airplane travel and my brand new dslr

I will be taking a trip to Japan and will need to carry a
portable computer, several bottles of different medications
since one now has to have the pills in the bottle, and
clothing and such for a few weeks.

Additionally, I want to take my new Nikon D40X and my new
55-200 VR Nikon lens. I have two questions:

The hard drive on my portable will not be able to hold all
the RAW photos I'll shoot. I have a very small and light
Thinkpad which has no built in writable drive and just a
couple of usb ports and a relatively small hard drive.
Uploading from Japan to a server in NY will be very slow if
not impossible. What would be the best method of
transferring the raw files from my SD disks onto a different
media?

Next question is about carry-on. I can't see being able to
carry all this onto the plane with the new regulations. Is
there a case which is considered "baggage proof" into which
I could put my camera and lens that I could put on with my
other baggage?

Thanks.

Louise

"louise" wrote in message
...

I will be taking a trip to Japan and will need to carry a portable
computer, several bottles of different medications since one now has to
have the pills in the bottle, and clothing and such for a few weeks.

Additionally, I want to take my new Nikon D40X and my new 55-200 VR Nikon
lens. I have two questions:

The hard drive on my portable will not be able to hold all the RAW photos
I'll shoot. I have a very small and light Thinkpad which has no built in
writable drive and just a couple of usb ports and a relatively small hard
drive. Uploading from Japan to a server in NY will be very slow if not
impossible. What would be the best method of transferring the raw files
from my SD disks onto a different media?

Next question is about carry-on. I can't see being able to carry all this
onto the plane with the new regulations. Is there a case which is
considered "baggage proof" into which I could put my camera and lens that
I could put on with my other baggage?

You must be planning on shooting a lot of RAW if it will fill your HDD!
Even entry level portables seem to come with at least 60 gigs these days.
Mind you this is only 15 x 4gb sd cards which you will probably shoots quite
quickly on a trip to Japan. Presumably you will take plenty of blank DVDs
to back up your raws? I would not want to have my laptop stolen and loose
all my raws as well as the laptop can be replaced but not your photos! My
camera will generally stay round my neck rather than in a bag on flights as
you will not want to miss those scenic shots from 30000 feet!

louise wrote:
I will be taking a trip to Japan and will need to carry a
portable computer, several bottles of different medications
since one now has to have the pills in the bottle, and
clothing and such for a few weeks.

Additionally, I want to take my new Nikon D40X and my new
55-200 VR Nikon lens. I have two questions:

The hard drive on my portable will not be able to hold all
the RAW photos I'll shoot. I have a very small and light
Thinkpad which has no built in writable drive and just a
couple of usb ports and a relatively small hard drive.
Uploading from Japan to a server in NY will be very slow if
not impossible. What would be the best method of
transferring the raw files from my SD disks onto a different
media?

Next question is about carry-on. I can't see being able to
carry all this onto the plane with the new regulations. Is
there a case which is considered "baggage proof" into which
I could put my camera and lens that I could put on with my
other baggage?

How "Small" is your "small and light" think-pad?
If it's no bigger than a 13.3 inch screen, it will fit into the excellent
LowePro Rolling CompuTrekker AW, here, which easily qualifies for carry-on
size:
http://lowepro.com/Products/Backpack...rekker_AW.aspx

You can fit quite a large about of photo gear into this fairly small
package. You could easily fit the kit you describe, with a good deal of
room to spare. Plus, it has excellent rolling wheels...and doubles as a
back-pack by simply pulling the full harness out of its compartment. -A
very slick bag.

For hard-drive space...go to Costco and pick up one of these for a mere
$109:
http://westerndigital.com/en/product...sp?DriveID=262
I have three of these, and they've been extremely reliable. It's great to
not have a need for power cords, as it runs off the USB power. Very
well-constructed, and TINY. 160GB. Great little units!

Make sure your medications are in their original bottles, and that the it's
your name on any prescription-labeled bottle.

You shouldn't have any problem if you do the above...

-Mark²
--
Images (Plus Snaps & Grabs) by Mark² at:
www.pbase.com/markuson

Mark² wrote:
For hard-drive space...go to Costco and pick up one of these for a
mere $109:
http://westerndigital.com/en/product...sp?DriveID=262
I have three of these, and they've been extremely reliable. It's
great to not have a need for power cords, as it runs off the USB
power. Very well-constructed, and TINY. 160GB. Great little units!

I took a picture of the Western Digital HD to give you an idea of how small
they are (I noticed there was nothing in the web-site's image to give you
perspective):

He
http://www.pbase.com/image/79831138/original

Very very small. It also comes with a very nice, custom-fit soft case that
has a pocket for the small USB cord:
http://www.pbase.com/image/79831887/original

-Mark²

--
Images (Plus Snaps & Grabs) by Mark² at:
www.pbase.com/markuson

On Sat, 02 Jun 2007 15:11:37 -0400, louise
wrote:

I will be taking a trip to Japan and will need to carry a
portable computer, several bottles of different medications
since one now has to have the pills in the bottle, and
clothing and such for a few weeks.

Additionally, I want to take my new Nikon D40X and my new
55-200 VR Nikon lens. I have two questions:

The hard drive on my portable will not be able to hold all
the RAW photos I'll shoot. I have a very small and light
Thinkpad which has no built in writable drive and just a
couple of usb ports and a relatively small hard drive.
Uploading from Japan to a server in NY will be very slow if
not impossible. What would be the best method of
transferring the raw files from my SD disks onto a different
media?

Consider an external HD with USB connectivity. They are capacious,
compact, fast (if USB 2), and cheap and require no setup if you are
running Windows XP.

Of course you can write the files to writable DVDs from time to time
while you are in Japan. Better take a robust case to protect the
written DVDs because delicate items are exposed to perils when you are
living out of a suitcase.

Next question is about carry-on. I can't see being able to
carry all this onto the plane with the new regulations. Is
there a case which is considered "baggage proof" into which
I could put my camera and lens that I could put on with my
other baggage?

Do a test pack to see what you can get into a standard carry-on. They
hold plenty, and are allowed even at skittish Heathrow.

Anything you put into checked luggage is at the mercy of clumsy
baggage handlers and thieves. It is tough to cover losses by
insurance, except if the items are covered by your home insurance
policy.

KS

In article ,
louise wrote:

I will be taking a trip to Japan and will need to carry a
portable computer, several bottles of different medications
since one now has to have the pills in the bottle, and
clothing and such for a few weeks.

Additionally, I want to take my new Nikon D40X and my new
55-200 VR Nikon lens. I have two questions:

The hard drive on my portable will not be able to hold all
the RAW photos I'll shoot. I have a very small and light
Thinkpad which has no built in writable drive and just a
couple of usb ports and a relatively small hard drive.
Uploading from Japan to a server in NY will be very slow if
not impossible. What would be the best method of
transferring the raw files from my SD disks onto a different
media?

Next question is about carry-on. I can't see being able to
carry all this onto the plane with the new regulations. Is
there a case which is considered "baggage proof" into which
I could put my camera and lens that I could put on with my
other baggage?

Thanks.

Louise

At the moment I am in Munich. In the past week I have flown from Newark
to Cologne to Prague and back to Cologne.

During all these flights I am carrying a case with a 30D, 3 lenses,
filters, pocket tripod, Palm LifeDrive and a TX and a Garmin Nuvi 660
and a MacBook Pro and 2 portable drives and lots of perscription pills
and extra cards, etc. Neither in Newark, Germany or the Czech Republic
has any question been asked and both the camera case with all
accessories and the computer case has flown as carry on luggage. Planes
were a 757, A310 and an ATR 42.

Just carry it with you and don't worry.

BTW, the only thing that security looked at was the small case with all
the cords.

--
To reply no_ HPMarketing Corp.

louise writes:

I will be taking a trip to Japan and will need to carry a portable computer,
several bottles of different medications since one now has to have the pills in
the bottle, and clothing and such for a few weeks.

Additionally, I want to take my new Nikon D40X and my new 55-200 VR Nikon lens.
I have two questions:

The hard drive on my portable will not be able to hold all the RAW photos I'll
shoot. I have a very small and light Thinkpad which has no built in writable
drive and just a couple of usb ports and a relatively small hard
drive. Uploading from Japan to a server in NY will be very slow if not
impossible. What would be the best method of transferring the raw files from
my SD disks onto a different media?

Next question is about carry-on. I can't see being able to carry all this onto
the plane with the new regulations. Is there a case which is considered
"baggage proof" into which I could put my camera and lens that I could put on
with my other baggage?

I always carry my camera gear, medical machine (CPAP), medicines, and laptop.
Clothes and such, I always check (but it is better to have at least one change
of shirt, underware, socks in your carry on also). While it doesn't happen
that often, it is not unknown for high end checked gear to get stolen. I
believe the airlines have a little clause that they will not be responsible if
you check cameras or laptops specifically.

There are different strategies I've used over the years, depending on the
flights I'm going to be making, and how much gear I'm carrying:

1) Lowepro Compudaypack -- I just bought this on my last trip, and it has 3
separate compartments, one for laptop, one for camera, and another
compartment. My gear just bit in the backpack. Note, it is larger by an
inch for some of the smaller regional airlines, so be sure to know the size
(and weight) requirements of each of your flights.

2) National Geographic NG-5162 backpack -- This is like the Compudaypack in
that it has 3 compartments. It met the smaller size of the SwissAir carry
on in a trip I had last November, but my work laptop didn't fit in the
laptop pocket, so my wife volunteered to carry my CPAP machine (she won't do
that again, since the CPAP machine guarantees you a bag inspection). I
recomend actually finding a store that has the bags in stock so you can
avoid this problem and try it out ahead of time.

3) National Geographic NG-2475 shoulder bag -- my NG-2475 has a laptop pocket
that is big enough for the laptop, and it fits under the seats. For US
flights that allow a 'personal' bag plus suitcase, it works fine for me.

4) Stormcase or Pelican hard sided roller bag -- as long as you have good
padding inside, this should survive baggage handling. However, it does
pretty much stick out as saying expensive gear inside. I also discovered
that airlines have smaller than the standard IATA requirements, and when I
wanted to use it last fall for a trip to Europe, it was too big for one of
the flights. I do use it as a normal roller bag and will gate check the bag
on smaller regional airlines. Another downside is it is fairly heavy, and
it airlines are enforcing the weight limits, you won't be able to carry much
DSLR gear. Note, I bought this right after the London terrorist incident
last year when they required you to check everything, so I wanted to be
prepared to check the gear if needed.

5) Normal roller bag -- I found a roller bag at Walmart that I can pack
everything, and it has a laptop pocket so I can get the laptop out for
inspection. Like the Stormcase, it was too big for one of my flights last
year.

6) Normal backpack with laptop pocket -- if you aren't carrying too much gear,
this is nice an anonymous and allows you to carry a moderate amount of
stuff.

Another place to check is http://www.thinktankphoto.com which is dedicated to
making bags for the traveling photographer.

--
Michael Meissner
email:
http://www.the-meissners.org

"
You must be planning on shooting a lot of RAW if it will fill your HDD!
Even entry level portables seem to come with at least 60 gigs these days.
Mind you this is only 15 x 4gb sd cards which you will probably shoots
quite quickly on a trip to Japan. Presumably you will take plenty of
blank DVDs to back up your raws? I would not want to have my laptop
stolen and loose all my raws as well as the laptop can be replaced but not
your photos! My camera will generally stay round my neck rather than in a
bag on flights as you will not want to miss those scenic shots from 30000
feet!


ius it okay to fly with a DSLR around your neck? If so, this will save me
almost 2kgs of baggage allowance!!!



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Sat, 2 Jun 2007 23:22:26 +0100, "the_niner_nation"
wrote:


ius it okay to fly with a DSLR around your neck? If so, this will save me
almost 2kgs of baggage allowance!!!

A lot of carry-on bags weigh 8 lbs empty and that is a lot when your
allowance for carry-on is 20 lbs total. You can save more than 6 lbs
by using a light-weight duffle bag. Mine weighs only one and a half
lbs.

Mind you, most airlines don't weigh your carry-on, and you can usually
get away with a lot. The problem is on the rare occasion when they DO
check. If you are over, then they can force you to check the bag when
it is not packed for that kind of handling. So be prepared.

Most of the time you can take a camera around your neck plus the
normal carry-on allowance, but not out of Heathrow.

KS

louise wrote:
...

The hard drive on my portable will not be able to hold all
the RAW photos I'll shoot. I have a very small and light
Thinkpad which has no built in writable drive and just a
couple of usb ports and a relatively small hard drive.
Uploading from Japan to a server in NY will be very slow if
not impossible. What would be the best method of
transferring the raw files from my SD disks onto a different
media?


I suggest that you learn to use the delete button. Digital has allowed
us to become rather sloppy and get away with it. People take 50 photos of a
single subject. There may be 3 really good ones and 40 that are dups or
poor quality images. For some reason people just can't bring them selves to
say, hey that one is ugly or just another good image, but not as good as
this other one and I should delete it. In the old days we would not have
made 50 images, maybe two or three. Note, I am an old guy and when I was in
it professionally a 4X5 was still standard.

Really I do suggest, even if you have an amazing storage capacity, to
delete most of what you take. Your average quality will go way up. Are you
old enough to have sat through someone's vacation slides? If so you will
know what I mean. You really don't need to keep your mistakes and second
best photos.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit