Photographer Retrieves $25K Worth of Stolen Gear Thanks to AirTags, Films Encounter on Meta Ray-Bans
A photographer had over $25,000 worth of camera gear stolen from him before quickly retrieving it thanks to a well-placed AirTag.
Benj Haisch filmed his encounter with the thieves on his Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses after the bag was stolen while traveling in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Haisch had been on a family bike ride when he arrived back to the apartment he was staying in. He put his camera bag into a bike buggy and forgot it when he went inside. When he came back out, it was gone.
Inside the bag was a goldmine of camera gear: a Sony a9 III, a Hasselblad 907X with a CFV 100C medium format back on it, a Sony FE PZ 16-35mm f/4 G lens, a Hasselblad XCD 38mm f/2.5 V lens, a Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH lens. In total, the equipment was worth over $25,000.
“I do this for a living,” Haisch explains on his YouTube channel. “I carry significantly more money in gear than that when I’m going to photograph weddings or events… They’re tools for me.”
After realizing he no longer had his bag, Haisch quickly remembered he had an AirTag stashed on his a9. After a brief technical problem, it showed up a few miles away so Haisch was quickly out the door to track the AirTag down.
On his way out, Haisch grabbed his Meta Ray-Bans which recorded a literal eye-witness account of his encounter with the robbers.
Confronting a Camera Thief
After arriving at the location, Haisch spotted his camera bag and immediately confronted the men holding it. The encounter was remarkably cordial as Haisch calmly explained the facts of the case, what was inside the bag, and that he had AirTags attached to it.
“I had caught them off guard without being threatening,” explains Haisch. “It never turned into anything more than a simple argument about how I can get this bag back.”
The surprised thief basically owned up to taking the bag and Haisch was able to get his gear back. However, the man did ask Haisch for some money to which the photographer agreed.
“One of his friends pipes up and says ‘Make him give you a hundred’ or something,” adds Haisch.
100 Danish Krone is roughly equivalent to $14 and the thief doubled it and asked for 200 Krone.
“At that point, I have a decision to make,” says Haisch. “Should I continue to escalate the situation or should I unjustly give this guy the equivalent of $28?”
While Haisch acknowledges that it was an injustice, he agreed to give the man 200 Krone after deciding it was the best course of action.
“The man was clearly homeless, he told me he was,” adds Haisch.
“I have empathy for people in hard situations. It doesn’t excuse the fact he’d stolen my bag, at all. But, I understand it’s a hard place to be.”
Haisch tells PetaPixel that he did file a police report afterward and handed over the raw footage.
“What I did isn’t recommended as going to going to the police is always going to be the safer course of action. But sadly I knew if I went that route I’d have very little chance of getting my things back,” he says.
The entire experience left Haish extremely grateful to his AirTags and urges photographers to get a set themselves.
Update 8/19: Updated with Haisch’s comments about filing a police report.
