Airline travel with DSLR

I am flying in November to a relative's wedding that I will be shooting pics at the rehearsal dinner. I have not flown in over 10 years and have never flown with something of such value. Do I carry it on or pack it in my luggage? If I carry it on, are they going to open the camera up and look at it. Will my CF cards be okay? I'm afraid of packing it in the luggage because I've heard luggage can get lost and sent to the wrong place, or stolen... I'm not scared of flying but scared to lose my camera or have it stolen or broken.

Any advice you can give is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!
Lori

I carry my gear on in a backpack no problem. No special inspection and no problems so far to CF or any other gear. I would definitely not check the gear on the way they throw stuff around and sometimes gets lost.

Do NOT pack it, carry it on.

They will probably want to have you turn the camera on and look through the lens. They will also want to see that your cell phone turns on. So have charged batteries in both

Having seen close up how baggage is treated at major airports I'd never put anything of value in an aircraft hold. Keep it with you, preferably in a hard case (I've used an inexpensive aluminium case before, though others with deeper wallets would chose a Peli case). CF cards will be fine, your case may be looked in but all they will do is turn stuff on to ensure it is what it looks like. Have fun.

when me and the fiancee flew half across the country I backpacked my gear and my tripod lugged at the back... carry on is way to go!

Checked luggage is thrown around and can be stolen. Carry on the camera. This is the time to get a comfortable shoulder bag or backpack, depending on how much gear you'll travel with.

CF cards are not influenced by X-ray, you'll have no problems there.

I always put it in my backpack or a carry on bag and put the bag on the conveyor. I have never had anyone, international or domestic, ask me to take it out of the bag to inspect it. Video cameras they have checked but not my DSLR.

carry it on...I just got back from Asia and had no problems going through the security check points...

As others have said, carry it on the plane! I've never had my camera gear checked separately, just goes through the scanner with everything else.

Weird thing is they ask for laptops to be scanned separately - but not cameras. Weird.

I always take camera gear as carry on. In Norway, I had my gear swabbed for explosives. In Toronto, I had my camera bag checked for hidden compartments. Having had enough luggage mauled by airports, anything that I value, I take as carry on.

NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER CHECK EXPENSIVE...well...anything. Take it on the plane with you. You'll have zero problems taking it thru security; there's just a minor bit of hassle in that the screeners require you to take things like cameras/laptops out of the bag.

Yes always carry on. Valuables lost in checked in luggage will probably not be covered by travel insurance.
Sid

+1 for carry on. When I went to visit my sister in Utah this past winter, I had my laptop, one 40D gripped, 70-200 f/2.8L IS, 24-105 f/4L IS, 50 f/1.8 II, 580 EX II, Cybersyncs and a whole ton of extra accessories all packed neatly into my Kata 467.

Carry on! And I've never had them ask me to remove it for inspection. Be aware that they may have an issue with loose batteries that you may be carrying to power your flash or possibly even a backup battery for the SLR. Although I'm not completely sure on which batteries they have issues with.

In all my trips I have carried my camera, lenses and laptop all in the same back pack. They have never checked my camera, though they did make me put the laptop in its own tray to go through the xray. Other than that, no issues what-so-ever.