Thieves needed only ten seconds to swipe photographer Brett Costello's gear in Rio

I am Brazilian, not from Rio though, and I feel bad that he has lost his gear. I do hope they catch the culprits and recover his stuff.

It can be a bit disheartening when reading the news that this Olympics has had its share of problems concerning safety and some glaring omissions on part of the government over some projects that were not 100% the way I wish they were. And yes, they should be pointed out.

Having said that the level of criticism on part of the media borders the lack of common sense. One time occurances such as this are not a norm, they are the exception. Is it fair to blame the previous Olympic for the over budget games or lack of preparation on public transport? What about another Olympics with problems with minorities? Or some winter Olympics concerning bribery? Is this what we will always remember them about too?

We can always play the blame game and find faults with whatever country one names.

He must be pretty naive to sit his bag down in Rio. I'd wear my backpack on my front. I i sat it down I'd put my leg through the strap. Tough lesson to learn.

The new date inscription and security measures have made stealing smart phones so much more trouble. I wonder if they can implement something like that in cameras.

There are lot of thieves and assailants in RIO and Brazil. Was traveling in Rio during Carnival and was warned by my local friend to not take my expensive cameras during the carnival. So, I took my small Sony video cam out and I felt like all eyes were on me.
Really not very safe in Brazil.

Look at all the youtube videos of the current state of Rio leading up to the olympics. The cops aren't being paid and crime is through the roof, even for non-tourists. They really shouldn't have had an olympics there this year, it should have been diverted to somewhere else that's not going through financial ruin at the moment.

As a consolation, any images still on the camera is not going to be lost and is on its way to the Getty.

I have a trick that prevents most thefts: whenever I set my backpack down I step one foot through a shoulder strap. If anyone grabs the bag, the strap is hooked around my leg. Thieves in these environments are only interested in fast grab and go. They will let go as soon as they see what's happened.
If I sit at a table, I snap the waist belt or sternum strap of the backpack through an opening on an adjacent chair (back or leg) or table. Nobody notices that this is done but any thief would have to drag a chair or table through the coffee shop to make off with my bag.

I'm OCD/paranoid about my camera bag. Even if it's heavy I always have it securely held to me. If I'm sitting in a cafe its between my feet with the strap around my foot. I've had several groups who clearly were evaluating me as a target, then saw how well I was holding onto my bag, and they moved on. If they're desperate it won't matter but most thieves are looking for fast and easy targets. If you're not careless you're usually OK.

When you work as a professional photographer anywhere this is an occupational hazard. You are such an obvious target for thieves and it is so easy to be distracted. I have always been obsessive about keeping hold of my bag, but the problem is that distractions can be more than just being engaged in conversation. If someone spills hot coffee on you or tries to pick a fight with you on some fictitious basis, it is very hard to stay focused on what is happening with your equipment.

I was in Rio at world cup, forgot my camera gear also in Ipanema in one restaurant , when I come back 20 min later bag was still there (I was sure it was already stolen) , later that year when I was visiting Copenhagen same camera bag was stolen in one restaurant while my four friends and me was eating and my bag was just near me (no body saw anything).
We just need to be more careful with our gears this days...

Welcome to Rio!

Best Olympics ever...

Descriptions of the girl say she was tall and tan and young and lovely.

Rick

So sorry Mr Costello. I travel a lot for clients with loads of photo and video gear and could think of nothing worse. Not just for the loss, but also for the problem that we have clients to serve and cannot do our jobs without the tools of our trade. As a nitpicking aside though, this is not technically a "robbery" as stated in the story unless one considers the lady in question to be a weapon or somehow the items were taken by force. Strictly speaking, the events as described would be theft.

When high end camera gear costs as much as a person earns in 5-10 years at a regular job in a typical 3rd world country; expect it to be stolen. It is like solid gold.

I had it happen in Italy and France and both times my gear was in my backpack and they could only pull but not run with it, the bag did get damaged. Never rest your bags even for a second. Always make it hard for the thief so you don't become a target.

Sounds like a job for the Canon professional service team!

Ah, the pleasures of holding the Olympics in a country with a huge disparity of incomes.