believe Rene Ritchie has mentioned that the puck alert on strangers iPhone triggers only until the airtag reaches a location and become stationary for a period of time. During that time assuming you realised the gear is stolen already you would have marked the tag as missing. It’s not foolproof but it’s something. If you think about it. Thieves can easily download the Tile app to locate Tile trackers too on gear they’ve stolen.
Great point!
Jared~ I am checking out your camera bag! is it in your store front?
I think you’ve covered most places to put the air tag except possibly the lens hood! However I thing an additional accessory or accessories would be more beneficial, such as a 3D Printed cold shoe mount for any camera! Velcro back to mount to any lens or Speedlight etc.
You could glue it on top of the shutter button, like some monstrously big soft release button.
I will grow a fro and hide it in my fro because fro knows photo~
Will the metal body of the camera block the signal?
Will have to test out
Here's a plan. Put two in your bag. Have one on the outside - a gimme if you will. That's the one you want them to to find. ;)
Then hide one deep within the bag. That's one they might not find because aren't looking for it.
And if you really want to get sneaky, have 2 within the bag. LOL
Since I had a bag stolen on a recent trip I am also looking into these air tags (the 4x bundle is priced about right). My idea so far has been to put it into one of the thin compartments that most bags feature on the interior, more specifically the biggest one that just goes to the bottom of the bag if there is any. Take a needle and carefully use some garn to stitch it to the bottom of interior side four or five times (that way you don't destroy your bag and can take it out after 2 years to replace the battery). You will have to bend the beg inside-out to do that. If there is a similar texture small piece of clothing I can get I will even wrap that on top of the air tag before doing so. The idea is that it requires extensive search of every single inch of the bag in order to even realise it's there and find it. So in case your bag is stolen hardly anyone dumps the bag right away and just carries the stuff without. At some point they will take out the goods but not until they have reached their destination and took the time to take out everything. They will probably get rid of the bag at some point but might have it lying around for even a couple of days there. More than enough to give you a good chance to track it and notify the police.
I personally don't think it's crucial to have them visible. You just give away that other ones might be nearby and the classic name, phone number, address etc is more than enough to make it simple for an honest finder to track you down. An honest helpful person will just attempt to text your on your phone, that's something you can put on the outside visible on your gear. I am still thinking about a good hidden solution for my camera and lenses themselves but have not come up with a very neat hidden and practical solution yet. But that's where the real value lies to me. For my purse I will put it into a thin and long compartment which is stiff and nobody really would check in there for cards or money since they are clearly visible.
It doesn’t work if it’s stolen only if you lose it.
@@muzlee7479As far as I understood the Air tags they will track until that person reaches the location which is based on his device stored as his home location. This means that until then you can track it anyways and he won't notice unless he sees and removes it physically. Even if he reaches his home you will see that marked as last location where your bag went, quite useful information (maybe it's a person from the hotel room staff who stole your gear and you find out that the last seen location was the flat of one of them) and if they don't bring it home it will keep tracking since it's not time based but location based. Maybe I misinterpret how they work but that's the information I gathered and while not being a great solution for that case (since if the person gets home a notification will pop up so they know and can bring the goods away) it's better than nothing. If that person happens to not own an iPhone then that person won't notice at all, in that case you get lucky so to speak. The attractive thing about them is that there are so many Apple device out there so that tracking has a good chance of success. Some of the other products out on the market just have a network of devices which is far too small in comparison. It just doesn't help all too much if I get a last seen a full block away and there are like 500 flats.
@@andreas7278 What apple said was it will detect when it’s following someone and will ping the iPhone or if they don’t have one it starts beeping. And even if it works, there is a good chance that the police won’t cooperate with you and 100% that you won’t convince the authorities to do a house search.
@@muzlee7479 If it is exactly as described by you then they make no sense for that use case. Petapixel wrote something different about them: petapixel.com/2021/04/26/apple-airtags-anti-stalker-feature-explained-how-it-can-track-thieves/
Maybe there is a solution out there on the market that really covers that use case well. The products of other companies I have seen so far all have the problem of using the same bluetooth concept and therefore too few people might have it .
@@andreas7278 It makes literally no sense. If it's true it has zero privacy, you can track anyone with it. Most people won't set their home in their phone because why would they? And with this you can track to someone's home, really cool. And the biggest issue wasn't even stated, what if they don't haven an iPhone?
Can't wait for stalkers to start using it if the website's info is correct.
Imo Camera manufacturers could implement FindMy in their Cameras, now that the Ecosystem is open for third parties
A roommate had his electric bike stolen, and it had a built-in tracker. He went with the police to the exact house, but they couldn't go in without a warrant. By the time they got it, the bike was chopped to bits and the guys were gone. Unless you plan to be Rambo getting your shit back, these are pointless as anti-theft devices, especially in places where thieves have the advantage over cops stuck in red tape.
I did buy a 4 pack of Air Tags to help me find my keys, wallet, and vehicles when I can't find them. Stick to insurance for your camera stuff.
Wouldn't putting the tracker inside the grip lower the range to get discovered? Would love to see that tested somehow.
I'm afraid that there's a small issue that you didn't mention: Lets say that I steal your bag and I'm also an iPhone 11/12 owner. As soon as I steal your bag and I start walk away with it, the iPhone will warn me that I have an unknown Airtag on me. As a thief, guess what I would do? I would take the bag and look really deep to throw away any air tags, and then go to my way, and you just totally lost your hardware.
Apple should have thought deeper how to handle this issue, but they didn't.
If you have a Domke bag you can gaff tape it to the underside of one of the bag inserts - so it’s sandwiched between the bottom of the bag and the insert which is held in place by velcro.
What's with the shake on 4:03?
Quick note. I had this same idea, but, if an airtag is following someone who isn’t the owner (aka) a thief, it will notify them that they are being followed by an air tag. Which is a bummer, because I wanted to buy one. It’s mainly designed for losing things, not for thieves unfortunately.
I'm wondering if putting it so deep in the camera won't reduce the Bluetooth range enough to make it non-functional.
Not sure how the authorities in your country would handle this, but I’m pretty sure the cops over here won’t have the jurisdiction to bust in and search a house just because your apple fridge magnet tells you it’s inside that house.
Gratitude for sharing an important discussion we need to start for something many know has insightful utility in a Gear Acquisition Syndrome heavy community. I’m looking forward to Michael’s Arts & Crafts posting video to DIY AirTags holders. (I see you CRICUT!!!) I think the moment stick on is a starting point for what we need in the short term. It’s better that what Hermès & Apple are initially offering. The Accessory market is the game. Also, countdown to Camera/drone/lighting manufacturers looking at that eBike company & offering AirTags built-in options.
Wow, I needed this a few months ago.
Okay, I've got an idea. Get a couple of cheap ND filters from amazon, sandwich the airtag between them, then screw them onto the lens you want to protect. Or, instead of an ND filter, you could spray the inside of another type of filter with black paint to hide the airtag.
You could use the refill adhesive strips for Command hooks to stick them to your gear.
This video is amazing, thank you for producing the thought experiment that what we were all instantly thinking when we saw the airtag
Electronics are shielded. Wouldn’t the metal frame and components block out the RF from Apple’s chip? Bluetooth uses ultra high frequency that can be blocked easily.
I don't think that this works. AirTag's "Anti-Stalker Feature" will automatically inform the thief about the AirTag if he/she has an iPhone. Apple has recognized this and told that AirTag isn't an anti-theft device. Here's a video about this:
th-cam.com/video/h9FfUFzg4SE/w-d-xo.html
It still has some value in the theft scenario. The thief gets a notification only if he takes the tag into his home location. So there’s a window of time to track and a home location revealed to the person tracking. A thief might dispose of a bag that is tracking them before bringing it home, that might lead to recovery.
@@rosnow Oh, I only read this info from Apple (wasn't that specific):
"...To discourage tracking without your knowledge, Find My will notify you if an unknown AirTag is seen moving with you over time. An AirTag that isn't with the person who registered it for an extended period of time will also play a sound when moved so you can find it, even if you don’t use an iOS device. If you detect an unknown AirTag, use the steps below to learn about the AirTag and how to disable it."
There’s more explanation in this video: th-cam.com/video/DEbm2iG1TNU/w-d-xo.htmlm59s
@@rosnow Thanks!
@@rosnow Also, I didn't know that you can link to a certain timestamp - so thanks for (unintentionally) showing this too! 😃
Inside the body cap?
I stuff one in the foam of my pelican cases. Through the case it still reads and no one knows it’s there. So with a combination lock and an air tag it should be good to go.
Or pay the $100 a year to insure your stuff and just replace it. I've seen plans even less than that.
Don't leave crap in your car, but if you can't help yourself, get the proper level of auto insurance that covers break ins. If you have $10K in equipment it's a bit odd to leave it exposed like that.
Because if you're in a big city, the cops will spend 0.0 secs of time looking for your stuff.
I live in Chicago and had at least 8 friends have their car stolen, only one was recovered because it was found abandoned by the side of the road soaked in blood.
The rest hit a car fence and vanished.
Just curious, does anyone have their camera gear insured? If so, what company do you use?
my r5 and 85rf are insured directly through canon, it was like 300 bucks for both for 2 years of repair/replacement for normal ware or accidental damage
@@wilee4626 thanks for the info, I’m thinking about doing the same for my Nikon if they offer it.
I am not a pro but my home insurance company insured about $2500 worth of camera gear I have for something like $30 for the year and no deductible, the won't insure my drone though, had to do that through DJI. I have Progressive.
Inside the R5/R6 camera grip is genius!
Look at Moment, they're doing adhesive mounts for Airtags for both flat and curved surfaces. Even fabric ones.
when you have an airtag, others know something valuable is inside
it's a $25 tag. even cheap lenses are $100. just having the tag doesn't mean there's a $16,000 lens in there
You where saying if got stolen, then your suggesting putting air tags on hot shoe, on lens loops, would a thief throw it away if it sees it, you should put it where it is not obvious, but if a thief has an apple phone then he can will know and throw it away. I think the GPS where only you would know where it is, is much preferable.. I think others will try to scan lost bags or belongings near by and get to it then throw the air tags and keep the stuff..
Ok everyone, listen to Jared. Here's my experience to validate this video. I went to Europe for a couple months. We flew into Venice airport and went to baggage claim. My wife went to the ladies room while I waited at a luggage carrosel. I had my sling bag on me that had my cell phone, camera, a couple lenses, wallet, cash, and a 360 camera. When my bags popped out, I hooked my sling onto the luggage cart, bent over and got the bags on it and went to sit down and wait for the wife. I reached for my sling to get my phone and it was gone. Panic set in, we went to the airport Carabinieri (police) to report it. While there I remembered the air tag in the sling bag... OMG, the wife loaded the app and there is was, still in the baggage claim ... the police retrieved it with all contents intact. God is good.
Two is one. One is none.
This should be built into every new camera.
Jared, the idea to put the tags into the battery compartment sound really good, but is definately a bad idea. you will reduce significant the reach though the metal housing of the camera maybe from 100 to 10 meter. so the probability to contact the tag to other ios devices is badly reduced...
Jered, why don't you come up with a lens cup that has a hiden built-in holder for the apple/Samsung tags, and make it a MyGearVault merch?
09:15 Don’t say where??? Oh my my daze 🔥 🤣🤣🤣
My main idea to hide an airbag is to connect it to the shoulder strap of my camera, and make like a fully black version and clip it on there. But that may be too obvious to find.
“Dont say up my ass” 😂😂😂😂😂
Can you do a video of the best Underwater cameras being on a budget??
You could also use Velcro tape in the cap.
Where can I get an I Shoot Raw camera bag?
I have a few left. I’ll need to put them up for a sale.
But would it work inside a metal camera?
The Thief is watching the video too ,Guys take care of your gears . Make sure you change the look of Airtag as its very appealing to eye,coat it with some Carbon fiber film.
1. Place the tag on the inner part of Lens hood. Or if you are not using MF Ring you might place it inside MF Ring (kinda stupid)
2. Cut a small part of bag from inside and place it in there and stitch it back
3. On Camera bag inside Rain Cover
4. Outer part of Camera Sensor Cap .
Cheers!
Yea I was thinking from the beginning, put it in the battery grip or take the battery out when not in use and stuff it in the battery compartment.
Thanks Jared!!!!! Now the robbers know where to look for the airtags
Thief #1 to Thief #2: We got it! But what if it has one of those GPS tags thingamajigs?
Thief #2: Oh, simple. Just watch Jared Polin's video about where people put the tags.
Update: Thief #2: And besides, Amazon says it's out of stock! (as of May 4)
I have been doing this with TILE for a year now.
Does the TILE have some sort of "Anti-Stalker Feature" like AirTag? If not, then it could be a good option. Because of this function the thief will be automatically informed about the AirTag if he/she has an iPhone.
@@tkermi I’d imagine if you mark it as lost it won’t notify them
@@kc7159 I have understood that with AirTag that's not possible. Otherwise it could be used for stalking and the whole "Anti-Stalker Feature" would be useless. Here's a short video about that:
th-cam.com/video/h9FfUFzg4SE/w-d-xo.html
@@tkermi apparently the thief is only notified once they reach their home location.
@@rosnow (For clarity I answer here too 😂) Oh, I only read this info from Apple (wasn't that specific):
"...To discourage tracking without your knowledge, Find My will notify you if an unknown AirTag is seen moving with you over time. An AirTag that isn't with the person who registered it for an extended period of time will also play a sound when moved so you can find it, even if you don’t use an iOS device. If you detect an unknown AirTag, use the steps below to learn about the AirTag and how to disable it."
Every photographer needs this.... IF you have an iPhone. If you are on Android, you can only scan a tag you found. But it would do no good to own one.
Moment makes an adhesive for curved surfaces-might be good for big white lenses…
kool thanks jared
Didn't know about my gear vault, looks awesome.
I haven't tried it yet, but for those of us with 3d printers (or access to 3d printing, such as at public libraries), I bet there will be some interesting ways to incorporate these trackers into lens cap designs and hot shoe mounts. As well as potentially clips for tripods, etc.
thats a business idea, aftermarket lens cap with t tracker oem into it
My son gave me one of his. Will try it on the camera grip and see if it can be read.
Just tried it out and works. Will get some more for other kit.
The bluetooth signal probably cooks your brain more than it interferes with the camera. If you like to emit signals yourself, maybe swallow an airtag. Could be painful on the way out though. Or have one implanted.
im thinking of dissasembling one and find a way to put it into my macbook and have it work
why? u can locate ur macbook through "find my" anyway
@@i.vasilev yea but not live when it’s off
My gearvault needs to get the Canadian insurance thing finalized!
I think Cameramanufactures all ready build GPS in to most of there cameras. They should develop some sort of software that detects, if the funktion is on, that the Camera is stolen and sent you live position updates on to your phone. I don't really see that the Airtag is a good solution to theft.