If you have ever had to travel with a large amount of camera gear you understand what a pain it can be. There are many pitfalls you have to watch out for. In 10 years of traveling with a large amount of gear I have come up with some helpful tips and tricks that you can use to save time and be hassled less.

The problems

• You should never check critical pieces of your camera gear. Since you can no longer use “real” locks (only TSA-approved locks) there is no way to secure your equipment. Even if no one steals anything there is always a chance of it being lost for days on end.
• Airlines have different standards for the size of carry-ons allowed.
• Even if your carry-on meets the size requirements, it’s almost surely overweight.
• You have to carry whatever you bring onto the plane though airports, to rental car counters, etc. If its a ton of gear you’re going to feel the pain by the end of the day.

The solutions

Do you really need all that stuff?

Know what you need. Think back to past trips. Did you use every lens, camera, and filter you brought with you? Chances are you packed too much. Packing lighter makes everything easier. Spend some time up front thinking about what you’re going to be shooting, what you need to bring and what you can leave back at home.

The camera bag

Option A: The rolling camera bag. When you really need a dozen lenses and two or three camera bodies, this is the only way to go. You are going to be over the weight limit but we can deal with that later. If you’re flying within the US you can take a decent sized roller onto the plane. If your travels bring you overseas, be sure to check size limits. ThinkTankPhoto.com does make the Airport International V2 rolling camera bag, which at this time meets the requirements of just about every airline I can find.

Option B: The backpack. This is my current favorite. I try to pack light and take everything I need in one small camera backpack. See my review of the ThinkTankPhoto StreetWalker Hard Drive for more information on what I’m using. A backpack lets me get though the airport more quickly, and if not overloaded does not cause a great deal of stress to carry for an entire day.

What about weight?

With either option you are most likely going to be over whatever the official weight limit is for carry-ons. While I have never had anyone weigh my bag, and from reading some forums its rare, but it does happen from time to time.

The first thing I would suggest is to make sure you don’t give the impression that the bag weighs a ton. If it looks like its insanely heavy chances are greater someone is going to ask to weigh it. When checking in keep it on the ground by your feet out of sight, or better, with a friend in the back of the line. Second, if they do insist on weighing the bag and it comes out over the limit, quickly remove some of the lenses and cameras and stuff them into your pockets and hang the camera from your neck.

There is no weight restriction on what you can carry on your person, so after your pockets are stuffed full, ask them to re-weigh the carry-on. Once you’re through, put everything back into your bag. Some photographers even travel with a camera vest on for just this purpose.

Laptop

If the airline allows for two carry-ons, I take a second bag on the plane, and in my case it’s the ThinkTankPhoto laptop bag. I use it not only to store my laptop, but I also have all of my chargers, cables, and power adapters for everything on my trip in there, as well as some things to read while on the plane. If I’m flying out of someplace like the UK that only allows one carry-on (at time of this writing that is so) then I jam everything into my one backpack.

The checked bag

I do store some of my non-critical gear in my checked bag. This includes my tripod, ball head, and other small odds and ends. It’s important to note that I’ve made sure my camera insurance will cover lost or stolen gear in my checked bag. Also, I know that if I land in my location and my gear (or entire bag) is missing I have to go the nearest camera store and buy whatever I’ve lost.

Ship the big glass

From time to time you need a 400mm f/2.8 or a 500mm f/4.0, and these are big, heavy lenses that are a huge pain to deal with while flying. My answer is to ship them ahead of time to wherever I’m going. In my case I rent the big glass because it’s so rare that I need it, but even if I owned it I would use the same approach. I find wherever the nearest FedEx location is to the airport I’m flying into, I ship it a few days ahead and ask FedEx to hold onto it for me. My first stop after picking up my rental car is to go get my lenses. On the way home it’s my last stop before departing.

One last note, if you have a massive amount of gear, lighting, big lenses, etc., I would consider shipping everything ahead of time and not having to deal with anything while flying other than a laptop. As another option, rent all the equipment when you arrive at your location. This is especially directed toward the people who need 4-10 large Pelican cases full of gear for a shoot.

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