How to Find a Lost Camera

Have you ever experienced losing a most precious gadget such as a digital camera? For those who have, for sure, you sleepless nights wondering where your photographic device got lost or who might have stolen it. Even though it costs just a hundred dollars but if the item has a very sentimental value and bought from your hard earned money, it’s natural to be upset over losing a camera.

finding a lost camera

"Ruin View" captured by Tony Taffinder (Click Image to See More From Tony Taffinder)

Fortunately, you can get help fast and easy these days. There’s a free service (CameraTrace) on the internet that will help you trace your lost or stolen camera. It is uses an advanced technology that scans top photo sharing sites such as Flickr, PictureSocial and 500px and then extracts camera serial numbers from the EXIF (exchangeable image format) metadata in the photos. As such, a camera owner will be able to track down his photos. It will also be easier for you to find your camera especially if there are GPS coordinates embedded in your images.

In tracing your camera through its serial number, you have two options. You can opt for the free service or pay a small fee of just $10 which will require you to register your camera. Those who tried the free service, however, claimed to have had no luck in getting their cameras back. It wouldn’t hurt then to pay just a small price to officially register your gadget.

The process of tracing your camera, you will be provided with the latest location data of your device once you enter the serial number. The location data that will be provided to you is based on the photos uploaded very recently.

If you register, on the other hand, you will avail of the active image monitoring technology. This allows scanning of new images taken using your digital camera. Currently, the database of CameraTrace has more than 11 million cameras and still counting.

In addition to the advanced search technology, you will be provided with a lost and found tag that you can attach to your camera. This will be helpful in recovering your device in the event it gets lost or stolen. The tag is in a sticker form and made from durable metallic material so you can be sure to have it on your camera for a long time. Details included in the tag are a special web address and a code.

The web service offers assistance as well in making a police report. It utilizes an online system in filing a report to the local police departments. If needed, the staff will also communicate with the police on your behalf to make sure that they get the details they want to help them search for your lost digital camera.

This new web tool for recovering lost digital cameras has already proven effective. According to wired.com, a photographer was able to successfully recover his photographic device worth $9,000 and that occurred while CameraTrace was still at its testing stage.

So there’s no need to fret should you lose your camera. Get help right away through this advanced web tool.

About the Author:
For information about digital cameras, visit 42photo.com, New York’s legendary camera store in business for over 40 years.

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