Air travel with pro photo gear?

Richard wrote:
I usually travel with a rucksack full of camera gear, namely a Nikon
500mm. telephoto, teleconverters, flash, binoculars, chargers, leads
etc. and my camera vest packed with more gear, spare lenses, GPS, PDA,
batteries, flash cards, headphones etc. and a camera around my neck.
Oh, and the laptop.

What are my chances of still getting away with all this in the present
restrictive travel climate?

Except for the ban on liquids etc nothing has changed for most airlines
except for flights to/from Heathrow.

I will be travelling from Amsterdam to Vancouver and back.

Should be no problem since I suppose you aren't flying British Air or
one of the other airlines with very tight carry-on limits ... are you
on KLM?

Presumably the rucksack will be stopped, but are cameras (i.e. a Nikon
D2Hs & 17-55mm. lens) allowed in addition to a laptop?

Yes.

I've been tempted in the past to carry the camera and 500 over my
shoulder in case they weigh the rucksack!

We do it the other way ... the LowePro weighs about 33 lbs with 2 Canon
1D series bodies, 500 f/4, 70-200 f/2.8 and a couple of other items ...
if the airline has a posted carry-on weight limit, say KLM with their
posted 22 lbs (10 kg) then I wear a photo vest and can put the bodies
and smaller lenses in the vest pockets and the bag plus the 500 is
about 17-18 lbs, then I would simply reload the bag once past the weigh
in. So far on several KLM flights between Amsterdam and Arusha nothing
has been weighed though.

What airline are you using? Some are a lot worse than others when it
comes to carry-on restrictions.

Bill

On 2006-09-17, Bill Hilton wrote:
Except for the ban on liquids etc nothing has changed for most airlines
except for flights to/from Heathrow.

That's so nice to hear. I'm flying to Ecuador/Galapagos soon and I was worrying
about my equipments. But if nothing has changed everything should go ok.

--
Petri Lopia :: lid
StormChasing/Myrskynbongaus etc. Lightnings/Salamoita yms.
http://www.petrilopia.net/
http://www.pbase.com/whig/

? "Bill Hilton" ?????? ??? ??????
ups.com...
Richard wrote:
I usually travel with a rucksack full of camera gear, namely a Nikon
500mm. telephoto, teleconverters, flash, binoculars, chargers, leads
etc. and my camera vest packed with more gear, spare lenses, GPS, PDA,
batteries, flash cards, headphones etc. and a camera around my neck.
Oh, and the laptop.

What are my chances of still getting away with all this in the present
restrictive travel climate?

Except for the ban on liquids etc nothing has changed for most airlines
except for flights to/from Heathrow.

I will be travelling from Amsterdam to Vancouver and back.

Should be no problem since I suppose you aren't flying British Air or
one of the other airlines with very tight carry-on limits ... are you
on KLM?

Presumably the rucksack will be stopped, but are cameras (i.e. a Nikon
D2Hs & 17-55mm. lens) allowed in addition to a laptop?

Yes.

I've been tempted in the past to carry the camera and 500 over my
shoulder in case they weigh the rucksack!

We do it the other way ... the LowePro weighs about 33 lbs with 2 Canon
1D series bodies, 500 f/4, 70-200 f/2.8 and a couple of other items ...
if the airline has a posted carry-on weight limit, say KLM with their
posted 22 lbs (10 kg) then I wear a photo vest and can put the bodies
and smaller lenses in the vest pockets and the bag plus the 500 is
about 17-18 lbs, then I would simply reload the bag once past the weigh
in. So far on several KLM flights between Amsterdam and Arusha nothing
has been weighed though.

Be glad that you don't have to carry films;-)
What airline are you using? Some are a lot worse than others when it
comes to carry-on restrictions.


--
Tzortzakakis Dimitrios
major in electrical engineering,freelance electrician
mechanized infantry reservist
dimtzort AT otenet DOT gr

Tzortzakakis Dimitrios wrote:

Be glad that you don't have to carry films;-)


In the bad old days of film we used to take as many as 180 rolls to
Alaska (many fewer to most other places) but it fit in a small knapsack
and was accepted as the "small hand bag".

All that's really happened with air travel is that the laptop bag has
replaced the film bag