??? to those of you that airtravel to weddings

If you shoot a wedding out of state and you need to take a flight to get there... how do you trasnport all your gear? Do you check it? Do you bring it as Carry On? If you check it.. do you insure it in some way??

When I travel interisland I carry on all my camera gear in 2 small bags and my laptop....I put things like my flash bracket in my check on luggage...anything valuable I keep on me at all times...I forgot once and tried to carry on sensor cleaning fluid..it's flamable!! I caused a big ordeal! Just remember to leave that stuff at home..Kim

this is one of the questions i was going to ask david jay in the Q&A thread, maybe we can get him to comment as well.

I have some experience with Pelican cases with computers & electronics. If you want to check your equipment rather than carry on, I don't think these cases can be beat. They are made to protect what's inside regardless of how they are handled.

The only thing now is...you can't lock your items only with those stupid TSA locks...and if you see a pelican case you KNOW it's good stuff...I would keep mine on me, when I travel to Israel..I just carry it, like a bag..

I ask for hand inspections (boy am I tired) ahead of time so I don't hold the group up. Be prepared to unload batteries and cards.

I travel extensively with my gear, some for weddings, alot more for other reasons. I agree the pelicans offer a great deal of protection. They also scream steal me, I have something expensive in me. I spent over 30 years working at the airlines and the thefts were normally cases such as this.

I have a couple of hard sided Samsonite suitcases that I pack all of my gear in that I want checked. In most cases, I ship this ahead of me to make sure that it is at destination when I get there. I then take my camera bodies and smaller lenses as carryon. This setup has travelled extensively in North America and has made trips to the south Pacific and Europe and never have I had a problem. I always make sure that they are packed properly.

Jeff Solenberg wrote in post #2475472
I have some experience with Pelican cases with computers & electronics. If you want to check your equipment rather than carry on, I don't think these cases can be beat. They are made to protect what's inside regardless of how they are handled.

Pelican cases are very durable and once on a hike my peli case with the camera fell down 5 meters (about 17 ft). Not a scratch, everything worked fine.

The only minus point of pelican cases is that they are heavy.

3 things are excluded from warranty:
- bear attack
- shark attack
- children under 5

I keep my equipment with me (backpack).
I'll never check it..to many thieves working at the airports and not to mention they tend to loose luggage!
I'll have to remember to take all the fluids out of my bag now.

How about FEDEX overnight in Pelican Cases to Hotel???

I use the bag named "Airport Security" made by Think Tank Photo. I love it.

It fits all my gear, and it's the exact size of allowed carry on baggage. It has some great padding, combo locks on the two main zippers, and even a security cable to chain it to a post or something so nobody can take off with it when you're on the job. It also looks just like any other wheeled suitcase so it doesn't scream "PRO CAMERA BAG!!! STEAL ME!!" And when you're going off road, you can pull out shoulder straps to wear it like a backpack.

What I used to carry in 3-4 bags I now have in one. It's awesome!