Airline transportation

[Andy Wilkinson]

Thanks Bob. I've looked at that (and the 5552 model) and yes they fit most sensible European carry on maximum dimensions but at only 17cm depth internally and with a rigid plastic outer shell I suspect no way will an EX3 squeeze into them - anyone tried it? Also, Thanks Daniel, good points and well understood (I'm Platinium or Silver with most large carriers already due to my previous career involving 150,000+ miles travel a year )

I now have my EX3 carry on solution for British Airways or BMI (Ryan Air will still not be getting the pleasure of my presence!)

Fiddled around with my Petrol PCCB-2-N and I can get my EX3 in it nicely as long as I take the Sony Mic holder off. With all the critical gear (but not my MBPro which will go in a separate laptop bag) it's maximum external dimensions are 24cm (easily squeezable to 23cm, but no way to 20 cm!) x 55 x 33 cm. It's 2.54cm to an inch BTW for those of us who are non-metric.

Pictures below. As luck would have it I tried to sell this bag here on DVinfo a while ago (unsuccessfully!) so it's been used to lug all my sound gear around until now.

I've removed all the supplied internal partitions from the PCCB-2-N and added two 'pockets' that were supplied with my Petrol PWR-HDV Roller bag to 'cossette' the EX3 and all looks nice.

Bag contains EX3 with Manfrotto slide plate still attached to it's base, Charger, Spare Battery(s), Sony Monitor Headphones in pouch, Rode NTG-3 inside WS7 and with Rode Suspension mount, Rode pouch containing short XLR lead and NTG-3 foam windshield, various SxS and SDHC cards, Zoom H2 in a pouch (there won't be room for the Fostex FR2-LE on these trips!). I should easily be able to get my Sennheiser G2 radio mic kit in there as well wrapped in a small protective pouch as well as spare AA batteries etc. etc.

Sorry for hijacking this thread a bit and my focus on EX3 carry on baggage for European Airlines but I'm sure someone else out there will be going through similar thought processes and the info here should help.

I'll let the thread return to a more general theme now!

[Bill Ward]

Originally Posted by Daniel Weber

I fly internationally A LOT with gear. I ALWAYS carry on the camera.

I totally agree with Daniel. I use the normal Portabrace bag, which, admittedly, does not even remotely meet carry-on status. Every time I get on the plane, it is somewhat of a risk, so I take a few steps to lessen the danger:

1. I try to fly on airlines where I have priority boarding. Failing that, I take a hit and ask for a seat at the rear, so I'm the first to load after the high mileage passengers, and have a better chance for an overhead slot.

2. I will schmooze the gate agent when I arrive at the gate, and let them know I've got a mega-bucks camera, and ask if they could they find it in their hearts to let me board right after the priority passengers. It works most of the time. It works even better if they are a fan of the network/show/company you're shooting for.

3. The biggest risk in the US is getting booked on a regional jet or turboprop with the itty bitty overheads. In these cases, I will take the camera out of the Portabrace, and load it naked into the overhead, sitting on a nice cushion of pillows and blankets. Only once have I had to take off the viewfinder to get a full dockable Betacam or an HDCam to fit in the little overheads.

I have a fellow shooter who believes the Portabrace bag just says "Steal Me!" in an airline terminal situation. He uses something like the Kata bag (a carry-on size roller bag), but it requires him to fully disassemble the camera, lense and viewfinder each time. After pulling my viewfinder connector a few times over the years, I have a much higher fear of eventually breaking the connector from regular assembly/disassembly than I do of having the bag stolen.

Atho I have to admit, there have been times when the roller bag would have been nice...especially now that I have to carry on all my Lithium Ion battery bricks.

[Greg Kiger]

Pelican cases rule, fragile stickers are worthless and LITERALLY encourage bag smashers to toss um further :) insure everything for full value. we always get a carnet too, like a passport for your gear for foreign travel. i have seen video crews denied permission to bring their gear into a country without a carnet. the flip side; smart thieves at BAX global used my carnet to decide which items were the most expensive and stole um from my fancy pelican cases which were fortunatly covered by my poor insurance company. i got stuck with the deductable of course, ah the glamour of business travel :)

totally agree with carrying on the camera if possible. the irony there seems to be the better your carry on case the more they want you to gate check it vs show up at the gate with just a camera without a case and everyone gets that this guy can't gate check it and thus you get a pass to carry it on. wacky airplane fun :)