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Camera Security in Dorms?
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I'll be living in a dorm on campus this year (my freshman year at UConn) and I was wondering whether anyone here had any experiences with keeping cameras in dorms. I was thinking of buying a padlock and keeping all my equipment in some sort of "lockable" drawer...good idea?
I'm just a little worried about being in a close, open environment where doors are required to be open and people come and go as they please - leaving equipment about is just asking for it to be taken, I think.
If anyone has any advice for me, I'd love to hear it. I appreciate any and every little bit of info I can get.
Thanks guys, cheers!
Milos
FTR right now I have a DVX, tripod, glidecam, and all the goodies that go along with them. At some point, hopefully soon, I'd like to upgrade to something HD, maybe an HVX (with a 35mm perhaps?) but nonetheless something with more value, hence the purpose of this thread. Thanks again.
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If you have a single, just keep your room locked. If you have roommates, this can be difficult because some people will want the door unlocked and some people will want it locked. It usually ends up in it not being locked all the time. If this is the case, definitely get some sort of lock for your camera stuff. Its not worth loosing it all!
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It's definitely a double, sorry for not specifying. I'm not sure what the door policies are in the rooms but obviously it can't be locked all the time - people will have access.
Any ideas as to how to lock it up? The "lockable" drawer?
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get dorm insurance dude, im at manhattanville, its under a 100 bucks i think and covers up to 5g's worth of stuff, took a few pictures of all my expensive stuff, camera, computer, skis, etc. an easy way to live worry free
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i would either keep stuff in my car, or buy some sort of locker to have in my room to lock stuff up in.
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My freshmen year of college when I was paired up with a random person, my door was always locked unless one of us was in the room. It's really not too hard. But my buddy had some nice photo gear and bought a big chest, almost like harry potter, stored it under his bed. Then locked it closed but also chained it to the metal bed frame.
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that sounds like the right move to make. something big will give you the space you want/need, hard to move around which means WAY harder to steal without notice.
Does uconn really have an open door policy? that sounds like bullshit to me, I'm sure you're allowed to lock your door whenever you want.
Here at my dorms the doors are always locked and you can't have an unlocked option.
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Keep it hidden away in a closest or something and lock your dorm always.
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definitely get some insurance. its cheap and replaces basically anything you own if its stolen (or just broken)
my little point and shoot camera malfunctioned (something got in the lens) and i was able to claim it and received the amount of money the camera cost when it was new. pretty good deal.
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I have no clue, but I'm assuming the worst...nah mean?
These are all good ideas - I'll look into the dorm insurance, but I still think its best to be able to prevent the hassle altogether, so locking the stuff up still sounds good.
Thanks gaiz.
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your going to uconn? cool man we should meet up and ride at southington or sundow during the week sometime.
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get a big ol' pelican case and slide it under your bed or desk and bike lock it to some permanent fixture. Will protect it from damage, theft, water and pretty much anything in between.
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dorm inshurance sounds pretty good. and who ever recommended putting it in your car. That is a terrible idea.
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I bought a safe and drilled it into my closet and I plan on doing the same thing next year too. Not technically allowed, but I prefer knowing all my cam equipment is safe versus caring about a few drill holes.
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I board at highschool, the desks on our rooms all have locked drawers. So that is probably your best bet. But if it is too small or your room doesn't have one, I would recommend getting a lock box. You don't really need a big safe, just get a box that locks (you can get them at staples) and put it under your bed and lock it to the bed frame with a ski lock or a bike lock or something. It won't take up much space and people won't deal with taking it.
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i went to uconn obvi. had my hvx there all the time. i dont even think my roomate knew i had it to be honest. in your room mil you should have an armoir type thing. you can just put everything in there and then hang clothes on the hanger in front and you should be good. i dont think anyone looks in there, as long as the doors close. are you living in North West? or what? i also have this file drawer thing (got it at staples) that has a lock on it, and its money. you can put some shit in there for sure. at least the most valuable shit
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I gotta get something like this for my cameras, some of my stuff would be difficult to even find on sale, and expensive if I did find one. The last thing I need is somebody blowing though 20 rolls of film or breaking something, or stealing. I was gonna go looking for some type of lockable chest soon. Chaining it to the bed is a good idea.
UDel anybody?
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Thefts in the dorms are all crimes of opportunity. Your stuff won't get stolen if your room is locked at all times. I was very nervous about this going into the dorms because I had my XHA1 and laptop, ect. I never locked anything up within the room, but I was really careful about locking the door whenever I was gone or asleep. You'd be surprised how often people enter other's rooms while they're sleeping and steal shit. Kinda sketch...
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...exactly - I just don't know if my roommate will be locking it at all times, and its nice to have that extra security, you know what I mean?
Jeff, I'm living in Buckley, the honors dorms.
I think what I'm going to do is get that "lockbox" type thing and chain it to something. It doesn't have to be huge, just big enough for my camera isht, tripod not included, and it can just be small and discrete under my bed or in my closet.
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I would advise you to advertise the fact that you have all this gear. I was fine with just keeping it under my bed. There weren't any problems with people stealing things, but when someone wasn't in the room we would lock it up. Just stay smart and you should be alright. We don't have dorm insurance at YU but that sounds like a super idea.
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damn mil your a smartie.
i think you got the right idea on what to get. go to staples with the shit you would want to lock up and buy a nice safe or lockbox with a real secure lock on it. id defiantly chain it to something too so someone cant just run out with it.
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Get a case of some sort, a large thick bin will do, with a lockable lid. Keep it in there, locked with a combo lock, and secure it to the bed frame, or desk.
Keep your door locked.
Don't advertise the fact. If everyone on your floor knows you have $5k in camera gear under your bed, you have a problem.
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i've had no problems at school for three years, you'd want your roomate to lock your room anytime no one's there regardless of what you have in it, just establish that first day not a big deal. just keep the camera in whatever case you normally have it and then throw it under your bed and you'll be fine. the only thing that ever gets stolen from dorms at uconn is laptops cause they're easily visible and movable. just take away the visible part and you'll be fine
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Definitely get a lock box. Rob's ps3 got stolen out of his room while he was sleeping because his room mate forgot to lock the door
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def wanna keep your money and smaller/easy to steal stuff hidden or in something lockable. I lived in the dorms and I heard of so much shit getting stolen. Money, xbox's, ipods, cameras, laptops....its really hard to keep tabs, especially if you have a roommate who wants to leave the door unlocked a lot. But best thing to do is not keep that shit out in the open. maybe hide it under clothing or behind something. I also got $40 in quarters stolen haha, not nothing big but lost all my laundry money!
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You often need to train room mates to lock the door. I had two rules, door is locked unless someone is awake and in the room, and everyone takes a shower atleast once a day. I had trouble enforcing both of those.
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i was lucky to get my roommate to shower once a week. it was gross. but yeah mil in buckley you shouldn't have a problem. that is so far away from EVERYTHING. good luck with that. just keep it in a box like people said and dont let people know it is in there. i never once told my freshman roommate i even had a camera. what they dont know wont hurt them
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this. under your bed is also a good spot.
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