Lost a 30D! But have hope.

September 16, 2007 3:30 PM

Lost Camera! How can I search the 'net's for it?

I lost a Canon 30D SLR camera. Games up right, ill never find it. The kicker is I have my email address set in the camera, so any photos it takes will be tagged with my email address unless said finder happens to know about this, and how to change it (you need the Canon software, and its hidden in a menu).

So! How can I search the web for EXIF data, specifically my email address or the camera serial number? Are there services that offer this? Would it be worth emailing flickr, or the other major sources? I would have to assume if someone picked up a 30D eventually it would get a photo from it posted on the net, and as long as EXIF survives, it should show up!

posted by sirliberal to computers & internet (4 comments total)

I'm guessing it's gone forever, but you could keep an eye on ebay. If your lucky it has a distinguishing mark on it which you might be able to identify if they upload a picture. Too bad they couldn't take a picture of the camera WITH the camera- then you could just check the EFIX data on all ebay pictures of that camera. Did that make sense?

Maybe keep an eye on ebay and craigslist to see if that camera is being sold in your area without the software and accesories that it came with?

I can't imagine how you would search for your email address in a photo tag. The web just doesn't work that way, the data needs to be indexed in some searchable database before you can look for it. I don't know if flickr offers this ability or not. And this is assuming they actually eventually upload a picture to flickr. And that is assuming they have their real life contact information stored in their flickr profile.
posted by parallax7d at 4:12 PM on September 16, 2007

Major photo-hosting sites infact do index the meta data (click onto the more properties on any flickr photo -- well -- most). There are services out there that search for rights tagged photos, it seems like there would be an exif search of some kind out there.. never know.
posted by sirliberal at 5:16 PM on September 16, 2007

You can search Flickr images (if it is a public image) with a Google search like this one.

Another popular Gallery app ("Gallery") has Exif data as a popup, but the Exif is still searchable in the page's HTML, so it will turn up in your searches (perhaps search for 30D and your email address). I imagine other photo galleries will be similarly searchable.
posted by misterbrandt at 5:30 PM on September 16, 2007

Also, get a rider on your homeowners/renters insurance that covers your camera, laptop, etc... for loss.
posted by Caviar at 5:00 AM on September 17, 2007