How would you answer this?

In my opinion the person asking such a question is probably the same person who would look at your pictures and say: "You must have a really good camera."

However ... It pays to be vigilant about those around you. If someone is paying more attention to you than to whatever is going on that caused you to bring your camera and always seems to be near you no matter where you go then its time to get suspicious and perhaps start looking for a security guard. Seeing you talking to a security person will usually make the suspicious character disappear. Of course its also not a good idea to be alone with your valuable gear in an area you aren't familiar with or one known for its crime rate.

Personally, I wouldn't bother to answer such a question. This may be easier for me since I'm in commission sales and its not uncommon for a customer to ask: "How much commission do you make?" If I even bother to reply its either "Not nearly enough" or "I'm on salary".

I like Chris's answer too. I would definitely downplay the value. I cannot say here what might pop into my head in such a circumstance, but I would probably say something like, "It was fairly expensive when new, but it is totally outdated now and nothing is worth much less than an old digital camera". It would be a total lie, but the clueless asker would not likely know the difference.

steve

ADD: @Tim... c'mon man. Do you have two 300 pound armed body guards with you at all times? What planet are you on? People have been mugged over far less than expensive camera gear. I'm not telling some stranger I have thousands of dollars of gear on me.

I actually have had this happen and I simply said, "Oh, digital cameras have come down in price so much over the past few years that these are not very expensive anymore." Then I just turned and walked away before he could say anything else. I will tell you that my camera and lens was worth about $1200 and I think you are absolutely crazy to go out in a public place with equipment at that value. There are just too many crazies out there who would not think twice about knocking you on the head and relieving you of your property. I have a studio camera and then I have a base line Canon SLR that I carry around in public. It works very well and does not attract attention.

I would say, "I don't know. They loan it to me when I am on assignment. It can't cost that much if they let me take it out here."

I'd say - "well, with the jetpack and the additional security software it came to around $27,000. So the daily cost for the armed guard over there is really worth it!" (While you point to the biggest meanest-looking guy that's nearby.)

... then smile and walk away.

That would be a very easy question for me to answer, since I can never remember numbers "I don't remember" would be my reply.

Depends on the asker, his/her appearance and demeanour.

If you're used to attending public events whilst carrying valuable kit, you should surely have developed some sort of radar which enables you to distinguish between the bore, the inquisitive know-it-all and the potential mugger and tailor your reply accordingly.

I'd say ' Don't know, my brother gave it to me, said it was a piece of junk'.

If it cost $4,000 I would say, $4,000.

Why would that question be difficult to respond to?