Question How do you travel with your Nauticam setup?

[MrTW]

Thinking (since about a year by now ) to upgrade my current lightweight Nauticam Panasonic setup for a Sony A7RV setup in a Nauticam housing. Got the A7RV earlier last year and learned how to manage the camera at least on the surface.

Now, upgrading from my relatively small rig plus backscatter snoop, I am currently dragging about 20kg check-in for my dive gear plus full set of carry-on (7kg max allowance) for my camera stuff.

I would definitely not want to check-in my current camera, let alone a much more expensive setup.

Question is, how do you guys manage travelling with a much larger Nauticam setup for a camera similar to a Sony a7rv plus ports, adapters, dome, etc.?

 

[hilljo88]

If there’s a risk you might have to check your camera bag, a roll aboard hard sided Pelican or Nanuk case works. Pointing out that you have lithium batteries in the case usually wins any argument about bringing it onboard. A larger straight or dome port might not fit in the case, but you can get creative about putting the port in your backpack.

If there is little risk of having to check the camera bag (bigger planes with lots of overhead space) there are soft- sided roll aboard bags made by Think Tank and others.

All of these bags regularly show up as “used” items in good condition.

 

[Searcaigh]

Camera and housing + strobes are always on my carryon.

A well padded cabin approved wheely works well for housing and strobes

Camera + lenses and other stuff (e.g. dive computer) in a camera backpack.

My carryon generally weighs in at 25Kg as I bring too many lenses plus spare camera body etc.

 

[MrTW]

If there’s a risk you might have to check your camera bag, a roll aboard hard sided Pelican or Nanuk case works. Pointing out that you have lithium batteries in the case usually wins any argument about bringing it onboard. A larger straight or dome port might not fit in the case, but you can get creative about putting the port in your backpack.

If there is little risk of having to check the camera bag (bigger planes with lots of overhead space) there are soft- sided roll aboard bags made by Think Tank and others.

All of these bags regularly show up as “used” items in good condition.

Good feedback!

So far, I am stuffing my current housing into a medium size Peak Design camera cube, which fits nicely into the bottom of my Akona backpack. However, not sure if the larger A7RV housing would fit that setup as well.

The biggest issue I usually face here is weight versus size for carry-on as gate agents often weight the bag before tagging when flying with low-cost carriers.

Will look into the bags you pointed out as well.

 

[MrTW]

Camera and housing + strobes are always on my carryon.

A well padded cabin approved wheely works well for housing and strobes

Camera + lenses and other stuff (e.g. dive computer) in a camera backpack.

My carryon generally weighs in at 25Kg as I bring too many lenses plus spare camera body etc.

25kg would def not work for most airlines I am forced to use here for cost or connecting reason. What a luxury!

 

[Nemrod]

An APS-C Sony so perhaps not quite as large as the full frame A7. I put the housing, two strobes, my primary port I use, charger, batteries, spares and my WWL-1 and CMC macro inside the Pelican Air carry-on. That just barely squeaks under the 20kg limit of some airlines. I put the arms in my checked baggage and the lenses and camera in my back pack. I also have a little dome for fisheye and that too goes into my checked baggage though I could probably stuff it into my backpack also. Dive gear and cloths and everything else has to go into checked. If my wife is with me then she may have my best regulator in her carry-on and the backup still in checked.



The 20kg carry-on limit would have me rethinking a full frame camera. You are going to have to be creative. I have been giving my scuba gear in general a weight reduction program, I am making the stuff run laps and do pushups, no, not really, but I have gone to great efforts to get rid of heavier stuff and replace with lighter equivalents (Go-Sports instead of Quattros for example) or get rid of somethings entirely (multiple dive lights). For example, you will hear that braided hoses are "almost" as heavy as rubber hoses, true, true it is but the fact is that I carry two reg sets and equivalent hoses in braided vs rubber saves me 6 to 9 ounces per set so that is a pound +/- for the two regulators. Even going to extremes like tossing the plastic mask cases and just putting my masks in my fin pockets. So summer before last one of my best dive buddies got hammered for over $600 for he and his wife being overweight and to then check additional luggage going to the Red Sea I was 22kg! But my handsome and debonair looks , a little pleading and a smile and the agent with a wink slapped a carry-on approved sticker on my Pelican which got me there and back. Saved me a heart attack!

 

[hilljo88]

My sense is that there is very little weight added in going full frame versus even point and shoot when you include the weight of the housing, strobes focus light, arms, etc.

Also, I am always bringing all my camera gear but if weight is an issue, I will rent bcd and regs onsite.