Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: jrmintz on December 21, 2008, 07:48:13 pm

Title: Flying issues
Post by: jrmintz on December 21, 2008, 07:48:13 pm

I'll be flying with my camera for the first time in a while in a few days. I'm a musician, so I have to bring a bass guitar onboard, as well as my laptop briefcase. Is it safe to pack my 5D and a lens or two in my checked luggage? I don't think I'll have a prayer of fitting it in my briefcase. It will be a nonstop domestic flight in the US. Has anyone had experiences, good or bad?

Thanks

Title: Flying issues
Post by: Colorado David on December 21, 2008, 08:29:17 pm

I fly frequently and carry quite a lot of equipment.  I always carry on my cameras.  I put peripheral equipment in checked baggage, but when they're x-rayed, they always are searched by TSA.  I don't worry about TSA taking anything, but they're not always repacked the way I had them.  So far I haven't lost anything and haven't had anything damaged.  The airline regulations usually discourage you from packing camera equipment in checked bags.

Title: Flying issues
Post by: francois on December 22, 2008, 04:47:15 am

Quote from: jrmintz

I'll be flying with my camera for the first time in a while in a few days. I'm a musician, so I have to bring a bass guitar onboard, as well as my laptop briefcase. Is it safe to pack my 5D and a lens or two in my checked luggage? I don't think I'll have a prayer of fitting it in my briefcase. It will be a nonstop domestic flight in the US. Has anyone had experiences, good or bad?

Thanks

Frankly, I wouldn't check my camera gear... unless I have a very good insurance. As David said above, checked suitcases and bags very often go through TSA manual inspection and sometimes, the re-packaging is far from optimal. I wouldn't blame them as they have very little time to perform those operations. On my last flight, two of my books were damaged.

Title: Flying issues
Post by: jrmintz on December 22, 2008, 09:09:40 am

Thank you!

Title: Flying issues
Post by: pindman on December 22, 2008, 09:48:22 am

I wouldn't think of checking cameras!  Way too many reports of them being stolen.

Think Tank Photo makes an "urban disguise" http://thinktankphoto.com/ttp_product_UrbnDsgs.php (http://thinktankphoto.com/ttp_product_UrbnDsgs.php)  that will cary a camera system plus a laptop.  Works great.  I've taken mine around the world to remote areas.

Another thought.... get a stand up bass and put everything inside

Paul

Title: Flying issues
Post by: jrmintz on December 22, 2008, 02:07:07 pm

Quote from: pindman

.... get a stand up bass and put everything inside

Oh Brother! What a pain in the neck - the case is the size of a canoe.

Title: Flying issues
Post by: dseelig on December 22, 2008, 02:14:37 pm

Check out the urban disquise line of bags from thinktankphoto.com David

Title: Flying issues
Post by: PeterAit on December 22, 2008, 03:16:36 pm

Quote from: jrmintz

I'll be flying with my camera for the first time in a while in a few days. I'm a musician, so I have to bring a bass guitar onboard, as well as my laptop briefcase. Is it safe to pack my 5D and a lens or two in my checked luggage? I don't think I'll have a prayer of fitting it in my briefcase. It will be a nonstop domestic flight in the US. Has anyone had experiences, good or bad?

Thanks

If you must check your gear, be sure to get extra baggage insurance above and beyond the pitiful amount that the airlines offer.

Peter

Title: Flying issues
Post by: Plekto on December 22, 2008, 04:38:03 pm

A combo bag like that might work as it would allow you to pack the laptop and camera in one bag.

Title: Flying issues
Post by: Ken Bennett on December 22, 2008, 07:42:57 pm

You could carry the camera over your shoulder.  In my experience that doesn't count against you as a bag. (No guarantees, of course, but it should work fine.)

Title: Flying issues
Post by: aaykay on December 22, 2008, 09:13:07 pm

Quote from: jrmintz

I'll be flying with my camera for the first time in a while in a few days. I'm a musician, so I have to bring a bass guitar onboard, as well as my laptop briefcase. Is it safe to pack my 5D and a lens or two in my checked luggage? I don't think I'll have a prayer of fitting it in my briefcase. It will be a nonstop domestic flight in the US. Has anyone had experiences, good or bad?

Thanks

I never put my camera or any other electronic equipment into checked baggage but then again, I typically don't have lenses larger than around a 70-200 f/2.8 or a 24-70 f/2.8 and a few other lenses that are smaller, along with the body.  I even carry my Series-5 (or Series-3) Gitzo in my cabin baggage, since even the specific tripod models I went with, were carefully chosen for fitment into cabin baggage.  

What goes into the checked baggage are things that I can do without, for a few days, push come to shove.

Title: Flying issues
Post by: jrmintz on December 22, 2008, 10:08:25 pm

Quote from: k bennett

You could carry the camera over your shoulder.  In my experience that doesn't count against you as a bag. (No guarantees, of course, but it should work fine.)

The problem is that I'll have a bass guitar in a bag on my back and a shoulder bag. The bass is where I always anticipate I'll have problems, although I actually never have.

Thanks for this discussion everyone - one blinding realization that it stimulated was that if I take off the lens the body will fit in my shoulder bag with no problem. Duh...

Title: Flying issues
Post by: reburns on January 21, 2009, 11:24:09 am

Tidbits -  I'm one who always carrys on the camera in hand luggage:

- but I put the battery charger in checked luggage.  After all, it's not terribly valuable, rihgt?  You can see where this is heading:  my checked luggage was lost for my last photo-holiday.... have camera, no juice.  It worked out in the end, but not without some nail-biting.  So "valuable" doesn't equate to monetary cost!

- Several times I've accidently shown up to the airport with a swiss army knife in my laptop briefcase - something that easily shows up on X-ray and gets confiscated.  It sails right thru X-ray once inside the camera bag.  I've probably done that thirty times.  Hope you don't work for TSA...

Title: Flying issues
Post by: reburns on January 21, 2009, 11:25:01 am

-

Title: Flying issues
Post by: Roger Calixto on January 21, 2009, 02:01:16 pm

I know this isn't directly related since you're flying domestic, but I had my tripod denied boarding in Sao Paulo last month. Luckily I hadn't checked but 1 bag so I was able to check my carry on with the tripod inside. Pissed me off though.

Lesson: check the damn list of restrictions through every country to travel before traveling.

Title: Flying issues
Post by: jjj on January 21, 2009, 04:03:22 pm

Quote from: reburns

Tidbits -  I'm one who always carrys on the camera in hand luggage:

- but I put the battery charger in checked luggage.  After all, it's not terribly valuable, rihgt?  You can see where this is heading:  my checked luggage was lost for my last photo-holiday.... have camera, no juice.  It worked out in the end, but not without some nail-biting.  So "valuable" doesn't equate to monetary cost!

I always have all cables, batteries, chargers, plugs etc in carry on and only things I can do without will ever go in hold. Which is back up/duplicate kit only as I want to keep it separate.

Title: Flying issues
Post by: Tom Gresham on January 27, 2009, 07:09:44 pm

FEDEX.

Ship your cameras, or your bass, ahead.

Seriously.

Title: Flying issues
Post by: Colorado David on January 27, 2009, 07:54:59 pm

Tom, is that you?  Are you a POMA member?