How do you carry your 2/3" Cam onboard airlines?

[EditingFX]

I was checking out the thread on the Pelican HPX500 case, and just not excited about travelling with such a large, heavy case, as well as the excess baggage charge ($150-200 each way). A fellow shooter I know who used to travel alot with his Beta would just carry it on & stow it in the overhead, wrapped in pillows/jacket.

Wondering how other folks prefer to handle air travel with shoulder-sized cams?

[Kit Hannah]

What I wnat to know is if they make any sort of protective device that will keep all the harmful rays in the sky from giving you dead pixels in your ccd's. Like a shielded liner you would put inside all around your case, similar to the idea of RF shielding on a cable.

[PaPa]

when i've traveled with a camera, they simply ask me to turn it on and show them that it runs perfectly. no scan required. maybe things have changed?

[monkeyking]

Recently flew around the US on various sized planes with my HPX500. I never checked the camera into baggage, always brought it on board. That said, I never carried it aboard in my portabrace bag either; technically it exceeds airline carryon specs even though I have often lugged it aboard in the past. Airlines have become more restrictive and I have been challenged at the gate more frequently.
I didn't want to take any chances, so I disassembled the camera (lens, VF&body) and fit it into a rolling protective carryon case that met airline specs. Tamrac, ThinkTank, etc all make similar rollercases that look just like all the other rollaboards but they are better built to protect your gear.
I also carried an allowable small tamrac padded backpack that could carry lenses, monitor etc. stuff that might not fit into the rolling case. Very discreet and satisfied the airlines. I also wore a light jacket with lots of pockets for misc. stuff.
More problematic were the flights aboard small commuter planes that don't even allow roller cases. They make you check those on the tarmac before you board and someone throws them into the back of the plane. I chose either to carryon the lens and VF and (gulp) check the body, but usually carried the camera body naked aboard and either wrap in blankets overhead or even under the seats in front of me if no one was sitting next to me or if sitting next to my producer we both gave up our leg room to accomadate the camera
The small planes are killers especially in this age of always full flights.
And now we have to carry our lithium batts aboard as well ! Flying w/camera is becoming more challenging. Smaller cameras are welcome.


my 2 cents

[Brian Leid]

I use the Kata carry-on bag for my 900. I haven't checked to see if the 500 fits.
It allows you to remove lens and viewfinder and store in the same bag.

http://www.kata-bags.com/Item.asp?pid=6&cid=5&perentId=1&ProdLine=1

[EditingFX]

Great info... thanks MK. I *thought* that PortaBrace made a "bodyglove" style case that came apart to form separate padded bags for lens, VF, body & batt.; but can't find it on their site.

[Ed Waters]

I have a Portabrace carry on for my HVX 500. The B&H price is 349.00

Here is the model # Porta Brace POCOABM CO-AB/M Camcorder Case

This is a good fit and the measurements conform to airline limitations.

Best of luck,

Ed Waters

[Brad Neal]

I guess if all you are taking is the camera and lens, then one could carry it on. But what about chargers, extra batt's, cables, sticks, etc?

Although the Pelican is huge, and there is an up-charge, it holds everything except the tripod and lighting. So I have just decided to check it and build the extra cost into the travel expense.

-Brad

[Bachman]

Weve had no problems but interested to know if anyone has had any with xray machines damaging gear?

[Kit Hannah]

Weve had no problems but interested to know if anyone has had any with xray machines damaging gear?

Well, when we had our JVC HD110"s, we rented one to the local university and they took it round trip on a 1 1/2 hour plane trip for a basketball game. It left perfect and came back with a couple of dead pixels after only a few hours of use. I thought the x-ray machines did it, but many people say that at higher altitudes, there are some sort of radiation type rays that can affect electronic equipment, thus causing things like dead pixels.

I would be interested to hear from someone that flys with their camera quite a bit and see what they have encountered.

[HorseFilms]

I've carried a Betacam on planes quite a bit. I just do as described earlier and wrap it in pillows, jackets and anything else I can find. I haven't had any problems yet.

[watson]

i just got back from Iowa and NH covering the presidental events... man i have never seen so many cameras being carried onboard at one time. Pretty much everyone just carried their cameras on (and like said aboved) warped it in their jackets and placed it in the overhead bin. I'm still just shooting on a DVX, but i have placed my DVX through airport scaneers a ton of times and have never had a problem.