Flying with camera...."the best way"...what is it?

[BluewaterPhoto]

I've brought my rig to Kona, the Philippines and La Paz this year in my carry on luggage using my AO Cooler bag. It worked nice. If I check my stuff in, I'll use a storm case. - Scott

 

[mjh]

I always carry on the camera gear. Here is the bag I use. I like it because it is a roller or a good backpack for those more rustic areas or you are out and about shooting dry for the day. It will fit in most of the overheads, with the exception of the smallest planes, then I have the flight crew "hand check it".

Tenba - Shootout: Large Rolling Backpack

This bag fits: 9.25 Dome Port or 4" Dome + flat port, Aquatica D7000 housing with body inside (or like housing), 2xS&S 110a strobes or smaller, handles, sync cords, strobe arms and all associated hardware, focus light, 8 AA batter charger, 2xlenses, camera & focus light charger, 17" Laptop, sound deading headphones, pocket cam, cell phone, Ipod, and other misc items for surviving 36hrs in planes and airports.....

 

[vladimir]

My Subal housing is relatively compact. It fits into a standard carry-on from COSMOLITE, which is featherlight. The camera goes inside the housing, and there is room for a few lenses, a couple of ports (not the large fisheye dome though--that gets checked), batteries, charger, synch cords, diopters and filters, and all the other small stuff. I like having the option of wheeling it through airports. Strobes get checked with the dome port, all of which have survived dozens of trips unscathed.

 

[a_squeakycat]

On a trip to Indonesia I did notice 2 divers carrying their DSLR's in housings on the plane as carry on. This was Singapore Airlines. Did not seem to be a problem getting it on/off the plane and thru security as far as I could tell

 

[smellzlikefish]

The two Nat Geo crews I've worked with both checked their camera gear (including personal camera gear) in as luggage. I was shocked as this flew in the face of every bit of traveling common sense I had ever accrued. One crew had three or four huge pelican cases with multiple underwater video systems (one of which was personally owned by the photog), and the other had one Pelican case for lenses and another for camera bodies, tripods, etc. Neither had ever had a problem with theft.

That being said, I still carry on my camera and housing with my strobes riding below in my luggage.

 

[vladimir]

On a trip to Indonesia I did notice 2 divers carrying their DSLR's in housings on the plane as carry on. This was Singapore Airlines. Did not seem to be a problem getting it on/off the plane and thru security as far as I could tell

Singapore Airlines has a 7-kg limit on carry-ons, which they enforce at least occasionally.

 

[a_squeakycat]

Singapore Airlines has a 7-kg limit on carry-ons, which they enforce at least occasionally.

That's true about the 7kg limit. However when I checked in I had a backpact and a med duffle style bag. The agent made me weigh the duffle but not the backpack. When I asked her if I needed to weigh the backpack as well she said no. Don't really understand that but it worked.

 

[danvolker]

On the little 2 engine turbo prop we took from West Palm over to Freeport, they let us carry the housed cameras aboard the plane....I checked with them the day prior to leaving, and they preferred that we put the cameras in a bag...so we used the Polar Cooler bags we keep the cameras in on dive boats....Since the plane was so small, and did not have overhead storage compartments, one of the crew took the bags from us at the stairway to the plane, and we watched him gently place the camera bags in the rear storage area with the suitcases.....they went on as carry on, and on landing, they hand these back to you as soon as you get to the bottom of the stairs/ladder of the plane.
This was fine, as the only thing we really wanted to avoid is having the cameras go into the baggage area without us( where pilfering could take place).

****here are the bags we used..they are awesome on the boat, as they are both protection with thick insulated padding, and they can be filled with water for the entire boat trip--your own camera rinse/soak tank...
Polar Bear Coolers, soft sided cooler, soft side coolers, soft sided cooler, soft sided coolers, soft-sided. This is perfect size for an Aquatica or Sea & Sea housing with strobes for Canon 5d sized cameras

 

[HowardE]

I always carry on my camera housing with the camera inside it. O-Rings Removed. I usually mention to the x-ray operator, "underwater camera" and probably 75% of the time I don't even get additional scrutiny. I also carry on the lenses and everything. It all fits in a carry on bag, and that way I don't have to check an awkwardly large pelican box. As long as they're not weighing my carry on... I'm good that way.

 

[lv2dive]

Dan, I purchased this alternative Airport Ultralight specifically because you CAN bring it on the smaller hops like the flights to Key West (where you typically have to gate check your carry-ons). And, it has worked for me on several flights as my "personal item" because I have carried it as a backpack, so I've had an additional carryon. This is definitely a smaller option and I am not sure if it would work for you, but I have been really happy with it.