Flying with camera gear

A recent thread on Birdforum started by Marcus Conway has got me thinking about travelling with my photography gear now that I am back in the UK.

As I mentioned a couple of years ago, I don’t tend to travel very light!  It seems from the comments on that thread that I have been lucky, I guess travelling with larger airlines and avoiding the budget carriers where possible has helped me avoid problems.  Click through to read more.

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I also use bags that are within the legal hand baggage requirements specified by the UK Government.  These guidelines seem to be used by many airlines but I always check before travelling.

My large backpack is the Lowepro Photo Trekker AWII and it takes my Canon 500 f4 IS, a couple of pro-size Canon bodies and several other lenses.  The straps do make fitting the bag in the testing cage a little bit difficult, but there is no problem getting it in an overhead onboard.

About a year ago, I got bored of carrying my heavy backpack and purchased a THINKTANK Airport International V 2.0.  This rolling bag is designed to meet most airline hand baggage size limits and still takes nearly as much stuff as the backpack but is easier to travel with plus has great carrying and security features.  This is the best built and designed bag I have ever owned.

I also have a Peli 1620 Protector Case – I remove most of the foam and it fits my Photo Trekker full of gear.  Great if I have too much gear for either of the other bags and can stomach the excess baggage fees.  I then carry a smaller Lowepro Mini Trekker AW with one body and minimum lenses I need (e.g. a Canon 400 f5.6 and Canon 17-40 f4).

None of this covers the weight involved with all this gear and restrictions the airlines put in place.  This is something I plan to look into further and will post up my findings soon.

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