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Has the unthinkable ever happened?


Patrick Cooper

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I know there are some dumb thieves around. However, I'm really curious if anyone has ever heard of a Panavision movie camera being auctioned on eBay?

 

That or Panavision is facing insolvency. ;) I never understood why they don't sell any of their products.

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I don't know about an entire camera body ending up on there, but I do know odd bits and pieces have over the years. I also seem to remember people at the company checking for their products online, and then getting the sellers in trouble.

 

When I was at Panavision Woodland Hills a while ago, someone told me a story that could just be legend, but that either a camera body or body and set of Primos went missing. It was stolen, and when the thieves couldn't move the items they stole, they just left the box behind the bushes at Panavision, to be found several days latter.

 

I don't know if this story is true, but you head tons of these over the years.

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A Panavision lens (I believe it was a Primo) was on ebay about 5 or 6 years ago. I know Panavision took care of it rather quickly. Luckily, the thief had made a point to post a close up of the serial # in the ad.

I heard about a whole camera truck (with a few Panavision packages on it) being stolen a while ago. The theives tried to hold it for ransom and both the production office and Panavision told them, "Good luck selling the stuff, we're not paying any ransom". The truck was found a day or two later, with all of the gear in the truck and intact, a few miles from where it was stolen.

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A Panavision lens (I believe it was a Primo) was on ebay about 5 or 6 years ago. I know Panavision took care of it rather quickly. Luckily, the thief had made a point to post a close up of the serial # in the ad.

I heard about a whole camera truck (with a few Panavision packages on it) being stolen a while ago. The theives tried to hold it for ransom and both the production office and Panavision told them, "Good luck selling the stuff, we're not paying any ransom". The truck was found a day or two later, with all of the gear in the truck and intact, a few miles from where it was stolen.

 

Now see they should have taken them out of the country to sell. I bet the Chinese would love to get their hands on a few Panavision cameras to copy. B)

 

There has been a few cases of Panavision insurance write-off's etc. They get dropped into the sea or somtehing and some guy salvages them later.

 

That's cool but were would you get parts to repair them? Machine shop I guess. :unsure:

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Last month an entire Preston case disappeared from one of the prep rooms. I asked one of the techs about it, and basically had the attitude of "These things happen....". I said "Are you gonna check the security cameras? They said "No", and to this day I'm not sure if that Preston ever resurfaced or if they bothered to check on it.

 

I was pretty surprised to see everyon so kind of blase about it. (I work at Panavision)

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Now see they should have taken them out of the country to sell. I bet the Chinese would love to get their hands on a few Panavision cameras to copy. B)

Thieves are generally pretty stupid. If they'd been smart enough to think of that they probably wouldn't be a thief.

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I know there are some dumb thieves around.

However, I'm really curious if anyone has ever heard of

a Panavision movie camera being auctioned on eBay?

 

Stealing a Panavision camera or any serious film camera for that matter

Is like stealing the Hope Diamond or the Mona Lisa.

 

Not much you can do with it after you have it.

And posting it on Ebay is like rapist or killer posting a video of their crime

Just further concrete evidence.

 

You have to be a pretty clever thief to steal a camera off the set...

And then turn into pretty stupid person to go and post it on ebay.

 

However that insurance scam could work.

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And btw why do Panavision refuse to sell their cameras, anyway? I've never really come up with a plausible reason...

 

Hi,

 

If you plan to sell a product, it has to be made to a price at which you can sell it. Panavision has no such restriction so can make products that it can't sell at a profit, however by renting them over a long period can make money (in theory).

 

Stephen

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