Ed_David

We should make a FAQ for those just coming into this tragedy. My analysis - ES is a compulsive liar. Untreated. He lives in a fantasy world, like pretty much everyone else who is a director or works in film. He created a fake persona to gain respect maybe? He lied about having a Saad media company (also according to his brothers spelling, it's Sa'ad. He lied about being rich. He lied about being a radiologist. He lied about having a 1dc. He lied about having it stolen. He created a fake police report. He lied about being hacked. He lied about someone in his "media company" breaking into his closet and stealing his grand pop's camera. It's possible all these things are true. But if you read through the thread, that seems highly unlikely. He's a very smart kid and has quite an imagination. Not the best at lying though and simulating how someone would try to go through his lies - so he's not a good professional liars. People who are really good at lying - it's a beautiful thing to watch. Most of these people become excellent lawyers or politicians. Also, some people say he's a sociopath, which I don't believe. But if he was, he would make for an excellent CEO. A large percentage of them are sociopaths, including Steve Jobs.

I want to apologize- I would have probably been scammed too - even though it was Western Union and a sweet, sweet deal for that rangefinder. It was from a guy ES who had insanely high standing on this board and even wrote a review of it. I am sorry for calling those who got scammed "getting what they deserved" - if you want to flog me, please go ahead. Anyway, I'll say it again and again. Always buy everything online with a credit card. Never use cash. Credit cards are your best friends against scams. They have millions and millions of dollars to protect you.

I think this thread turned into a Dostoyevsky novel or some Greek tragedy. Nope, I only function as a bumbling detective.

The last mystery for me is why did ES have such great technical knowledge but have no idea how to play a chess game with his lies? And never protect his identity. Maybe an idiot savant? Or maybe no one really bothered to look into what he was saying? I personally didn't. The illusional of an old Egyptian crusty great filmmaker/doctor was enough. As they say in "Catch me if you can" - once you see the yankees pinstripes, you can hardly look past them.

oh man so good!!! Yes all filmmakers need to be slightly insane. Especially directors. Glad to hear Squig you found peace. For me, I also found peace. I resolved a lot of BS that was stuck in my brain. Thanks Nikkor - it's so important to give back. I am only where I am from the knowledge I have learned from others. Filmmaking is an ecosystem.

Yes they do. I almost killed myself last year. Honestly. Well had strong suicidal thoughts. And I'm pretty much the biggest narcisist I know. Narcisists have incredibly fragile emotional states. It's all for show. People who really love themselves do not seek attention from others. I.E. Donald Trump is the biggest weenie in the world and the world's biggest narcissist.

well said!!!

Emanuel, he's probably an undiagnosed pathological or compulsive liar. This is a real, medical condition. I'm sure the sister's story is false. But that doesn't mean we can now keep attacking him while he is in a very fragile emotional state. Yes he brought this upon himself by stealing thousands of dollars, but now, we can get, without the corrupt Egyptian police the end goal : money back to those he scammed. Isn't that the end goal? Or do you want to see him rot in an Egyptian jail? Or get disavowed from his family. Use empathy. Understand he's in Egypt, they have a different set of rules. How would you feel if he killed himself? Or went to jail? Would you feel better? No, revenge is fleeting. At first it feels great, but then after a while, you feel like a D-bag and regret what you did when you were younger.

You sort it out. He confessed. He's going to refund everyones money. What more do you want? You want his blood? Would that make you okay? This isn't ruining anyone's career. He stole money from a bunch of idiots who thought they were scamming an old man from Egypt. They could have just reported it, did their thing, and froze their credit cards. Instead they got me and everyone else running crazy and making this kid freaked out of his mind. I admit, everything I did up to now was a horrible action on my part. I act before I think. I made a terrible mistake. I am glad we got to here but now it's time to just let it be. Please, for the love of god. You have someone in a fragile emotional state. Do not call for more blood. He's going to try to make things okay. Oh yea, you are right Of course the sister thing is a lie. He's a habitual lier. Pathological. It's a real symptom Anyway for the sake of the high lord, can we give him some space? He confessed. Let's leave it at that. A truth happened. That's something. Did everyone get their $20 worth of entertainment? That concludes this mini-series. At least for me. I do not want this kid to commit suicide or anything because of us. Now, would you? You want that guilt on your hands?

Have some respect, man. He's a kid who made a really stupid mistake. I would maybe have done the same if my sister needed an operation and in my culture asking for money is equivalent to begging and maybe he didn't want his family to know about it all. It was a stupid idea, but we've all been there when we have been desperate. Show some empathy, man! Also do you have any idea what it's like to be the subject of an online mob? Oh wait, I do! Remember the Philip Bloom thing? You guys treated me like I was Satan attacking poor, old innocent domestic abuser Bloom.

Thank you for writing this. I also second this motion, can we delete this thread? Be strong man. Don't take your life for something so stupid as an online forum. I hope your sister recovers okay. Much love to you, Ed

there was no nikon 28-70 for sale, right?

I do want to say one thing now that I think about it. The rangefinder goes for $600 new on B&H photo. He sold it for $250 including shipping. People looking to buy it knew the risks involved. The western union. The seller in Egypt. I am upset that these people got scammed. But you know that was the risk. That was the gamble. Sometimes the gamble pays off and you get something in great condition for 1/3 it's value and you are taking advantage of some senior old man in Egypt, and sometimes that senior old man in Egypt with the sage advice turns out to be a young kid who uses Egyptian political corruption to outsmarts you. As they say in Egypt by the way of Big Lebowski, "sometimes you bite the bear, and sometimes the bear bites you."

yes but the other stolen camera has 11 digits as well. I stand by my theory, he supplied a serial for another camera he owns, not the 1dc, and probably changed a number on it. Who knows? People who lie a lot, lie a lot. My final thought ( I HOPE) - if you are going to scam people, use a fake name. Too many things happen if you use a real name, in this era where everyone and their dog has a facebook and instagram account.

yes sorry - quoting people then by accident it writes my words in your box. My apologies! here's ES's serial number: 02301100059. here's the serial number of a canon 1dc stolen in france: 23011000227. it's not right. other camera serials, all are the same except for the last 4 digits. that's how they identify product line and the sequence of when the camera was made for quality checking. Also, no matches on any stolen camera site for your serial. I'm going to assume he gave a serial number for a different canon camera he owns. If someone wants to check. It is possible, but until I see a receipt of purchase, I still call BS on this.

Now I ask, show us the receipt for your purchase of the Canon IDC. Then I will believe you. Also, do you have a correct serial number that I can look up? And have you posted on sites that the camera was stolen? As most people do when a piece of gear is stolen. There is a website here: http://www.stolencamerafinder.com/ checking serial 02301100059

You guys are awesome detectives. The handwriting - well the m in particular is a very unique style matched in both with a curve to start at the beginning. I am no forensic expert though I play one on tv, but I would say there has to be at least a 70% match. most people write their m's as just solid. Also the r has the same accent in both. As Andrew said, this is a criminal matter. This is no laughing matter. At least one thousand dollars was stolen from three users who have come forward. Also again to everyone who was scammed and had their money stolen - remember you can call your credit card company and have them freeze the charge. This is part of why you have a credit card - for fraud protection. And also remember paypal and ebay also have scammers. Just always be careful with buyer and seller.

How many else got scammed? So now its at 1 thousand dollars? Es you have 24 hrs to refund everyone. I mean everyone. Or your entire family and school and the police will know you are a criminal thief and liar.

Not to be a debbie downer....but his idea of downsampling pixels at 4k makes no sense. And also as someone else said.... Ettr only works probably at 12bit 4444 at least Dont quote me on that But ettr at 420 8bit h.264 is going to have noisy highlights and shadows This is why i no longer shoot slog2 on a7s and heavan forbide slog3 which is an even more agressive curve. Take it all w a grain of salt. All of it. Do your own tests. All pro dps do tests before they shoot a feature or commercial. Always have. We all need to be scientific. I know we all dont have the money to buy gear but there are professional sites w more scientific tests by working dps as i said. Cml is your best friend as an inspiring dp

Great point guys

Isnt the sony f35 minus having raw basically as close as well get to a low noise db35?

The big thing i also learned is yes...dont trust always what people tell you. You have to really trust your own eyes. Cml... cinematography mailing list and cinematography.com and american cinematographer have real dps telling you what they do. Colorist forums like liftgammagain also the same. Dslr forums and dvxuser and reduser dont have as many working professionals. So take what they say with a grain of salt. You can trust certain peoples opinions and sometimes not. Like a dp i really respected lead me down a rabbits hole. So trust your gut and always do your own tests!! My own tests are many times flawed. So of course as most of you know...never trust what my likes or taste are either. I am a weirdo.

What happened with zach?

Yes you guys are right. My bad.

Also he called it a 35mm cinematography reel and had said a lot in the past the snr shoots film From my internet search in arabic...i have no confirmation his dad works in film nor a physician nor radiologist. Based on the dads supposed post on the issue of radiation...he showed no scientific knowledge of it. That the father has never posted once on the account. I tried calling just now....no answer. No ringtone. Not a real number I tried emailing....nothing His brother and sister are on instagram. He even posted the name of his professor at dental school. For being so smart hes not good at covering his tracks at all. P.s. ebrahim...if only you didnt call the guys you scammed a fool. You threw the first stone. Hes a smart kid for sure. But being smart doesnt mean you are a good criminal. Also he reported his camera 1dx stolen. Claimed it cost 28k usd in import costs when i see import costs are 4 percent not 300 percent. Says his dad is a famou Egyptian filmmaker...no records. I wrote to him an ultimatum. He has 48 hours. My wifes friend is an award winning doc filmmaker in egypt. I am going to be contacting her soon to work on this as well as his brother and sister and teacher and every other friend on his instagram. And of course the police Though i have little faith in the police. I think either the kid does the right thing or watches his future career go down right before his eyes.