Is it possible to track and recover a lost camera? Apparently yes, thanks to Matt Burns's invention, StolenCameraFinder. This site is very simple: you just drag a photo taken by your camera and the system detects the device's serial number, which is attached to each image through the EXIF standard, along with a bunch of details about the equipment and the photo you uploaded.
The advancement of technology has allowed us not to need specialized security services to know the location of our phones or computers if we lose them or they are stolen. But if you lose or have something like your camera stolen, it will be very difficult to recover it. Unless, of course, you get lucky with the StolenCameraFinder system, created by Matt Burns.
How to find your lost camera
The StolenCameraFinder site works very simply. The web consists of a simple main screen where you can drag the image of the camera you want to search for, and after a few moments you'll have the result. Even if you don't have a photo of the camera, you can enter its serial number manually (from here).
If you're lucky, it's because someone found your camera, is using it, and is uploading photos taken with it to the web. And although at first it seems to find it by magic, its operation is quite simple. It searches the web for photos that have the serial number of the corresponding camera, which is attached to the EXIF information (Exchangeable image file format) of each of the photographs you have taken. This standard has existed since 1995 and supports several formats.
Likewise, ATTENTION, this utility is not miraculous. It is only a last desperate attempt that, maybe, and only maybe, can guide you toward "new owner" of your camera. Don't expect magic, because it doesn't work with all camera models in the world either. Check the list of compatible cameras before using the service.
The service is completely free and you can use it as many times as you want. But if you want to support the initiative, you can download the Google Chrome extension, which is also very useful. Once installed, it stays quietly in the background while you browse the web and detects JPG images that have your camera's serial number. If that number is not in the site's database, it adds it, so that it becomes larger and more complete and it will be easier to detect it if it is ever lost or stolen.
StolenCameraFinder
