Airline question

Returning from France to USA last month, I had laptop, USB chargers, 7DII camera with body cap, and two lenses with lens caps, all in my carry-on. Going thru Security X-ray, the bag had to be opened to be inspected. They pulled out the camera body, took off the body cap, put cap back on and returned the camera and carry-on bag to me. If I had remembered the camera and put it into a tray (I forgot about it, and put only a laptop in the tray) I don't know if they would have hand inspected the carry-on bag.

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As evoked by others in this thread previously, it is mostly all up to the people checking you. Recently arriving in Denver frm Europe i found it quite weird to have to walk through the controls on my socks for a good 25 yards like every other passenger. But the checking of my photo gear was without any big problem. The TSA lady was first unsure whether the lenses on the tray should be taken out of their pouches, but a colleague told her that was not necessary.

Returning from LA to Europe, my unpacked carry-on with the same gear and other stuff went through the x-ray machine without any question and I got processed in next to no time. In the parallel line most passengers had to empty all their cables, accessories, and electronics into trays and they had loads of them. In the third line my daughter got her camera bag swabbed and inspected and had to put all small electronic devices on the tray.

Nothing really unpleasant, but another example that you never really know how the checks will run. Keeping to the rules and complying with the requests of the staff checking you without getting excited about it is the only attitude you can adopt. The unpredictability factor will remain.

I travel with a Tamrac CyberPro Express roller. It's packed with photo gear and other essentials.

I always assume I'm going to be stopped and have my bag searched.

And that's usually what happens!