My experience has been that they expect you to place cameras, cellphones and laptops in a bin. Even when they aren't specifically asking I generally do it anyway since it helps keep the line moving and really isn't much of a hardship.

Boyd's point is a good one, especially with a little knockabout consumer camera. But, do I want to show off my Z1 to everyone standing around in an airport baggage line? ....No, not if I can help it... so, is it ok to wrap a camera in a black trash bag and place it in a bin alone to be x-rayed without showing off your expensive camera to would be thieves? Any ideas? Experiences?

I think you would draw the attention of TSA and spend more time explaining yourself than you would want to.

Just put you camera through the x-ray machine right before you walk through yourself. You will get through faster than the camera will. I wouldn't worry about people stealing the camera.

If you act like a professional who knows what they are doing, you will get through the process quickly with out to much delay or fuss.

I do this probably 50 times a year.

Daniel Weber

Thanks for the good advice. My fear was probably set off by a story I heard about a guy who boarded with a fairly expensive camera and was accosted by folks in the destination airport, people who clearly targeted him and the bag with the camera - who he figured had been tipped off what he was carrying. I am not worried about losing the camera in the TSA line (grin).

I just had a Bescor 12V Lead Acid Camera Light Battery ( http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...e_Battery.html) removed from my luggage after flying to the UK with it in Checked baggage (had all ready filled my carry on with my XH-A1 and its accessories) Newark People decided it was unsafe to fly and they are holding it in the Hazmat area until I return to Newark (which I never will). They could not tell me why it was not allowed. I was trying to read the rules but they all seem to talk about LIONs not Lead Acid. (I don't know the difference) I have no problem flying by the rules but I would have appreciated being given a chance to mail the battery to my self, not being told after boarding that "An electrical device was removed from your baggage and can be picked up when you return." I am waiting for a call back to see if they can ship it to me. For what it is worth when they asked if I had any hazardous material in my bag I did tell them that I had a larger than normal rechargeable 12 Volt set of batteries for a camera light but they did not care when I was checking in.

Went to Brussels and back from Salt Lake through Chicago in december with a Z1 w/3 950 batteries, an Hc3 with a big battery, a macbook pro, a macbook and a pc laptop all with Li batteries, and did not even get questioned once.
My wife gets pulled aside EVERY time for a closer search. She wears a Muslim hamsa necklace (her family is Muslim).
My brother (worked for HS now Secret Service) says it's called "Targeting", not "Profiling"...

I traveled to Singapore and China via LAX with a Bescor NiMH battery in a checked SKB case. While the regulations are clear that NiMH aren't affected, the problem is that the Bescor battery is not marked in any way as to the type of battery it is. If Bescor started marking them in a way that looked OEM, I think some of these problems would be averted. As a hedge, I connected my battery to its AC charger to satisfy the regulation that the extra battery has to be connected to a device. The case was inspected in LA when outbound but as far as I know, was not inspected elsewhere.

The battery had its charger wrapped around it, both were taken from my luggage. Still waiting to hear back from Continental. TSA said they only discovered it but it was Continental's call to not allow it on the plane, Continental is holding it in Newark.. : Sigh :

I recently flew from LA to SFO with my new JVC HD110 (small compared to some broadcast cameras) and carried it bare with no bag since i didn't have time to get one before the flight, i then had my backpack with MacBook Pro and a Pelican case with all the camera accessories in the backpack.

I had the IDX charger and two bricks one on the camera and one on the charger in the pelican.
I had no trouble at security at LA, Just took the Laptop out and put them all in different bins. The airlines website said that media cameras where exempt from carry on size rules, so i printed this page just in case.
Once on board the flight was under booked so i had a whole row to myself and strapped the camera to the seat next to me.

On the way back going though SFO security took the pelican out of the backpack and scanned it separate but never opened the case.

So far traveling with the HD110 bare is easier then traveling with the DVX100 in a bag with all the accessories, i normally got the bomb swab scan thing on my camera bag pretty much every time.

I recently flew from St. Louis, MO to Spokane, WA and had no trouble with my batteries. My brother and I travel with 2 porta brace hard cases as carry-ons and had 2 V1U's, 3 HC1's, and 5 TRV33's along with 4 large batteries for the V1U's and 10 large batteries for the HC1's and TRV33's.

The TSA didn't care too much about the camera batteries. They seemed to be more concerned with my rechargable NiMH AA batteries that I had in my backpack.

Going through security seemed to be just the same as years in the past.

As a side note, the TSA agents in Spokane seemed to be the nicest people out of all of the airports I've been to. Maybe because it is a small airport and they are not too busy or rushed.

Traveling to NYC on July 13th and my camera/equip will be coming with me on the plane
 

First off, this thread has been very helpful, so thanks for that. :-) I have 2 rechargeable battery packs - NP-F750 & NP-F960 and from what I've read here, and from the link provided in one of the posts, both will be okay to board the plane with me. I'm taking with me, my VX2000, a tripod, DV Caddie, power adaptor with cord and two batteries, which will all go with me on the plane.

I have a question regarding my AC power adaptor. Will that pose any problem when I'm going through security? I'm also wondering if, when flying to NYC, the rules are more rigid due to 9/11. I'm coming from Cleveland and will be arriving at La Guardia.

Also, how do I handle the cassettes I'll be taking with me? Should I permit those to go through the x-ray machine, or should they be held aside?

Linda:

There should be no problem with the power supply. Don't be surprised if it gets a little extra attention after X-ray, and maybe even a question about what it is. Cords and electronics look pretty scary on the colorized X-ray monitor.

I think the general consensus has been that the X-ray machine has no effect on videotape, shot or un-shot. If you're worried, ask for a hand check of your cassettes. Just be sure you have some extra time, because once they start looking, they'll likely open every single tape box to examine the contents.

Thanks for the info, Bill. Yes - the AC Power Adaptor is a bit curious looking, being a solid, rectangular shape with a cord on one end and a socket on the other. The tapes themselves, I'll put aside, for them to examine.

I just don't want any glitches or confiscations awaiting for me at the security point. :-P

While no TSA agent has even checked this yet on my trips, one other precautionary measure: put each of your batteries in a little ziploc bag, so they are isolated from metal contact across the battery leads.

In theory, if you don't, you're not in compliance with the carry on rules for Lithium Ion batteries, and they could be taken out of your bag.

Thanks for the info. I've also read that the battery ends need to be taped? Does this also apply to lithium batteries?

Linda: well, that's another way to adhere to the rules. (brrrump-ching!) But seriously, folks...

I wouldn't tape the ends of the battery. You don't need to. The Ziploc bags (or original cardboard/plastic packaging) work just fine, and you don't have to worry about gunky build-up on the battery leads transferring into your power slots on the camera.

Yeah, I read somewhere on line that my type of battery doesn't require tape, so zip-locs, it is!

I've traveled quite a bit with Camera Equipment and I'm amazed they don't question me because of all the cords and cables in my bag (multiple chargers for different camera batteries, laptop AC cord, phone charger, headphones, xlr cables, etc.) They just make me take my laptop and camera out of the carryon and I've never had problems.

I'll also echo the battery solution. Either put them in plastic bags or in completely separate containers so the metal contacts on the battery can't touch other metal. Just allow a little extra time so you don't have to rush.