Traveling internationally with your camera gear...

I travel internationally extensively for business and limit my kit to my RX100 mk ii and HVL F32M flash gun plus a few accessories including table top tripod; all this fits with perfection in to a small Lowepro video camera bag and I can still shoot the vast majority of what I would be able to shoot if I lugged my DSLR arsenal with me. In the evenings I slip the RX100 in to a pocket when heading in to town for dinner with colleagues, prospects or customers and don't feel inappropriate like I would with DSLR.

For the relatively few occasions when I do travel with my DSLR and associated kit I have a laminated card that lives in the camera bag and which lists each item of equipment, its weight and the sequence in which I am reluctantly prepared to place it in my suitcase. So far at least, polite sweet talking has always won the day and I have always been permitted to board with an overweight cabin bag (economy class as well as business) but when the day comes that this doesn't work, I won't be in a tizz working out what to do.

If laptop and/or camera kit are in the hotel room I too use the "Do not disturb" sign even when it is unoccupied.

looks like I need another separate bag for travelling with camera gear....

I have been traveling quite a lot recently and haven't seen any issue with camera gear. This is mainly Asia pacific route. Just carrying my stuff in a camera bag, with me into the plane.

Just got back from China, no issues so far.

FYI, I was subject to the new rules.

Let me preface that my situation is not typical, I have my kids with me, so I could not even unload my electronics into a tray, which made TSA angry.

I packed a tripod, A7rii + A7ii, 16-35, 24-240, 35f2.8, 85f1.8, flash, trigger. 5 ipads, 1 laptop, 1 20000mah battery pack. out of all that camera gear, one of the bodies and two of the larger lenses were checked, they removed from bag and did the wipes. Checked all other electronics.

On the way back, I had my wife watch all the children and this time, I put laptop and ipads into containers. All of my camera gear went through fine, none were checked. On a side note, animosity towards TSA was especially high both ways. People generally have a lot of hate towards TSA, and TSA was generally very rude to everyone, match made in heaven.

There was a scene especially vivid with young swedish girls. They were frisked so carefully for whatever reason. They had the shortest shorts and a crop top, not sure how they could be hiding weapons of mass destruction

domke f2

5d3
24-70 2.8
70-200 2.8
50 1.4
1.4x tc
600ex rt x2
transmitter thing for speedlites
3 pens
half steno notebook
camera batteries x3
cf cards x2
aa eneloops x12
canon ixus something pocket point and shoot
soft foam earplugs xmany

all chargers and cords and other things go in my carry on suitcase or in a checked bag if going over seas

both fit under the seat or in the overhead, and ive got everything i own minus 3 more 600rt ex speedlights and more eneloops. ive also got a heavy duty Slik tripod but its rarely ever used so no big deal to leave it home. ive dragged that bag (albeit with different gear over time) all across the country and back and to europe 5-6 times...

Flew to Amsterdam last Saturday and returned Thursday afternoon. No difference at all compared to many years of flying.
Never asked to open and all went through rolling scanners just fine.
Bag consisted of two gripped bodies, four lenses and two Speedlites. Extra batteries for cameras and AA NiMH.

Made two trips to Italy this summer - JFK to Milan and back. Carried a bunch of gear each time - two bodies and an assortment of lenses. No problem whatsoever - I don't think they opened my carry-on even once when going through security. And nobody checked the weight or anything.

Does anyone know what happens if the carry-on with gear is too heavy? Do they just charge extra and you can still carry it on the plane or you get charged and it has to be checked?

copmagnet82 wrote in post #18449849
Does anyone know what happens if the carry-on with gear is too heavy? Do they just charge extra and you can still carry it on the plane or you get charged and it has to be checked?

They will ask you to check the bag.

If you know ahead of time that you are over the weight limit, have a plan B ready. You might be able to move items to your checked bag if you haven't dropped it off yet... or transfer stuff to a travel partner's carry-on bag. Or remove vital stuff from the overweight carry-on bag (ID, meds, camera), put in a plastic bag that you have for the purpose, and check the rest. Depending on the airline, you might be able to lighten the bag by removing the camera and then carrying the camera separately, because some airlines allows a camera as an additional item. They might balk if it is a wooden 8x10 view camera.

Some people put some stuff in jacket or coat pockets to dodge the weigh scales.

My carry-on is usually too heavy. I rarely get weighed, but it has happened a couple of times. Once I was 2 or 3 pounds over but my wife was several pounds under, and they noticed that, so they just ignored it. Another time I was a small amount over and it was ignored.

The problem is that you don't know what they will do. They can do anything they want. So just try to prepare.

copmagnet82 wrote in post #18449849
Does anyone know what happens if the carry-on with gear is too heavy? Do they just charge extra and you can still carry it on the plane or you get charged and it has to be checked?

As I wrote above: I have a laminated card that lives in the camera bag and which lists each item of equipment, its weight and the sequence in which I am reluctantly prepared to place it in my suitcase. So far at least, polite sweet talking has always won the day and I have always been permitted to board with an overweight cabin bag (economy class as well as business) but when the day comes that this doesn't work, I won't be in a tizz working out what to do.

When does TSA start weighing the passengers?....... "Excuse me sir, you are 10 lbs. over the weight limit for your size and body type."

copmagnet82 wrote in post #18449849
Does anyone know what happens if the carry-on with gear is too heavy? Do they just charge extra and you can still carry it on the plane or you get charged and it has to be checked?

From past experience with Air New Zealand, they made me transfer items from carry on to the checked luggage, right there at the check-in counter, until I was only 0.5Kg over their 7 kilogram limit.

Nick5 wrote in post #18465181
When does TSA start weighing the passengers?.......

I actually don't think the TSA could care less about the weight of a passenger or their carry on. The airline could care and take actions under certain circumstances. Heck, many years ago my wife and I were weighed as we left Madrid Spain. It was likely July or August and takeoff weight can become critical in hot weather, hence the need to accurately know the takeoff weight.

Just returned from Niue with Air NZ. Carry on bag was a Think Tank Airport Security which itself weighs about 2.5 kg. Got weighed in Auckland on the way out, 13.5kg. Offered to take some gear out and got told not to worry about it ߘ