I will be flying next month with all my camera gear -- What do I need to know?

[stayathomedad]

Traveling out of state to shoot a wedding next month...

My lowepro backpack will be my carry on... Which will be full...

What do I need to know?

I plan on carrying on board a bunch of rechargeable batteries... along with a few lithium batteries... ALONG WITH a total of three batteries for my D300...

What is the limit for camera batteries, rechargeable batteries, and lithium batteries?

Anything else I should know?

 

[Butchdog]

Not sure if anything has changed in the last year or not.
I flew from Minnesota to Arizona last summer. I had three rechargeable camera batteries, 12 AA rechargeables, 4 AA Lithium, and a back up battery pack for my camera. No problems at all.

 

[iLLMaCK]

I flew w/ my gear in April, wasn't too bad. I had nice people who let me go through with out having to show them the cameras etc.
Anything, anything of value at all, don't put it in your checked baggage.

 

[jfrancis]

Never had a problem. Quite why video cameras and laptops have to be out of the bag for scanning, while big 'pro' SLR cameras and even more bulky lenses do not, continues to mystify me . . .

 

[JStewart]

I have traveled with my gear several times this year with out any problems, you should be fine. I hope you enjoy your gig! :smile:

 

[Oldfireguy]

I just got back from Peru and had no issues with anything I carried in or out of country but for some reason I think TSA came out with some new rulings on Lithium batteries.

Travel Alert!: Effective January 1, 2008, the Department of Transportation will prohibit loose lithium batteries in checked baggage.

 

[dan1son]

I bring a lowepro backpack filled to the brim with me everytime I fly (just got back on Monday). Of about 15 trips they've only hand checked it out once and that was Monday. He was concerned with the number of things in my top compartment (didn't even look at the camera gear). I had about 5 chargers, batteries, MP3 player, small P&S, headphones, etc. up there. He made fun of how much crap I managed to jam in there.

You should be fine carrying whatever you want in your carry-on bag. The battery limitations are for significantly larger batteries than your camera (think external laptop battery packs, pro video camera batteries, etc.). If they DO want to hand look at it (rare) just be kind and don't touch the bag.

The reason they want camcorders and laptops out is because of the number of internal parts they use, specifically mechanical. They're far more complex and need a less obstructed scan to get a good view of the insides. Relatively speaking a DSLR is a simple device.

 

[stayathomedad]

Relatively speaking a DSLR is a simple device.

sacrilege!

 

[cdnpilot]

No problems - tripods are also allowed as carry on.

 

[vulturetec]

I take camera bags with multiple-everything in them, and have never had anyone even ask to look inside the bags. I don't think you'll have a problem.

 

[TimK]

Last month I went to the States with 2 bodies, a 500/4 and 5 other lenses, 4 spare batteries and charger in my carry on suitcase. No one even asked anything. So don't worry and just try to look like a professional photographer.

 

[dsp921]

I'd call the airline and TSA and get your questions answered. I've seen some inconsistency between airlines/airports. You might avoid problems if you talk to your carrier directly. Email might be good, too, that way you can print any responses in case the agent at the gate has their own interpretation of the rules.

 

[gadgetguy11]

Be sure you carry on all lithium and lithium ion batteries, or you may find them confiscated from your check-in baggage. They need to be individually capped (Nikon plastic covers are perfect).

If you carry a fair amount of AA cells, eventually TSA will hand inspect for a closer look. They show the same size as large bullets. I used to pack the AA's for SB-800 in my wife's LowePro. She always had it opened and inspected, I did not. One TSA inspector finally told us they thought we had a round of AK-47 shells with us...

Have a great trip, you will be fine. We just returned from a 10-day air trip. The above listed items were not a problem, just something to be aware of.

 

[sonuj2]

All I can say is BEWARE of the TSA idiots .... they are absolutely clueless

 

[Bohdan]

Never had a problem with all my gear in a Tamarack bag on flights in Canada.
Question is how much to include in the bag.
How long will you be away? And how much shooting will you be doing? I've found that with my D300 and some good AA batteries in the grip and Lithium battery in the body, I could shoot every day for two weeks and not have to recharge the batteries. So I've learned that I don't really need to pack as much in the way of batteries and chargers. Leaves room for other stuff that I don't need.