Plane Travel with Equipment

MJRPHOTO

Will be heading to Daytona for the 200 and not sure what I will need to do to get my equipment down there. What can we bring on the plane in a carryon these days? Batteries? Chargers? Laptop? Might be looking to get my 600mm down there also. I will pack all my flashes, Batteries and chargers with my clothes but would like to carry on my camera bodys and camera batteries and smaller lens, laptop on the plane with me. Any insite will be helpfull.

Thanks in advance,
Michael

Zanotti

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/flyingwithfish/


Sports shooter guy's blog about flying in general and esp flying with photo equipment. The definative source.

Z

class5photo

I fly A LOT with A LOT of gear so here are a few suggestions:

Batteries- are supposed to be "installed" not loose. I use the caps that came with the cameras and batteries and that qualifies.

Carry On- space is getting VERY tight. If you are on an airline that boards by zones, and you are in a later zone, you may not have overhead space as people are packing more and more in overheads to avoid the check fees. If you fly in on an airline that does shotgun start boarding (all seats at once) make sure you get up close to board early.
I fly with a Lowepro Pro-roller case full of gear. It fits in MOST overheads unless I am on a CRJ or similar small plane. This does OK if I have to check the bag at the gate- never had an issue that way other than the bag being banged around.

Laptop- carry this separately in a backpack or brief case. You dont want this checked- ever! if its in your camera gear bag, take it out before you board the plane.

Any bags checked are subject to search, and believe it or not, its where MOST of the gear is stolen from. TSA locks are only good outside the airport- TSA has the key to unlock at any time...and they do.

one alternative i use- I ship gear ahead of time to my arriving hotel or location. Make sure you insure it for replacement value.

good luck.

Drew

Art Scott

Bruce Schneier on equipment safety and flying.....
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/09/expensive_camer.html

Actually I am surprised this has not been stickied for quick reference

ivar

MJRPHOTO wrote:

What can we bring on the plane in a carryon these days? Batteries? Chargers? Laptop? Might be looking to get my 600mm down there also. I will pack all my flashes, Batteries and chargers with my clothes but would like to carry on my camera bodys and camera batteries and smaller lens, laptop on the plane with me.

That shouldn't be any problem. The thing that could be limited, depending on your airline, is the number of extra batteries that you can take with you. Most people don't know what the limit is anyway, don't ask and just put them in your carry-on bags

BradfordBenn

I also go with the old standby of call the airline ahead of time for odd things and they are usually helpful. I have even had my itinerary marked with the special handling for guitars.

Also Flying with Fish is great read.

stuffjunkie

I flew recently within the US, after not flying for a year or so. The carriers have downsized to smaller planes for many flights. This means they run out of room for (mostly) roll-on luggage faster. My SO had to gate check her roll-on while I walked on with a backpack at least as large (if not larger) much to her dismay. My recommendation is to skip the wheels and carry on a bag or backpack. Carry it (no matter how heavy) like it has a wind breaker and a sack lunch in it and you will have less trouble.

The size/weight limits for US flights are pretty standard, some international carriers have smaller and lighter limits. Various forum posts on this topic indicate a wheeled bag is more likely to be weighed. YMMV.

My understanding is unless you're shooting pro video gear you are unlikely to have an issue with batteries. Proving this to TSA is different. Cover the terminals and check some of them.

BradfordBenn

Most important thing, don't argue with TSA agents. You can disagree and ask to see a supervisor but don't argue with them. TSA Agents can make your day very rough if they want, a little kindness goes a long way. I have a copy of the rules/banned items list with me as I travel for work with circuit boards which make most agents raise their eyebrows. Plus two laptops, network switch, external hard drive, cameras... well you get the idea. So I have the list and when I do get into problems (about once a month with a new employee) I just calmly say "I checked these before packing and shipped other things, what is not allowed?" show them a copy of the rules. If the agent is still not sure I then ask to see the supervisor.

Usually a good attitude will get you a long way, being difficult will cause other people to make your experience difficult.

ivar

stuffjunkie wrote:

My understanding is unless you're shooting pro video gear you are unlikely to have an issue with batteries. Proving this to TSA is different. Cover the terminals and check some of them.

Be careful with that also. The airline I work for, for instance, doesn't allow batteries in checked baggage.

From our Dangerous Goods manual:

[...snip...]

Not more than two spare lithium or lithium ion cells or batteries for such consumer electronic devices may be carried in carry-on baggage and/or on one's person, but not in checked baggage and must be individually protected to prevent short circuits.

[...snip...]

rpcrowe

My plans...

stuffjunkie wrote:

I flew recently within the US, after not flying for a year or so. The carriers have downsized to smaller planes for many flights. This means they run out of room for (mostly) roll-on luggage faster. My SO had to gate check her roll-on while I walked on with a backpack at least as large (if not larger) much to her dismay. My recommendation is to skip the wheels and carry on a bag or backpack. Carry it (no matter how heavy) like it has a wind breaker and a sack lunch in it and you will have less trouble.

The size/weight limits for US flights are pretty standard, some international carriers have smaller and lighter limits. Various forum posts on this topic indicate a wheeled bag is more likely to be weighed. YMMV.

My understanding is unless you're shooting pro video gear you are unlikely to have an issue with batteries. Proving this to TSA is different. Cover the terminals and check some of them.

I am flying China Airlines from San Francisco to Beijing as the first leg of my two week (whirlwind) tour of that country. China Air has an economy class carry-on limit of 5 Kilos (11 pounds). This relatively low limit has caused me to be frugal in the selection of gear to bring and judicious regarding the type of case I am transporting it in.

Although, I have a Lowepro roller bag which conforms to the size restrictions of China Air, the darned thing weighs almost 9 pounds which doesn't leave much extra for the contents.

I have decided to use my Lowepro Mini Trekker backpack as my carry-on piece. It conforms to the size restrictions and it weighs only about two pounds so I can pack the gear I absolutely need ( two 1.6x bodies, three lenses and two flash units plus the needed accessories such as CF cards) and still be under the 11 pound limit. I can piggyback my Mini Trekker on the small roller suitcase I will check aboard the plane and only have to hump the backpack from check-in to boarding and them from deboarding to the luggage carousel.

I have also heard that both China Airlines and the internal China air carriers are not as strict about the weight of backpacks as they are roller bags. If push came to shove, I could always remove a camera and lens from the Trekker and carry it around my neck as I check in.

I plan to have batteries in each camera and in my two flash units and will carry my chargers (for camera and for AA flash batteries) in my carry-on bag. I will carry a spare battery for each camera as well as a handful of spare rechargeable AA batteries in my check on bag. If the spare batteries are lost, I can manage with the batteries in my cameras and the batteries in my flash.

My wife is carrying her notebook computer and I have the Canon program to download my Raw images on that computer. I plan to, download each evening, batch rename the images and do a quick survey to catch any operator or gear malfunction. I will dupe the images onto a pair of 500 GB Western Digital, My Passport, hard drives. I will carry one of these and my wife will carry the other.

I plan to bring a small travel tripod which is modified Slik Pro 330DX with a F-1 Flashpoint head and which weighs 2.5 pounds and a Calumet carbon fiber monopod weighing less than a pound. Both these units will be packed in my checked on bag. However, I will separate the head from the tripod and cushion the head with my socks. I plan on being every bit as frugal with my clothing as I was with my camera gear. I certainly don't want to be weighed down like a pack horse.

Manfr3d

Art Scott wrote: »

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/09/expensive_camer.html

Actually I am surprised this has not been stickied for quick reference

, this is great!!!

InsuredDisaster

I've been flying around Asia a bit, in Thailand, Cambodia, and China. I use a Lowepro Stealth Reporter 650 as my transport case. It will fit under the seat or in the overhead, and hold 3-4 bodies, the 2.8 Holy Trinity of Nikon glass, plus a few more lenses, and 4 speedlights, plus my kindle, etc. You can fit a 15 inch laptop in there as well, though I normally don't. My suggestion is wear it over the shoulder and BEHIND you so that it is not visible to the check in staff. And whatever you do, do not grunt when you pick it up. The one time I didn't do this I got nailed in Thailand with AirAsia. My bag weighed about 18kg which was quite a bit over the 7kg limit they gave me for carryone baggage. When they saw what was in the bag, they simply had me remove 11kg of gear and place it in my wifes backpack. I wasn't going to point out the futility of the issue.


I've never had a problem with all the batteries I carry, usually 3 spares, possible more, but I always carry them with the plastic caps.

Security in China has flagged me every time I go through, but I think its the 70-200. They always hand search that, ask my wife if I'm from Nat Geo and then deal with my wife, who is busy trying to convince them (and doing so) that the 4 frozen bottles of formula for the baby are not liquids (yet), and thus, should not fall under the 3-1-1 rule. I'm guesing that you can't do this in the USA.

WillCAD

InsuredDisaster wrote: »

I've been flying around Asia a bit, in Thailand, Cambodia, and China. I use a Lowepro Stealth Reporter 650 as my transport case. It will fit under the seat or in the overhead, and hold 3-4 bodies, the 2.8 Holy Trinity of Nikon glass, plus a few more lenses, and 4 speedlights, plus my kindle, etc. You can fit a 15 inch laptop in there as well, though I normally don't. My suggestion is wear it over the shoulder and BEHIND you so that it is not visible to the check in staff. And whatever you do, do not grunt when you pick it up. The one time I didn't do this I got nailed in Thailand with AirAsia. My bag weighed about 18kg which was quite a bit over the 7kg limit they gave me for carryone baggage. When they saw what was in the bag, they simply had me remove 11kg of gear and place it in my wifes backpack. I wasn't going to point out the futility of the issue.


I've never had a problem with all the batteries I carry, usually 3 spares, possible more, but I always carry them with the plastic caps.

Security in China has flagged me every time I go through, but I think its the 70-200. They always hand search that, ask my wife if I'm from Nat Geo and then deal with my wife, who is busy trying to convince them (and doing so) that the 4 frozen bottles of formula for the baby are not liquids (yet), and thus, should not fall under the 3-1-1 rule. I'm guesing that you can't do this in the USA.

In the US, baby formula is exempt from the 3-1-1 rule, so you can carry bottles of it aboard domestic flights. However, having them frozen solid may freak out the TSA goon squad, because it's something outside their experience, and they might give you some trouble about it just because they don't know what to do.

Freezing any other liquid like water, however, will definitely NOT exempt it from the 3-1-1 rule; a frozen liquid is technically a solid, but it will melt during the course of the flight, so it's still subject to the 3-1-1 restriction.

InsuredDisaster

I know, and in China it is also something that is sometime exempt, but apparently the agents didn't know that when we tried to get the liquid formula past security. My wife went on the offensive, and not only got the baby formula through, she got the frozen stuff through as well!