wista 4x5 and mamiya 7 stolen - REWARD

On friday night (9/12), four bags were taken out of the trunk of my crappy 1983 light blue toyota celica. It either occured on houston street near wooster in SOHO, nyc or on Lorimer st. (near driggs) in greenpoint, Brooklyn. The bags contained all of my camera equipment, important papers, rolls of film I shot, unexposed film, and clothes. I am an art student with a great deal of debt and no insurance. I can't afford to replace most of the items, and some things, like my negatives and papers, are simply irreplaceable. I have been making art with these cameras for years and have an attachment to them. I'm pretty devastated by this loss and am willing to offer a handsome reward for the safe return of my things, NO QUESTIONS ASKED. It will be worthwhile to whoever has the equipment, because you won't be able to fetch too much for it on the used marked. These things are very important to me, and I am only concerned about their safe return. Please contact me if you have them. I can be reached anytime at 917.345.0206 or via email at matthew.connors@yale.edu. Here is a brief list of things taken. thanks.

Grey Bessler Backpack containing - Wista Technical SP 4x5 (black, somewhat beat up) - Schneider Super Angulon 120mm f/8 lens (serial# 14217083) - Mamiya 7 body, grey (serial # Q_1332, I’m not sure what the second letter is, B?) - 65mm lens for Mamiya 7 (this had been dropped, so there is a large dent on the filter ring) - wista 120 roll film back (in original box) - several 4x5 film holders

Blue Tamarac camera bag - 40 rolls of unexposed kodak 120 film - 5 rolls of exposed kodak 220 film - 10 sheets of exposed 4x5 film

Green Crumpler shoulder bag - two folders with articles, teaching materials, and personal papers - personal notebook

Brown north face backpack - various clothes, toiletries and papers

Hi All,

This is a challenge to all the folks on this website...can we, as a community, help this person out with his loss?

I'm willing to donate a box of Fujichrome film and a lense (I think it's a convertible Symmar) to the cause.

As a Canuck (Canadian heh!)... we believe in helping out wherever we can? How about the rest of you folks?

Lend a hand...it'll make you feel warm and fuzzy ALL over!

Cheers

matthew - presume you don't mind me posting it elswhere

tim

Oops...spoke too soon. I was just told that the convertible symmar was donated to a local college.

Sorry Mathew...but, if it helps, I still have that box of Fujichrome film

Cheers

this may sound painfully obvious....but did you try contacting all of the photo stores in NYC that buy this kind of stuff???

also the few pawn shops that still exist in Manhattan???

I would fax all the normal places such as fotocare, alkit, lens and repro, cambridge, b and h, camera traders, photo gizzmo, adorama, photo habitat, and the other places that would actually buy that stuff.

I would keep an I on craigslist.org and see if anybody is stupid enough to try the sell the stuff.

I am truly sorry about your loss, and hope everything works out.

Make sure you notify Marflex as they are the US service providor for Wista. Marflex Service 16 Chapin Rd. Pine Brook, NJ 07058 973 808-9626

Also contact all local - SOHO and Green Point - police departments and call them once a week to see if they have found your items. The police - in NYC from personal experience - will not call you if they have found your items ( you have to call them over and over ).

I second James Driscoll's suggestion. Back when I lived in the NYC area, the company I worked for had some high-end audio equipment stolen. We called all of the NYC-area audio equipment dealers we knew of, as well as a handful of pawnshops, and sho'nuf, the thief turned up at one of them, equipment in tow, just over a week later.

and, of course, keep an eye on ebay...