First time flying with camera gear, any tips or tricks?

[AlClarence]

Hi All,

Next week I'll be embarking on my first dive trip that requires flying with my camera gear.  Are there any tips or tricks anyone has that may make my life easier at all?

It seems that getting as much as possible into carry on is the best bet. Making sure my housing isn't sealed is the second thing I've picked up. Any other tips people can suggest?

 

Thanks, Al

 

Edit: Sorry mods, I just realised I put this in the wrong travel forum

Edited February 6 by AlClarence

[Kamaros]

The approach I've been using:

- Do your best to pack your main rig in a camera backpack. Carry-on bags might still get checked at the gate for busy flights (and subsequently lost in transit), but the your "personal item" will always stay with you. For me, that'll usually be a D850, housing, 45 degree viewfinder, 2 Ikelite DS232 strobes, 28-70mm lens, a WACP-C, and some arm clamps for wide-angle destinations, or a 105mm + port + Saga Trio diopter for macro destinations. I can't fit float arms in the bag, but it's enough to do close-focus stuff in a pinch, though I do need to disassemble the viewfinder and arm mounting balls from the housing for everything to fit. 

- For other lenses, ports, and other gear, try to pack them in a carry-on with configurable divider panels. I've found them to be enough that I don't need to bring bulky padded bags for my ports. I personally like the Tenba Air Case for this role because it's very sturdy, but not as heavy or as obvious of a target for theft as something like a Pelican case. 

- Some airlines like Philippine Airlines weigh your carry-on bags as well, which you should keep in mind if that'll be a concern. If you're forced to fly with one, you may want to consider wearing a photo vest that lets you carry some of your lenses and accessories on your person instead of in your carry-on, though you should be warned that it might not be the most comfortable in a cramped airplane seat. 

- You can save space by putting your camera body in your (unsealed) housing. I've heard some people expressing worries about potentially causing the camera tray to get misaligned from too much jostling - it's not something I've personally run into, but if you're worried, you could also pack a lot of accessories in there instead. 

- Avoid leaving a lens attached to your camera body if possible, as you risk damaging the connecting thread if your packing job exerts force on the wrong spot

 

[Apneagraph]

I can confirm everything @Kamaros mentioned above.

 

I would also recommend disassembling every arm and connector, for example, and not leaving them mounted in the bag.

Anything that doesn't fit into my camera backpack, such as spare parts or non-essential items, goes into a foam-padded softshell case inside my main luggage.

 

Another significant point for me is to keep a close eye (or better yet, both eyes) on your camera backpack when placing it in the plane's luggage compartment. During my last flight, another passenger took my bag and replaced it with her much larger carry-on bag. Consequently, she positioned my backpack in a way that it got squeezed every time the compartment was closed...

Edited February 6 by Apneagraph

[TimG]

Stick an AirTag into anything hold loaded. Then, worst comes to the worst, you should be able to see where it has gone. 

[fruehaufsteher2]

I experienced several times that my personal item had to be put on the scale and 8kg was max.

A7IV + Nauticam + WACP-C + Flash adds min to 12-15kg.

 

Be prepared to react...

[CaolIla]

I've the same problem between 10 and 15 kg...  I had never problem... only one time on a low cost compagny (Scoot)  I had 14 kg ... I open the bag...  say it's a lot of money ... ...

 

 

.--> one second please the man asked the chief ... ok.... that's it.

[Giancarlo M.]

In my experience, I opted to purchase a backpack/photo trolley(RLX 450 AW), I observed that the backpack on the back is almost never weighed, it is more likely that at the check-in desk they ask to weigh the trolley.
I convert it to a backpack before presenting to the desk and after checking in and drop off luggage, I convert it to trolley.

[CaolIla]

Yes a backpack is better,  I agree 

[Architeuthis]

My photo rucksack was weighted already several times by different airlines. It was always o.k., but limit then was 12kg, now it is 7-8 kg with many airlines. I have now a big fishing vest for traveling - in case there are problems I can stuff items into it until the weight fits, after passing control I would put the items back (so far it was never necessary)...

 

Wolfgang

[CaolIla]

9 minutes ago, Architeuthis said:

My photo rucksack was weighted already several times by different airlines. It was always o.k., but limit then was 12kg, now it is 7-8 kg with many airlines. I have now a big fishing vest for traveling - in case there are problems I can stuff items into it until the weight fits, after passing control I would put the items back (so far it was never necessary)...

 

Wolfgang

Funny I make exactly the same... I've  0.9 KG of batterie (GoPro, R5, for 4 torche and for 2 retra with batterie extension ..)

 

One time for 6 or 8 years ago... we hada litle bit to much in a backpack  and some free weight in the second . At the check-in the person wanted that I move some part from one backpack to the other...  the difference was less than 1 KG really crassy ... it was with Etihad in Zürich/CH it was the first and the last time I flight with Etihad 

[TimG]

Another suggestion : set your charm setting to extreme when checking in.  A smile, a bit of rapport, touch of humility….  

[Chris Ross]

Who are you flying with?, this can make a difference as to whether your carryon is weighed.  Jetstar for example will weigh carryons so they charge you to check an extra bag.  If you have a travelling companion temporarily off loading some gear to their carryon can be a strategy.

[Alex B]

A large belly bag can be very useful too. I pack mine with 3-4kg of camera stuff

 

 

[TimG]

Chris is right on the issue of which carrier you use.

 

Often using a low-cost airline is not, err, low cost. So many add-ons. We've had really good experiences with Air France, KLM and Emirates. Yeah, they cost more but when you start adding in the add-on charges that low-cost carriers raise, the different shrinks rapidly and allowances for baggage increase.

[Johno1530]

Buy a jacket with lots of pockets. I have one from Kit Pimp and it's great. You can fill the pockets with lenses and other heavy items, go to the check in desk with an emptier bag and then filled it up again after. 

 

On both of my last trips I have had hand luggage weighed and we tend to travel with 'Spares' of most things. 

 

A big jacket has helped me out ALOT with avoiding excess baggage. 

[Tobyone]

Travel with a companion that travels light. Let them carry some of the gear. This works with my girlfriend.

Also I pack some of my housings in hard cases and check. I always use locks and tie wraps to seal. If you bag comes out with any tampering you will know. Report immediately. Use bright colored hard cases are harder to hide for cameras and other personnel. I use orange and yellow. I have also traveled domestically with checked coolers, marked fish. Did not get opened.

[TimG]

1 hour ago, Tobyone said:

Travel with a companion that travels light. Let them carry some of the gear. This works with my girlfriend.

 

 

..... who, she tells us, is an avid reader of Waterpixels......🤣

 

 

1 hour ago, Tobyone said:

I have also traveled domestically with checked coolers, marked fish. Did not get opened

 

Briliant!!!!

[JustinO]

I use a combination of the following- and so far, I've not had an issue. And I feel no issues with taking the moral high ground when I see the size of some people's "personal item".   But i can't say it isn't without it's stress level. 

1. Take a fishing jacket, like Wolfgang does. I've also not [yet] had to fill it. 

2. Use a Manfrotto rucksack for most of my gear. This is "short and fat" so it seems smaller than it is... coupled with standing up as straight as I can helps make it seem lighter. 

3. Use my personal item allowance (laptop case) to the max. Amazing how many lenses/ attachments can fit around a laptop.

4. Use my other half for excess. But now she's getting GAS, I think that is a curve of diminishing returns...

5. Use a soft oversize bag for check in. If it doesn't quite fit in the chute, then the sides seem to reduce the weight up to about a kg or two. If that isn't enough, then a well-placed and subtle foot seems to help lift the weight off the belt a bit (well, my doctor says that putting weight mostly on one leg is good for us)! 

6. If nothing else works, engage the check in staff in a load of random conversation. My partner's great at that. 

 

...and I hope none ever read this thread or we're all buggered.

[CaolIla]

31 minutes ago, JustinO said:

1. Take a fishing jacket, like Wolfgang does. I've also not [yet] had to fill it. 

Same for me

 

32 minutes ago, JustinO said:

2. Use a Manfrotto rucksack for most of my gear. This is "short and fat" so it seems smaller than it is... coupled with standing up as straight as I can helps make it seem lighter. 

Same a Manfrotto rucksack and same attitude 

 

33 minutes ago, JustinO said:

3. Use my personal item allowance (laptop case) to the max. Amazing how many lenses/ attachments can fit around a laptop.

Similar with torches but I give the case to my wife..

I use a big duffle of North face the back is really light... but no wheel 😞 

 

I also use a big 
I can put the batterie in it...  over 1 kg ( 6x32650 + 32xAA + some AAA + other (6xGoPro + 2xInsta360))

I can put my tshirt over it to hide a little bit ( 😉 ) 
I used that one time before flying back from Cebu with Scoot. ( I had over 12 Kg in the backpack... )  I oppened the bag and explained that it is very expensive and fragile.. it was ok .... 🙂 

[bghazzal]

On 2/7/2024 at 12:41 AM, Architeuthis said:

My photo rucksack was weighted already several times by different airlines. It was always o.k., but limit then was 12kg, now it is 7-8 kg with many airlines. I have now a big fishing vest for traveling - in case there are problems I can stuff items into it until the weight fits, after passing control I would put the items back (so far it was never necessary)...

 

Wolfgang

I do the same, and have had to do it quite a few times actually, with my wife.

Our strategy is actually 2 "fishing" / utility vests - can fit 6kg in each easily - when I was carrying the regs in carry-on (which I don't do anymore) I once had to place the two regs in the vest's zippered back pocket.

 

Our strategy is to be nice and agreeable, show up early and be ready for action.
2 "personal items" (small back pack, computer), carryon backpack for my wife and super light 2 wheel roller for me.

If we anticipate that it might be a tough check-in, we'll get the roller down to 7 kg, as this is the most commonly weighed carry-on, and check in with full-pockets.
 

You get to know what to expect after a while, but there are always surprises.
One notorious thing to look out for is the systematic weighing of rollers in Kuala Lumpur's Air Asia dedicated KLIA2 terminal (a special gate you go through) for instance.
 

I always hand carry the roller in the queue and try to look comfy (rolling seems to increase attention and weight-checks).

We check in the bags (as analog nomads without a home for a little under 10 years now, we're quite minimalist but with the dive gear, spares, pharmacy, tools and extra imaging stuff etc needed to live/work in remote areas like we have been doing we do have 3x 23kg check-in bags (2 120L Decathlon soft trekking bags, and one 100L), plus a lot of carryon (2 computers, camera, lenses, etc etc)

 

If the carry-on is weighed, we step aside and proceed to fill the vests as much as possible. Also jacket pockets.
No bum-bag but it sounds like a good idea.

One idea I've been toying with is to strip the Nauticam compact housing of the tray, and a shoulder strap and carry it on me like a camera (with the camera inside), as it's quite heavy.

After the great carry-on transfer, we proceed to re-weight, finish check-in then sit down somewhere and tranfer back to the carry-on. (re-weighing at the gate is rare on airlines we use - Jetstar is notorious, also for their food-hunt, as are some flights using small local planes in Indonesia, ATRs for instance)

 

For the anecdote, last time we had to do the carryon-transfer was on our flight from Osaka in Japan to Guam and on to Palau, where we were going to work, in 2021.
 

Very strict (which was rare in Osaka), and we almost missed the flight.

 But not because of luggage - carryon got weighed, we had to transfer and that solved it - but because they were afraid we would have entering Guam because regulation require a flight out, and they considered our ongoing flight to Palau was not a flight-out (because Palau is in Micronesia...)

Despite explaining that Palau has been an independent country since 1994 and is not part of the Federated States of Micronesia, they wanted to take no chances of us being denied entry...
We had to sign an form agreeing to uphold financial responsiblity for airfare if we were denied entry to Guam, and were allowed to board only at the very last minute...
Just as cabin crew was about to prepare the plane for take off, someone hops on, moves to our row and tells us they reached Guam and it was confirmed it was ok (of course it was!)

Gotta love Japan / flying and luggage.... 😁

 

(as an epilogue, our immigration process in Guam consisted of the following exchange:
"where are you guys off to?" - "just transitting two nights, then off to Palau for work" "oh Palau, very nice, enjoy!")...

 

 

 

 

Edited July 26 by bghazzal

[sinetwo]

What would people recommend as a gilet, vest or hoodie? I really dislike the fisherman look, and my Ayegear hoodie sags so much when I put in anything with weight in it that it's a complete dead giveaway 😂 

[bghazzal]

3 hours ago, sinetwo said:

What would people recommend as a gilet, vest or hoodie? I really dislike the fisherman look, and my Ayegear hoodie sags so much when I put in anything with weight in it that it's a complete dead giveaway 😂 

We got some nice light multipocket vests at a store selling outdoor working clothes in Japan (workman), and usually wear those under a standard hoodie and/or rainjacket depending on how strong the airconditioning is in the airport.

Otherwise look into military-ish "tactical" gear (after all, body-carrying gear to survive a carry-on luggage check is a tactic...)
I you're worried about looks, what works fine as well isjust transfer everything back to the roller after check-in (if you're not expecting a weigh-in at the gate or elsewhere, that is).

The main control point is usually the check-in (though airports like KLIA2 will has an set filtering gate after checking with staff and scales, which you have to go through to access immigration and security), and some low-cost carriers (Jetstar for instance) can do visual based weight checks at the gate.

 

cheers

Edited September 30 by bghazzal

[makar0n]

9 hours ago, bghazzal said:

We got some nice light multipocket vests at a store selling outdoor working clothes in Japan (workman), and usually wear those under a standard hoodie and/or rainjacket depending on how strong the airconditioning is in the airport.(...)

 

Hmm now that is an idea! I was eyeing that Ayegear thing as well, but indeed this looks like it is going to sag...and once it is apparent you are carrying something they might ask you to take it out. I did have that experience once, when tried to hide a small-ish laptop bag under poncho style wind cover thing. Check in person noticed the bump and asked to see whats there then proceeded to weight it.  So maybe vest under and some thick jumper to cover the bumps (which would be hopefully smaller) will work better indeed. Then build the housing, including WWL and camera inside and do that as "personal item" hanging over the shoulder 😉

I have also taken to carry a dive thigh pocket over trousers - so far no issues and a nice big extra pocket fitting lots of stuff.

 

Unfortunately, at least in Europe, airlines are going nuts - 7-8kg is the new norm. Och sure you can pack it into the checked in baggage, but neither the airline nor insurance will take any responsibility for it. If it goes missing its your problem.

Edited September 30 by makar0n

[Davide DB]

1 hour ago, makar0n said:

I did have that experience once, when tried to hide a small-ish laptop bag under poncho style wind cover thing. Check in person noticed the bump and asked to see whats there then proceeded to weight it

 

Hey, is that a dome in your pants or are you just happy to see me? [cit.] 🤣

 

 

[makar0n]

42 minutes ago, Davide DB said:

 

Hey, is that a dome in your pants or are you just happy to see me? [cit.] 🤣

 

 

I knew I should have not edited the post and left the original text -  "...and asked me to take it out" .