Carry-on with Camera gear

[hawkskater500]

When you guys/gals travel, do y'all carry on your camera gear with you on the plane?

I only have a backpack with one body, and three lenses. Have they ever given you grief with security?

Thanks

[Tom]

Always a carry on. The airlines exclude camera equipment from what they insure, so if it breaks or is stolen, you are SOL.

Never had a problem with security when carrying it on. That's all I do.

[Abel]

not at all.

i do it all of the time..

[hawkskater500]

Thanks guys. It never feels good when you get to your destination and find a little "green" slip letting you know they rummaged through your gear..

[doctahjones]

only problem i've ever had when carrying a backpack with a laptop and another backpack with camera was that my laptop bag was "too dense" for them to scan, (had a couple external hdd's in there too) so i had to unpack it for them to see.

[doctahjones]

oh yeah, and i'd always carry on. i did pack a 80-400 lens in the middle of all my clothes of my checked bag once, only because i couldn't easily fit it in my carry on.

[Patti Edens]

I had a problem with a 400mm lens. I guess they thought it was a grenade launcher. They made me take out the lens and remove the lens caps so they could look inside. Never had the problem since that one time and I usually carry that lens on.

[KenJulio]

I've used the above suggestion for my trip to/across China earlier this year and didnt really have any issues except for a couple of flights within China. The first was out of Beijing to Dunhuang when going through security, security had asked for all of our gear to be taken out and go through security with the bodies and lenses separate from the bags. The other issue was with the flight from Jiayuguan to Xi'an in which it was a commuter plane and they wanted everyone with a roller to be checked in. Luckily I had a backpack and was able to get away with carrying mine on, everybody else checked theirs in while we boarded on the tarmac.

[tml]

Just carry them on as long as your bag fits under the seat in front of you. I would not put the bag in the overhead compartment because things can shift, or you may forget it when exiting the plane. I never had a problem in the US, or Europe. Have a good trip. Tri

[lscottpht]

Always carry it on, only had an issue once. They weren't going to let me keep my rechargeable double A batteries. Those things are not cheap, and I need them! I was not happy. Eventually, they let me keep them. I think that was in Italy. Now, my second shooter carries his on the plane with him, but he has a lot of equipment. They make him take his out regularly lol.

[hawkskater500]

Well I don't have a 400mm yet..and don't own a grenade launcher..so I should be good with just my backpack.

Oh crap...I probably just made it to the top of the Flight Risk list...

[Ron Scubadiver]

I always put my photo gear in a cary on backpack. Never had a problem. However, tripods and monopods must be packed because you could bop someone over the head with one. Something very large like a 400 f/2.8 could pose a logistical problem because you are allowed a cary on plus one other item, and they might not like that big lens as the one other item. Check in advance.

[ChrisTX]

I would NEVER put anything of significant value in your checked baggage. Twice I have gotten to my destination and my clothing in the bag was completely soaked. Needless to say, now everything that goes into my checked baggage is put into a garbage sack first.

[GypsyHighSide]

Flying domestic it should not be a problem. I only had one instance, the TSA officer wanted to hand inspect. I was delayed 5 minutes or so. Flying internationally you might have a problem if the backpack is over the airlines size or weight limits. I had a problem in the Galapagos because of weight. International flights have smaller size and weight limits.

[cooltouch]

Originally Posted by GypsyHighSide

Flying domestic it should not be a problem. I only had one instance, the TSA officer wanted to hand inspect. I was delayed 5 minutes or so. Flying internationally you might have a problem if the backpack is over the airlines size or weight limits. I had a problem in the Galapagos because of weight. International flights have smaller size and weight limits.

It depends on the international destination. My wife, who is from Taiwan, has complained rather vociferously of the domestic airlines lowering the bag weight from 70 lb to 50 lb, whereas the international airline she flies from LAX to Taiwan still allows the 70 lb bags. It made for a real problem the last time she flew to Taiwan, where she had to change airlines in LA.

I flew from Houston the Chicago O'Hare and back this past June and brought my camera bag as a carry-on. Didn't run into any issues with the TSA folks either way, although they opened up my checked baggage for the return trip and messed up its contents because I had a large can of Trader Joe's coffee beans stowed inside. Guess they thought it was a -- hell, who knows? An excuse to tear up a passenger's baggage, most likely.

Anymore these days, I'm sick of flying. Even on trips of a couple thousand miles, they're stuffing people into these small commuter jets where carry-ons won't fit into the overheads, so you have to stuff it down where your feet are supposed to go, and then you don't have any place to put your feet. Makes me wish this country had enough sense to build high-speed rail like Japan's Shinkansen or France's TGV. I've ridden on the Shinkansen and it was a very nice experience. I suspect the reason why it hasn't happened in this country is because it would probably put most of the airlines out of business. I'm just flat sick of it. With all the TSA craziness now and the super cramped conditions, I just hate flying anymore.