Airplane travel, argh!

[Dylan Couper]

I flew to Toronto from Vancouver last week (still here now) on a discount airline (sigh). The woman at the counter looked at my PortaBrace QuickDraw case (with an XL1 in it) and OKed it as a carry on. When I got in the plane, it would not fit in the overhead compartment. Then I tried to fit it under the seat. It only half fit. The stewardess said that if it didn't fit, it would have to be checked and go into the luggage hold. **snort** No.
Fortunately, there was an empty seat beside me, and I could fit it under both of the seats, but had my legs tucked tightly for 4 hours. Not fun when you are a tall guy.

I need a solution for not having to go through this on the return flight home. I'm thinking of buying a smaller cheap backpack for my Xl1, and carrying it on my person while I check the empty PortaBrace bag along with the rest of my luggage.

Is this the most sensible thing to do? I'm not checking my camera, and I can't sit with no footspace for 4 hours again, and will also likely not have the luxury of an empty seat beside me.

Never had this problem on Air Canada or United who (I feel) have a little more leg space between seats, as well as larger overhead compartments.

Your feedback is appreciated!

Thanks

[Frank Granovski]

Take the lens off and put everything through regular luggage, except the camera. Make sure you put all your cam gear (minus the lens-less cam) into a double box with foam. I can't think of any other solution other than sell your XL1 and gear in Toronto and buy yourself Pokey's cam and a Lowepro Nova 5 AW bag.

Note: Pokey's cam is the PV-DV953/MX5000.

[Joe Carney]

Petition to get JetBlue to start flying Canadian routes.
Discount airline with great space between seats and satellite tv on every seat. They use new airbus' with nice large overhead compartments.

[Bill Pryor]

I carry on a DSR500 in a Portabrace bag and it has always fit into the overheads. Most of the time I seem to have flown Southwest. I did run into one problem at a terminal--the little hole they want you to stick stuff through for X-ray was smaller than normal. I took the camera out of the bag, mashed the bag through, then sent the camera through .
Portabrace does make a bag that will fit through any airline hassle. It works like a regular bag, but if you need to compress things, you can pull your lens off, and it has a place for the lens to store upright. I think you take the viewfinder off too, and then the bag sort of collapses down and allegedly will fit anywhere. The backpack may be a good idea as well--certainly cheaper.

Since they started inspecting check-through cases, I haven't flown anyplace. I found it's better for me to drive. Even if it's too far to drive in one day, an extra night in a motel is worth it. Plus, when I drive I can take more stuff, like C-stands, foam core, etc.

[Mike Rehmus]

If you have a body and rear lens cover, it is just much easier to pack it in your carry-on and ship the camera case as hold baggage as you suggest.

I take a DSR-300 with me by taking it apart and carrying all the components in a case I know will fit under the seat or in the overhead compartment. I always carry enough gear to allow me to complete the assignment if they lose my hold luggage. Although I do have to ship the tripod in the hold. (they aren't too expensive to rent at the other end though.

My other solution is to ship the bulk of the gear ahead of time via one of the faster carriers with instructions to hold for pickup at the other end. It almost always works except one time I shipped my cart and heavy gear to Detroit and a local UPS idiot decided that since I wasn't there when the gear arrived, they should ship it back. Which they did.

I'm with Bill. I now prefer to drive if I can at all do so.

[Frank Granovski]

Driving? Gas is a buck a litre here in Vancouver. :-((

[Mike Rehmus]

It is getting close to that down here at $3 a gallon in some places. Still, there are few 'deals' right now and a lot of surcharging going on in the travel industry.

I just make certain my clients can & will pay the costs.

[Bill Pryor]

I traded in the old Land Cruiser a few years ago for a small Suzuki SUV, which holds all my gear (except the dolly), and it gets about 28mpg on the highway. Gas is around $1.90 a gallon here these days. It's great fun to park beside a Hummer at a gas station...the other day that happened and I filled my tank, went to the rest room, bought a donut and coffee, went back to my car and drove away, and the Hummer dude was still filling his tank. I bet he was close to a hundred bucks when I left.

[Mike Rehmus]

Know what you mean. I regularly pull up to a pump with a $80 total on it from the last guy.

I just bought a new Taurus which is getting a real 28-32 mpg (which Ford says is impossible) but it is doing it. Glad I didn't go for the big engine.

Is this a divergence from the thread topic? :-))

OK, Chris, we need an automobile thread!

[John Locke]

Don't they sometimes ask you to show that the camera operates? Without the lens, you wouldn't be able to do that.

Dylan, I'm going through the same thing now. I'd like to sit down the people at Lowel and give them a piece of my mind for awhile. $425.95 for a carry-on size backpack?! Gimme a break.

I've just bought a cheap carry-on hard shell roller case (about $45) and some foam inserts and am making my own. Since I'll be carrying it, and it'll be with me the whole time, that'll do.

[Mike Rehmus]

Costco has nice 22" bags in ballistic nylon that should do with the addition of some semi-rigid foam. Might even slip a thin piece of heavy posterboard or real thin Finnish plywood along the sides to give the camera a bit more protection.

But they use to make blow-up camera lens bags. I think REI has something along those lines. I know I bought a camera bag for my Hi-8 that is totally waterproof from them. It is probably large enough for my PD150.

Another idea might be to use a piece of PVC pipe with screw-ends for the lens. Slide some semi-rigid foam inside the tube, wrap the lens is softer foam and put it inside with the cap on. Should work. Fairly light too.

Of course bubble-wrap works very well too.

I have a nylon and leather case made by Hartman that would hold my DSR-300 if the lens were removed. But it isn't rigid.

How about a lady's cosmetic case? Those are rigid and have enough room to be packed with foam and hold the camera.

Or a fishing tackle box?

Done now.

[Ignacio Rodriguez]

Ask flight attendants for help. If your bag doesn't fit in the overhead or under the seat compartments, the attendants can put stuff into some closet-like compartments located near the bathrooms on some aircraft. They are usually not supposed to use those closets but if you are real nice and polite they will help if they can. I once did this with a Mac, the all-in-one prehistoric kind.

[Bankim Jain]

If you are wise you would have kept the camer on your lp (its not that heavey for a TALL guy HUH) ... simultaneously folding the portabag in such way that it fits under the seat or over head ...if not then you can check it into luggage and keeping the camera wisely & sfely in your lap... !

[Bill Pryor]

John, everytime I've carried a camera on board, I've had to turn it on to show that it really works. So you do need the lens and a charged battery. This could get into a Catch-22 sort of thing--I've heard that the larger BPL 90 lithium ion batteries are now not accepted because a knowledgeable person, I guess, could make a bomb with that amount of lithium. Although if it's a battery and on a camera and the camera works, then how could it be a bomb, you ask. Beaurocracy at work. Last time I traveled with my camera, not only did I have to turn it on and show them that it worked, they wanted to go over it inch by inch with the chemical sniffer pad thing. And the person doing it wouldn't let it pass. I was there for probably 20 minutes or so and finally called the supervisor because the person doing the sniffing thing couldn't speak English and obviously had no clue what the heck she was doing. Almost missed the flight even though I had got there an hour and a half early.

Overall, I think it's better to drive or to ship your stuff via Fedex Ground in advance if you can. However, I really hate to ship a camera, even though I have a big shipping case for it. And, now that they open up checked luggage on the airplanes, I wouldn't go that route at all. I refuse to ship a camera or anything else of serious value if I can't lock the case. I've read that lots of people are doing the Fedex Ground thing these days.

[Mike Rehmus]

There is an approved lock that you can use. The inspectors have a master key for the lock so they can open the case.

Still, I'd not ship anything that can be converted into a fair amount of ready cash.

Bankim, I'm not certain they will allow people to carry hard and heavy objects on their laps during takeoff and landing.

I find it strange they allow people to carry babies instead of having to fasten them down in their own seat because a baby in a crash is a projectile. Hard on the baby and the person it hits.