C100: How do you travel with your gear? Anyone avoiding airplane baggage fees?

Paul Frederick said:
Slightly off topic, but does anyone do a Carnet with their gear? It's a document to declare all the gear you are traveling with is yours. In the mid-90s I had to fill one out for a trip to Scotland from the US. The TV station I worked at thought it was "a good idea" since the camera and lenses were @ $50,000. However, it turned out to be a monster pain in the ass. The few trips abroad I've done since with smaller cameras, I have just carried stuff on and didnt bother with getting one.
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I had to do this for working in Canada once, it was an enormous PITA, the second time I managed to get a letter from Canada customs in advance and side stepped it. This is another thing that has become way easier with small cameras.
 
A carnet is less of an issue with prosumer gear where you're talking about a camera that is less than $10,000 in value. When you're bringing in camera packages that cost as much as a house then it makes more sense and the customs people might actually insist on one.
 
LyleGorch said:
I had to do this for working in Canada once, it was an enormous PITA, the second time I managed to get a letter from Canada customs in advance and side stepped it. This is another thing that has become way easier with small cameras.
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Canadian Customs is a pain in the @$$ with broadcast gear. I went up to shoot a sports car race years ago for a friend with his camera(he was already in-country shooting for the broadcast network and I was coming in to shoot for one of the manufacturers). They read me the riot act and finally let me pass through with the cam and made sure to let me know that "THEY were doing me a huge favor this time…"
 
I use the Tenba Roadie II HDSLR/Video Shoulder Bag.

I can pack the assembled C100 (top handle + grip + the Canon 17-55mm), the Canon 70-200 f/4, a mic, headphone, cables, extra battery / charger, a 15inch laptop and still have some room for some extra stuff. I've traveled with this as a cabin baggage.
 
Pelican carry on (cam, lenses, access). Everything else I rent and have it delivered to hotel or fedex location near hotel. Much easier that way.
 
I use my pelican 1510 to transport my c100 with 2 lenses and the rest of my great (audio lab's, top handle, LED light, batteries, charger).

I also use a backpack from F-Stop gear. they make super high quality packs and they fit into the over head bins. http://fstopgear.com

I have their Satori XP bag... it's an investment but a worthwhile one.. especially if you want to travel light. I can take my c100 with lens attached, my lab's, a second lens, top handle and batteries all in the Medium Slope ICU.

The bag had a rigid skeleton too so things don't get smushed. It's a bit of a task to get it into some of the smaller planes overheads.. but fits on pretty much everything I've flown on. Also can slide in front of you if needed under a seat.
 
LyleGorch said:
More than one major airline has a commercial film/tv crew baggage rate which is a significant saving, I've taken as many as 8 pieces on domestic and international flights. Poke around the airline websites and you will find the info.
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A little more on this. In my Steadicam years I used to fly with 8-12 cases and definitely learned the ins and outs. The general term for what Lyle describes is "media rate" and each arline has their own policies on this but one thing is common: you need an ID from a television or film production entity to get the rate. Since I was usually traveling as a freelancer this was always an issue until I came across this site: http://www.easyidcard.com. I was able to make an official ID badge for $12 that has never been questioned since. Hopefully it is obvious that this isn't encouraging making false credentials--I just needed something that was legitimate looking but identified me as a working individual.

These days most airlines have certain rates for the first and/or second bag and then it gets really expensive after that, also the weight limit is usually 50lbs on each piece. With the media rate you are usually charged a flat rate ($50) for each additional piece with a 75 or 100 lb weight limit. It makes a huge difference.

One thing I recommend: many gate agents aren't aware of the media rate and sometimes you have to ask them to check with their supervisor or the other agents. The best defense is to print out their specific policy and bring it with you to show them.

Here are airlines that participate, with the details (courtesy Victor Lazaro):

AMERICAN AIRLINES: http://www.aa.com/i1...specialty-items
$50 per bag. For network, local tv & commercial filmmaking co. and pro photographers. Max 25 bags for American Eagle, 40 for American Airlines. Standard size and weight policies.

SOUTHWEST: http://www.southwest..._tab_list_tab_4
$75 for extra bags. For network, local tv & commercial filmmaking co. No max size, no oversized/overweight fee. Can secure a camera on a seat if you pay a ticket for it.

UNITED: https://www.united.c...=virtual_expert
National $50, International $70 if over 50lb or 62in. For network, broadcasting & commercial filmmaking co. with credentials, co ID or media card. or ID the bags with the company name. Subject to extra baggage embargo.

DELTA: https://www.delta.co...tems.html#media
$50 or 50CA$ or 50€ (love the conversion rate) if over 50lb (see chart at link for specific weight limits) For network, broadcasting & commercial filmmaking co. Need company photo ID. Maximum 25 bags.
 
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This is my light flight package
I fly mostly delta, so my skymiles Amex takes care of a bag.
I carry on the Tenba bag. In the Tenba I have my c100, three lenses, matte box, 5D (inside the matte box), Rails. The front pocket is audio, wireless kit, extra cables and connectors. One side is my EVF, and extras, the other side all the batteries and chargers.
I have a large hard tripod case on wheels that my sachtler tripod, kessler slider, and a small personal bag goes into. The third is a large pelican case where I can fit two LED heads, and a multi extension cord, and at times I will put my Zacuto hand held gear in there as well. Ad a leather bag for my laptop and hard drives and I am good, with two checked bags, and everything on wheels. One other thing that I thought I would mention, I notice alot of you speak of flying with lenses attached. The weight, and stress of a packed camera is hard on a point of the camera that is vulnerable. The lens mount, and the battery mount take enough abuse as it is, so I always make a point of traveling with no lens, or battery mounted.

photo.jpg
 
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Prairieboy said:
This is my light flight package
I fly mostly delta, so my skymiles Amex takes care of a bag.
I carry on the Tenba bag. In the Tenba I have my c100, three lenses, matte box, 5D (inside the matte box), Rails. The front pocket is audio, wireless kit, extra cables and connectors. One side is my EVF, and extras, the other side all the batteries and chargers.
I have a large hard tripod case on wheels that my sachtler tripod, kessler slider, and a small personal bag goes into. The third is a large pelican case where I can fit two LED heads, and a multi extension cord, and at times I will put my Zacuto hand held gear in there as well. Ad a leather bag for my laptop and hard drives and I am good, with two checked bags, and everything on wheels. One other thing that I thought I would mention, I notice alot of you speak of flying with lenses attached. The weight, and stress of a packed camera is hard on a point of the camera that is vulnerable. The lens mount, and the battery mount take enough abuse as it is, so I always make a point of traveling with no lens, or battery mounted.
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Looks like you need a more compact mattebox, like this one:
http://cvp.com/index.php?t=product/movcam_mm-4
 
John Foundas said:
Pelican carry on (cam, lenses, access). Everything else I rent and have it delivered to hotel or fedex location near hotel. Much easier that way.
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I haven't flown with anything (except maybe my camera) in years. If you have the extra gear like I do(so that you can still function at home while it's in transit), then ship it ahead of you ground(FedEx or UPS) to your hotel. The bulk of places I fly to, ground shipping will get it there within two days and it's less expensive than even the media rates, if your airline even has one. My airline, USAirways, no longer has one(and hasn't had one in probably at least 10 years).
 
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