$27,000 in Leica and Hasselblad Gear Stolen from The Camera Store
There has been another notable burglary in the world of camera shops. The Camera Store, the Calgary-based store that has a huge following on YouTube, was broken into this past weekend, and the burglars made off with roughly $35,000 CAD (~$27,000) in Leica and Hasselblad cameras and lenses.
Stolen were a green limited-edition Leica MP Safari Edition camera (one of just 1,500 made), an $8,000 Hasselblad X1D camera, and three Hasselblad XC lenses (the 30mm, 45mm, and 90mm). The serial numbers are #09008593, #UQ27014288, #2WV10784, #2UVT10447, and #2VVT10265, respectively.
“This theft seems very targeted since specific items were taken,” the store writes, and CBC notes that other equipment worth over $80,000 was left behind. “We hope that someone in the local photo community will hear something about this.”
The Camera Store is now offering a $5,000 CAD ($3,800) shopping spree reward to anyone who can provide information that leads to a conviction of the culprits.
Burglars have been targeting camera stores and rental companies in recent years. LensProToGo lost $500,000 in gear in 2015, burglars sawed a hole in a wall behind a Nikon display case at another store in 2016, and hundreds of cameras and lenses were stolen from Midwest Photo just earlier this year.
Update on 12/23/17: The burglars were arrested and everything has now been recovered.
