air travel with long lens

If you have to check your lens through baggage, does anyone have any

experience with insurance riders either from the airline or elsewhere?

I insure my equipment with insurance (from Firemen's Fund) aimed specifically at photographers. I bought it through www.groupinsure.com (the Tom C. Pickard Agency). I had read good things about this agency on sportsshooter.com. It should cover checked lenses.

As far as I know, most airlines won't cover items like lenses, even if you pay extra.

 

The first thing to check might be whether you can get a rider on your homeowner's insurance (if you already have it).

Don't check the lens thru baggage.

I can carryon a 500f4 in a LowePro bag with no trouble. Have done it five times.

I can fit a Tamron 500mm and Canon 10D in a Lowepro Mini Trekker backpack with the hood taken off and slipped backwards over the lens. There is still room in adjacent compartments for two more lenses. The bag and contents has a replacement value of about $3500 USD. It fits easily in an overhead compartment.

I use a standard hard-sided rolling carry on for my gear, which includes the 500 f/4, several other lenses, and two pro camera bodies. Each item is wrapped in a t-shirt for extra padding. This carry on fits the dimensions and weight regulations of the major carriers, and provides protection that a soft sided backpack or other bag cannot.

 

I know of one instance where someone was forced to gate check his Lowepro backpack carry on and it was accidentally put in with other checked baggage - the 600 f/4 was damaged beyond use when it came off the baggage carousel. This was at the start of a trip.

 

Regarding insurance, don't depend on the airline - despite the value of your equipment and/or how your luggage is handled, their liability is limited. If you are a member of NANPA, you can get insurance through them. If you don't sell your images, you may be able to get your equipment insured via your homeowner's or renter's policy. Otherwise, ask your agent about getting a separate business policy - I have mine through State Farm.

 

Even with insurance, keep in mind that if you go on a trip and your gear is damaged, you may have to front the costs of getting new gear so you can shoot. Also consider that they may opt to repair the equipment instead, meaning it won't be replaced at all. My advice - if you can, carry on your gear and don't let it out of your sight!

"I use a standard hard-sided rolling carry on for my gear"

 

That's what I have done multiple times for my 500mm f/4 (which unfortunately I am increasigly less willing to carry, due to the hassle). I use lots of bubble wrap for padding. Besides making for a clean fit in overhead, it's also inconspicuous and appears to be to be just another bag of clothes. :)

Like Heather and the others, I strictly adhere to the 'don't let it out of my sight' philosophy.

The only exception is small commuter planes that don't have room for bulky carryons. Here,

one typically hands the bag to someone at the foot of the stairs and then retrieves it the

same way at the end of the flight. Makes me very nervous, but there's no better choice and

at least the bag doesn't go through the specialized gear-mangling equipment used for typical

checked bags.

 

On non-US carriers, there is often considerably less allowance for carryon than on US

carriers, so safely transporting equipment can be quite difficult.

Good luck with getting a homeowner's insurer to cover anything not considered "hobbyist" equipment. If it exceeds about $2500 TOTAL, the ones checked with wouldn't touch it (all the majors - State Farm, Farm Bureau, Prudential, etc). I used to be covered through NANPA, but let it lapse because I stopped shooting for a while. I've started back, so I'm looking again. I'll probably go back to NANPA. It's also a good idea to get a blanket rental equipment rider on your policy, as well. If you ever do have a problem, no rental agency will talk to you without one. The cost is minimal, and if you're someplace you can't easily get back to, a call to an agency can save any chance you have to get pictures. Plus, sometimes it's fun to rent an exotic lens or camera for a long weekend to stretch your creativity muscles.