Need Advice On Transporting Gear!

JosephZar

JosephZar

Member
Hi everyone. I have been working professionally for a while but I seldom travel out of town. Recently I have been hired to fly to a different city to shoot some interviews at a conference. The gear I'll be taking includes:
1 HVX 200acamcorder, CanonT2i with Gini shoulder rig and 4 lenses, 1 zoombox, shotgun mic, 2 lavaliers, 3 LED lightpanels with tripods, 1 Rifa softbox and small spot with stands, 2 camera tripods, and a large green screen backdrop with support tripods.

Now my question is what is the best way to transport the equipment? I am willing to spend a fair amount on some good cases, but even with a Pelican case, is it a good idea to check it as luggage?

I have just never done it before and am a bit paranoid about such high $ breakable stuff!
That said, I don't even know what cases would be best. Do I get a lot of individual ones or a couple of big ones? Is it safe to check lights or a camera if it is in an unbreakable case?
 
There are a lot of variables here, but I would never put high-value easily pilfered items on an airplane as checked luggage. Ultimately, not only is there a very real damage/theft risk, but more to the point - the carriers liability is virtually nil - something like $200 per bag.

If I'm flying with a camera, the camera goes as my carryon. Even if it's protective pelican ends up in checked luggage filled with clothes, the camera never leaves my sight.

When I work regionally, I end up driving a lot, since I can fill the car with my gear, and take anything in my hotel room overnight that's valuable.

But if driving isn't a feasible option, look at Fedexing gear to yourself, either at the hotel, or through your client. Or a different carrier. But use a service where you actually can get insurance.

Alternatively, just rent locally instead of bringing your own gear in. It may be cheaper, or at least less risky.

I know plenty of people who fly lights as checked luggage... they don't seem to get stolen as much. And, with the exception of the bulbs (consider taking them out), they're pretty hardy.
 
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I've checked Pelicans before. I never check my camera. That's a carry-on.

The other option is to FedEx the Pelicans ahead of time, then FedEx them back. When I was in my last job, as part of a full in-house production crew, our travel shoots had to pack out 2 days before we flew out as the gear would be sent ahead by courrier (usually Conway).
 
If the shoot is in the USA and you're within 12 hours of driving to it, forget the plane and drive your equipment in the day before. Way cheaper and you've got what you want when you get there.
I've done this over 20 times and never been sorry. Of course you should always have the numbers of local pros in your book just in case you run into something that you need to rent.
 
Thank you guys for the great advice!
I live in Seattle and the shoot is in L.A.
As I already have the airline ticket, I think that I will look into Fed Ex or something similar.
Alex, is Conway a good service? How does it compare to Fed Ex
 
LA has the distinction of being a place with a ridiculous number of rental houses and owner/operators. You might be cheaper off hiring a local who can provide the lighting, than bringing it yourself...
 
I am in your boat too, JosephZar. I need to travel from one Hawaiian island to another and can't drive or rent. I have to check. I also don't see a heck of a lot of threads on cases or cheap shipping options per se, or anything 'large' in the for sale area.... I'll be doing my own homework on this if you want to keep in touch and compare notes, we can use this thread to help others....
 
JosephZar said:
Alex, is Conway a good service? How does it compare to Fed Ex
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I never handled the booking for gear shipments, so I really don't know how the cost measures up to FedEx or what kind of account one needs to have to get this service. All I know is that we'd pack our kits a couple days ahead of the shoot, load them on the truck, and then the gear would be waiting for us at the hotel by the time we got off the plane. We did this for Knoxville to Phoenix. Also shipped Conway to Portland (ME) and to San Francisco. Never had a problem.

I flew to New Orleans last year for a project and shipped my audio kit (Pelican 1650) ahead via FedEx Ground (3-day delivery from Knoxville). Cost wasn't terrible.
 
Freight service is cost effective for larger shipments... when you need to transport at least one pallet of gear. If you just have two or three cases, Fedex, DHL, UPS... likely to be cheaper. Obviously, if you have 3-5 days advance notice and gear availability, ground transit is going to be cheaper than air/overnight.
 
I have put my gear on airplanes hundreds of times and never once had a problem. Maybe I am lucky but maybe it is because I pack carefully in very good cases?
 
phudsontx said:
I have put my gear on airplanes hundreds of times and never once had a problem. Maybe I am lucky but maybe it is because I pack carefully in very good cases?
Click to expand...

Packing the gear to avoid transit damage isn't hard. Outright theft without recompense is what I worry about...
 
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