[Leica] Best practices for carrying camera gear on long-haul trips

[Don Dory]

I would add that you really don't want to check your tripod if at all
possible.  I have had several delays in CONUS when the airlines sent my
tripod to a different destination.  There are many small carbon fiber
tripods available suitable for most use.  Not so much if you require a 5
series Gitzo with a Wimberly equivalent for your extreme lenses.

On Tue, Mar 26, 2024 at 9:43 PM Brian Reid <reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us>
wrote:

> I'd like to mention that over the years I have seen photographs taken by
> Duane Birkey in a very large number of distant places, so he obviously
> travels far and wide with camera gear. He speaks from experience.
>
> On 2024-03-26 18:23, Duane Birkey via LUG wrote:
> > The only photo gear I will ever put in checked luggage is a tripod...
> > or a light stand...  Having watched how suitcases are handled and
> > looking at the wear and tear inflicted on my checked luggage on every
> > trip...  there is no way I would put any gear in a suitcase or checked
> > bag.
> >
> > I usually use a Domke satchel full of my primary gear that goes under
> > my seat as a personal item.... and a roller/spinner carryon filled
> > with spare gear/extra batteries/ chargers, my laptop and a couple sets
> > of clothes/padding.   My carryon bag usually pushes 30+ pounds... When
> > I am working my whole kit is typically 2 or 3 bodies, 6 or 7 lenses,
> > two flashes, and audio recorder/mics/cables...  I don't take that much
> > gear on vacation....
> >
> > If packing camera gear into two bags, I do recommend packing things so
> > that you have everything you need together in each bag, charger, extra
> > batteries/ cards, lenses etc...   so if you were to lose one bag....
> > you have enough gear in the other bag for your trip...
> >
> > If you are taking more gear than what fits in a camera bag and a
> > carryon...  you are taking way too much gear...
> >
> > I don't carry liquids in my carryon, and I rarely ever have any issues
> > going through security even with all my gear...   and I when I do have
> > issues it is when I'm entering some countries that are not fond of
> > people bringing in that amount of gear...   I tell them that I always
> > carry extra gear in case I am held up and my whole bag gets stolen....
> > they usually say something like oh no,  you won't have to worry about
> > that here... and then they let me through....
> >
> > The only time I do have trouble in security is when I travel with a
> > Leica table tripod and the large ball head....  I've learned to
> > separate those two items as together it looks too much like a
> > gun/silencer...  I've lost track of how many times I have been flagged
> > for those... whether in carryon or checked luggage...  ( I stopped
> > putting it in checked luggage)
> >
> > Either way... I have had no problems traveling with lots of photo gear
> > in my carryons...  a laptop-size shoulder bag and a regulation size
> > spinner carryon doesn't attract much attention....
> >
> > Duane
> >
> >
> >
> > Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>
> >
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-- 
Don
don.dory at gmail.com