Stop thief!

Hi. Just after some tips on how to cart your camera/scuba gear when flying.

In 2007 I was flying Melb-Bangkok for 3 weeks diving and one of my $2000 computers did not make it.

Luckily I was insured. But apart from insurance, what tricks can one employ to stop the baggage "handlers"?

Some say to use an old, crappy bag. And obviously I will not be putting small, valuable items underneath anymore.

Any other tips?

cheers.

i take my housing and strobes and dome port in my carry on ( 7kg ), wear a photographers vest that contains external hard drives, and all my lenses, battery charger and a few smaller heavier items, i have my 2 cameras with the heaviest lenses on over my shoulders with one of them under my vest. i carry my laptop as hand luggage as laptops are not included in your carry on allowance.

the only thing in my checked luggage is macro port a few brackets and arms, sync cables.

hope this helps, stew

Stew

yep it all helps

another mate said what he does to smuggle about 30kg onboard

I guess not even hard drives are safe underneath.

its a shame you cant trust even the people you need to trust.

cheers

its a shame you cant trust even the people you need to trust.

cheers

There was a link posted on WP a few weeks ago that showed a video of someone getting inside of a PADLOCKED bag, using just the inside of a biro pen. Within seconds he was inside it, able to take out whatever he chose and then Zipped it back up. There was no sign of any tampering and you would not have known anything was missing until you were well away from the airport. Trust no one. Make sure you are insured. Check with your insurers that you items are insured once you have checked the luggage in at the check in desk as I know that some insurance companys will not insure them whilst you have them checked in. Read the SMALL PRINT

I ise a discrete hardcase which you can close with locks.

No stickers or branding for camera or diving equipemt ofcouse.

I ise a discrete hardcase which you can close with locks.

 

No stickers or branding for camera or diving equipemt ofcouse.

Ditto - this is just for the "larger" stuff that I'm not really able to check. My housing and related gear travels in a pelican, but it's an unbranded one that just looks like a beat up grey hard case. I put locks on it, but the TSA monkeys frequently fail to lock it back up and I tend to get the case back sans lock... which pisses me off to no end.

"Normal" scuba gear goes in a generic roller bag. All computers (dive & laptop), camera equipment and strobes travel with me in a carry-on bag (ThinkTank Airport International - great bag!). One more reason why I'm a fan of quick-release connections for dive computers.

Stew

thanks again

I know, the small padlocks only have 1-3 pins and even I can pick one in 1-2 seconds

good advice about the insurance

they are only too keen to get out of everything nowadays

cheers

Seven

bmemike

the TSA probably just uses bolt cutters to remove the padlocks and then throws them away

I have had the same thing happen, but at least they leave a note to say what they did

cheers

Seven

An excellent discrete case is a Lowepro Roller, it looks like a generic black soft sided bag but is a hard case camera bag.

I ise a discrete hardcase which you can close with locks.

 

No stickers or branding for camera or diving equipemt ofcouse.

eyu

will look at that bag on the web

thanks

bmemike

the TSA probably just uses bolt cutters to remove the padlocks and then throws them away

I have had the same thing happen, but at least they leave a note to say what they did

cheers

Seven

I wouldn't be so PO'ed about it if it wasn't for the fact that I buy TSA-approved locks so they won't have to do that!

I'm trying to play by the rules to avoid headache (and loss of gear) but they could give a 'F' less about any of the people that pay their inflated salaries.

I have the ThinkTank International with the additional Airport Check-In Bag that fits on the handle. In this I get my Subal rig with camera in it, Inons, Dome port, Flat port 2-3 lenses, cords, minimal strobearm needs, laptop etc, etc. Additional extension rings, arms etc may go in my dive bag, but the minimum I need to use my rig and take pics always goes with me on the plane.

bmemike

as mentioned earlier I can pick those small padlocks quicker than I could cut them with boltcutters.

So no real need to destroy, just open and close.

keeps everyone happy.

Loftus

good point about taking at least the bare minimum onboard

so if some is stolen you can still take photos/video until the insurance check turns up

cheers