Useful tips while traveling with your photography equipment

<p>Hello, everyone, I love photography and traveling and I've experimented both activities more than once. Unfortunately, my equipment got damaged on my last trip on the flight so, that's why I want to share advice and tips for you.<br>

<strong>1. Use hard cases. </strong><br>

It is recommended to travel with your camera and stuff on board, but if not, try to get a hard case to protect it and put it inside your bag. <a href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/Camera-Hard-Cases/107894/bn_69330/i.html">Here</a> are some eBay examples. <br>

<strong>2. Arrive early to the airport.</strong><br>

The check-in process can take too long, be prepared with some time in advance for any oversized luggage.<br>

<strong>3. Ask for an adequate transportation service.</strong><br>

You might need some extra space for your ride and sometimes taxi cabs don't provide it. Ask for an <a href="https://shuttlewizard.com">airport shuttle</a> or a private suv to get suitable space for your equipment. <br>

<strong>4. Check baggage requirements and airline conditions.</strong><br>

Each airline has different baggage conditions including weight allowance, dimensions, number of bags, charges and extra fees. Call the airline directly or visit their website to seek clarification on requirements before making your reservation. Example <a href="https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/baggage/sports.aspx">here.</a><br>

<strong>5. Do not lose sight of your luggage at any time.</strong></p>

<p>Absolutely. But Erick, you left out a few important points.</p>

<p>6. Avoid bucket airlines like the plague. This will cover most 'budget' Asian airlines and not a few North American ones. Flights never depart on time. In-flight staff smile sweetly and treat you like sheep at an abbattoir. No service whatsoever.<br>

7. Insure yourself to the hilt, especially yourself. At least 101% cover. Expensive, but hey, this is about you, and aren't you taking the two Leicas and the darkroom along too? All worth big bucks.<br>

8. Always go First Class. You will thereby avoid having to sit with the peasants who are friendly enough but will invariably offer you a styrofoam container of sheeps' guts on rice to enjoy as no in-flight food is worth buying anyway. Applies to 6. above.<br>

9. Carry lots of cash. Ideally in $20s and $50s with at least one $100 for when yo arrive in Bali and a customs-immigration goons target you for some serious squeeze because you have half a camera shop with you in expensive-looking bags. I've seen it happen.Fortunately not to me. My one cabin bag and small canvas camera carry bag didn't rate any attention at all. All I was asked was, "do you have any duty free?" (in some Third World countries, duty free is often confiscated for resale later on the street). I didn't, and I was quickly waved past the line-up of suckers with big bags. <br>

10. Take the time to read - http://www.onebag.com/. I did, and it changed the entire concept of my travels. I am now FREE of all this angst! You too can be free.<br>

One camera, two lenses, a few accessories. Forget that darkroom.<br>

Travel is meant to be fun, and we need to lighten up about it. And go with less.<br>

My thoughts. Tongue in cheek, sort of (initially wrote "tongue in sheep" but no), but valid, I think. Disagree if you want. Open to intelligent discussion.</p>

<p>Sorry to hear of your unfortunate experience but comparing my traveling with your tips doesn't match very well.<strong> <br /></strong><br /> <strong>1) Use Hard Cases</strong> : ...er...no.<br /> <strong>2) Arrive early at the airport</strong> : I go with this one but from a general traffic snarl-up point of view not from a photographic one.<br /> <strong>3) Ask for an adequate transportation aervice</strong> : nope, never done that either.<br /> <strong>4)</strong> <strong>Check baggage requirements and airline conditions.</strong>: definitely. But again not from a photographic point of view but only because of my wife's tendency to take the kitchen sink with us.<br /> <strong>5. Do not lose sight of your luggage at any time</strong>. no again, Usually gets checked in with all the other stuff.<br /> <br /> But I am not a <strong>One Bag</strong> person either but I would prefer that to the belt and braces approach.<br /> <br /> So what are my yop tips?<br /> Research as much as you can before you go so that travel conditions hold fewer surprises.<br /> Take a little back up camera. A decent little camera can be tiny these days.<br /> take spare batteries</p>

<p>Avoid roller cases. The same amount of equipment in a shoulder bag or backpack will usually be allowed as carry-on, but a roller will probably have to be checked, based on weight and size. Wheels add 3 to 6 pounds of dead weight.</p>

<p>Backpacks are easier when negotiating buses, trains and stairs than either shoulder bags or rollers. On cobblestone streets, a roller becomes a suitcase.</p>

<p>Batteries containing lithium must be carried in the camera, or separately in a holder or small plastic bag. You can't put them in checked baggage. A little box of CR123 batteries, labeled "Surefire" brand, got a lot of attention in Ft. Meyers, FL.</p>

<p>Tools used to tighten tripods or QR plates are considered dangerous. They could be used to dismantle an entire airplane in flight, or the smoke detector in the rest room. Put them in a checked bag.</p>

<p>Hard cases are too heavy and bulky for normal travel. Save them for a HALO jump with Seal Team Six.</p>

<p>My A7 kit is not exactly light (20#), but it does fit under the seat in front, or the overhead without smashing another passenger if you fail on the first try or when deplaning..</p>

<p>International air travel is subject to different rules and enforcement, often arbitrary. I was questioned once in Canada to make sure I didn't need a work visa along with my gear. I have resolved to visit every national park and monument in the U.S., twice, before I go abroad again ;) My personal vehicle is Plan B, even if it takes a week. Plan A if less than two hours by air.</p>

<p>An air flight is the shortest distance between two (waiting) lines - after Pythagoras, 400 BCE.</p>

<p>Curious post.</p>

<p>I just flew out of Vietnam and was stopped at screening because of my Gitzo GT3532 carbon-fiber tripod. At first they just said it was too long, and fortunately there was a guy with a guitar going through and they let him pass, and I pointed that out. They called an airline representative and the Delta airline rep said that it was fine. However, a higher ranking official came over and said no. There was several minutes of dialog and then another guy came out of an office and showed me an official looking list of prohibited items and it clearly stated that <strong>photographic tripods over 30 cm are not allowed as carry on luggage</strong>. He then told me that these new regs went into effect on May 1, 2016.</p>

 

<p>One important thing if you have VR lenses is to turn the VR off while camera is on and then turn camera off. This will "park" the floating elements and help avoid damage from getting banged around. </p>

<p>My thoughts pretty much are the same as Edward's.<br>

A backpack often is not that visible when you are boarding the plane at the gate (if it is on your back) and is why I use it over the roller bags. <br>

Make sure you are in an early boarding group. Pay for this if needed. it is worth it. First come first served. <br>

For most TSA agents, tripods and monopods of any size are "weapons" and are not allowed as carry on luggage. I know that some get away with this, but don't count on it. <br>

In some airports, post terrorist actions in France last November, cameras and lenses are electronic items and may have to be declared before going thru the scanner or taken out of your bag like a laptop. Tell the agent about your photo equipment; being nice and friendly solves many problems. I had to take all of mine out of my bag at Charles de Gaulle. <br>

Keep your carry on bags in sight. Yes. If they look like camera stuff, you are a target for thieves in any public place. </p>

<p>Joe</p>

<p>I fly all the time with my gear, usually on budget regional airlines around Asia. I never have problems, I don't take any of the precautions mentioned above. I just carry my stuff in a Domke or ThinkTank bag and get on with it. I stopped carrying cables in my carry-on a few years ago and haven't been separately screened since then. </p>

<p>One simple strategy negates all of the above concerns: travel light!! </p>

<p>I have a very different answer: I bring extra lens caps, rear lens caps, and body caps on trips. For lens caps, I typically bring at least one spare for each cap size I have with me. For something that is common for me, such as 77mm, I may bring two spares.</p>

<p>I have lost various caps on trips. The spares keep my lenses protected. Last year in New Zealand, I accidentally dropped a 77mm lens cap into a hot spring. The lens cap dropped onto the ground, not into any boiling water, but I didn't feel like climbing in to retrieve the cap.</p>

<p>Here's my advice. Avoid wearing t-shirts with symbols that can be misinterpreted due to cultural differences. I was wearing a fairly innocuous t-shirt from a friend's band when going through security in Hyderabad (India). I still don't know what it was about the pattern on the t-shirt, I was taken out of line and questioned for a long time. I was sweating something awful with 20 hours of flying coming up. Eventually they decided that I wasn't a problem.<br>

<br />Interestingly, I have never ever had a problem with equipment no matter what it was. And I've never been detained for equipment, just for a t-shirt.</p>

Know what type of aircraft you will be flying on. Carry on sizes will very. The standard carry on will fit in jets the size of the

B737 on up. If you find yourself on a commuter (smaller) aircraft like the common CRJ you will have to check your larger

carry on at the gate. If you aren't prepared and packed in a soft side carry on it is now thrown in with all the other luggage.

I use a case designed to fit under the seat. Always gets on.