Hey all,

I have a trip overseas coming up. Airports seems to get more jittery every time I pass through one.

Has anyone had any issues carrying on their XL2? I have mine with a few lenses in a Petrol PCCB-2N, which I believe was designed to fit within the maximum allowable dimensions of most airlines.

Also - how do the panny DVM63 tapes handle the x-ray machines? Are there any suggestions on how to get around the machines (send the shot tapes home in the mail, etc)?

My apologies if this subject has been beaten around recently.

Dan B
nyc

I recently flew with my xl2 in it's pelican case. Checked it through with a TSA approved lock on it.

Had tapes in the case, and tapes in my carry-on. I had a 'scratch' tape in each case, that had some footage already on it. Got through both xray machines with no problems in either luggage or carryon, but I think I'll make it a point to always carry on the tapes, just to cut down on the chance of losing exposed footage.

Here's a thread (with links to other related threads as a bonus!) that might be of interest to you, even though it isn't in the XL2 board:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=39736

Happy reading!

The Porta Brace Size Wize will fit the XL2 and fit on the plane. You might have to take off the metal accessory plate on the back of the camera.

http://www.portabrace.com/asp/ProdDesc.asp?DescCode=SZW

thanks everyone.

dan
nyc

Richard, Which Pelican model number did you use to house the XL2 that you flew with? Did you place it under the seat or did you check it with standard luggage??

Ed,

I forget the number, not the 'big' one. I think 1650? No way it would fit under the seat or in the overhead. I checked it through. And, it was almost fifty pounds when loaded! Granted, that was the xl2 with 16x manual lens, the color evf and the fu-1000, the dual battery pack and six batts, two mics, some mic cables, headphones, tapes, all the chargers and accessories that come with.... The box was really full. They would have hit me for 'overweight' if I had put the manual in it!

I locked it with a "TSA" approved lock, and they opened it and checked it.

I know that some airlines have a 'waiver' policy regarding 'the media' and their luggage. Each airline has differrent rules for what constitutes a 'filmmaker' or member of the 'media' so call ahead. I will next time.

Richard has more courage than I do. I won't check my electronic gear. The largest Pelican that is considered carry-on legal is the 1510, which is a roller case. The equivalent Storm case is the M2500.

I just ordered a 1510 with a divider set (more expensive than foam, but my preference)...I really like the latches on the Storm better, but at cases4less.com the Pelican was only $150, whereas the Storm would have been $200+.

I'm still suspicious that all the stuff I don't want to go as checked baggage won't quite fit, but we shall see. I should have it in a day or two; will post my impressions.

I travel for a living, logging last year well over 100,000 miles in the air. Airlines lose and misplace luggage frequently, and although they usually find what was lost, it can take several days for your luggage to catch up to you.

Just last week there was an article in USA today about lost baggage woes getting even worse...

See: www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2005-03-20-usairways-usat_x.htm

This article was regarding US Air, but airline cutbacks are happening everywhere. I am a "preferred traveller" (the guy who gets to cut in the front of the line) and all my bags are tagged as such. It still doesn't do any good. (They just apologize quicker to me.)

My recommendation? If travelling with a camera, check your clothes, and keep your camera with you. (While smaller commuter flights will force you to check at the gate, that luggage usually meets you as you get off the plane at your destination, and that has never been a problem.)
When carrying the camera with you, get on the plane as early as possible, as the overhead space is like gold and fills up quickly.

Quote from article: "At Christmastime, US Airways logged nearly 72,000 claims for lost or damaged bags..." . Ask yourself, If you were one of the 72,000 claims(!) whould you rather be making the claim for shirts and sox, or for your XL2?

Thanks Richard,
I am scared ****less to check my XL2 or F5 or Hassy equipment. I have, in the past, always carried my camera equipment with me, but with the XL2 and all the stuff I use with it, this is now becoming an issue with carry on. It is now a major issue for me to travel by plane.
US.Air lost my luggage coming out of LA to Pittsburgh and I never did receive it. I filled out the insurance form and when they went to pay for the lost luggage, they took off 30 % of the value of the dollar amount I listed for the contents value. I was so upset because I tried to be honest and I assessed the value based on being used and then they took another 30 % off of that. But they still had a ceiling price of 1200 dollars for luggage contents, anyway...so...they do not pay much for lost contents...just do not check much with value....carry it on...

I've spent a lot of my time in global travel - back and forth across 60-different countries during the past three decades.

Bill makes the right suggestions. If I can help it, I never place any of my main photo/video equipment in the main luggage. My main equipment is always carried in the hand luggage.

For some internal flights, or international flights eastbound to Europe, Russia, China, India, East Asia, etc, and southbound to Africa, the baggage limits are very low - generally around 23kg, with 5-10kg maximum hand luggage depending on the airline company.
For scheduled cross-Atlantic flights between North America and UK/mainland Europe the baggage limits are very good, with two 32kg main luggage bags + 15kg hand luggage (for a total of 77kg). For cross-Atlantic cheap charter flights, the baggage limit is normally only 20kg, plus a poultry 5kg hand luggage.

Normally I fit my expensive still camera gear inside a LowePro Nature trekker, and weighs 15kg or more. Sometimes I can get away with 18kg-20kg hand luggage as this is rarely weighed. If I need to carry more, I also wear a large Camera Care waist vest filled with lenses, camera bodies etc, as well as the LowePro bag. The waist jacket is 'worn' as clothing, so normally is not counted as my hand luggage (I tend not to 'show' my bulging, extremely heavy waist jacket when I check-in though!).

If you MUST send some gear on a flight in the main hold luggage, then I'd advise you to keep such things as still camera bodies/ Canon XL1/2 body, plus main lenses in your hand luggage. All batteries, remotes, add-ons, XLR kit, tripods, etc can go in the main luggage as long as they are well wrapped and protected. At least then, if the baggage does go 'missing' or get damaged, you still have your main equipment and lenses to carry on filming.

I travel for a living, logging last year well over 100,000 miles in the air. Airlines lose and misplace luggage frequently, and although they usually find what was lost, it can take several days for your luggage to catch up to you.

Just last week there was an article in USA today about lost baggage woes getting even worse...

See: www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2005-03-20-usairways-usat_x.htm

This article was regarding US Air, but airline cutbacks are happening everywhere. I am a "preferred traveller" (the guy who gets to cut in the front of the line) and all my bags are tagged as such. It still doesn't do any good. (They just apologize quicker to me.)

My recommendation? If travelling with a camera, check your clothes, and keep your camera with you. (While smaller commuter flights will force you to check at the gate, that luggage usually meets you as you get off the plane at your destination, and that has never been a problem.)
When carrying the camera with you, get on the plane as early as possible, as the overhead space is like gold and fills up quickly.

Quote from article: "At Christmastime, US Airways logged nearly 72,000 claims for lost or damaged bags..." . Ask yourself, If you were one of the 72,000 claims(!) whould you rather be making the claim for shirts and sox, or for your XL2?

how about the pelican 1520? I checked the measurement and did some layout plans. if my measurements are correct, the xl2 will fit with approxmately 1 inch extra space at the lens end and another inch at the rear end. and i think about 1/4 inch allowance on each side. the view finder has to be removed and placed under the lense . The shade has to be removed too and can be place under the body where the cassete compartment is located. well, not so mach extra space at the sides, is that not advisable?

just a thought.

The 1520 is carry-on legal and actually just a nit smaller than the 1510 that I should be receiving today, but not set up as a carry-on type of case. I ordered the 1510 because it is the largest that is US carry-on legal and it has wheels and a retractable handle like regular carry-on luggage.

http://www.pelican.com/cases/cases.html (click on the medium cases icon)

I actually like the Storm cases a little better -- at the least the latches -- but they were a bit more expensive and seemed harder to order them with the dividers (my preference) rather than foam.

Looks like a taken-apart XL2 would fit in a 1520, but I won't be able to tell you for sure, except that if the slightly larger 1510 (with dividers, rather than foam) doesn't work out, then probably neither would the 1520. Will let you know.

Haven't really checked out that particular case. I would want to have a few inches of padding between the camera and the case. When the case is dropped or shocked, the force of the camera compressing the foam may cause it to hit the case wall. If you are carrying on, then it's not a problem.

If you are carrying the camera on, you may want to consider a less expensive and compact backpack type of option, or case that fits the airline size conventions. Store the camera inside, broken down into it's separate pieces.

Porta Brace, Lowe Pro, Tenba, Lightware, Kata, Petrol...

yes i have seen the 1510 and made some measurements too, i just thought that its a little bit expensive. and it lacks in width.

breaking down the xl2 seems to give it a better fit with the 1520. but won't that make my camera more vulnerable to fungus growth in the lens and tha ccd? because im planning to store my camera in that case pemanently, not only while im traveling.

If breaking down is ok, then thats what i'll probably do. but i what i probably try to avoid doing is unpluging the viewfinder from the body. im afraid that the connector will someday loosen up.

well, what do you think?

"FIRST LOOKS" quick hack on Pelican 1510 w/ dividers that the UPS guy dropped off a little while ago:

By taking off the mic and viewfinder, the XL2 fits in the case, although I had to jury-rig the divider set-up a little. The thickness and lips on the hard case really leave a pretty limited internal volume for the XL2 system; it is especially inefficient because the camera body can only fit lying on its side and lengthwise (too narrow to place the camera cross-ways as Arlie pointed out).

Unfortunately for me, I also want to fit a 3x lens, Senn ENG wireless, and AT897. It MIGHT be possible with some more fiddling around that includes removing the lens from the camera, but I doubt that I'll be satisfied with it. If I get ambitious this weekend, I'll post some pics on my web site, since finding a travel case has sort of become a chronic topic for us XL2 travelers.

If I do take the lens off (completely disassemble the camera), the KATA Panda that I originally bought for my GL2 will hold ALL of my XL2 grab-n-go stuff (but completely taken apart) except, of course, the tripod. The Panda is just wide enough to place the camera body cross-ways. I suspect that'll end up being my carry-on case after all.

Arlie, I also prefer to leave the camera put together for storage...so its ready for grab-n-go opportunities. I'll be getting a separate, much larger bag for those purposes (looking strongly at the KATA Grizzly 3). This is sure a lot more difficult than it oughta be!

When shipping it's a good idea to separate the camera into it's components. This pevents damage to the lens mount and viewfinder rail, which with sufficient force can be torqued.

If you are just storing the camera, keeping it assembled is fine. Just be sure to remove the batteries. If you think you'll be storing the camera for more than 30 days without using it, remove the internal battery. If that leaks, it's a real bummer and means a trip to Canon.

Pelican does make foam and cloth dividers for most of their cases. They're pretty nice and give good cushioning. Look into the reusable silica gel.

A quick add that besides the weight (international flights) the TSA rules have changed. Videocameras are now treated the same as laptops for going through security. You will need to take the camera out of the bag and send it through x-ray in one of the bins the airport provides.

On the plus side, noone even looked twice at my shotgun mike so I guess they are getting used to video gear.

so are you guys saying that there's no problem in detaching the xl2 components apart even if i plan to store it for a long period of time (coz that will be great if that's the case)? Im just thinking that assembling\disassembling the xl2 often will eventually cause problems to the view finder connector and the lens mount. (or is it just my overprotective imagination?)

by the way, are the internal dimentions of pelican cases meaured with or without the eggtray foam inside?

The internal dimensions of pelican cases are minus the foam.

Look, breaking down your camera has hazards... leaving it built out has hazards. Only you can decide where your risk lies.

Some argue that leaving the components connected, stress the mounting points in shipment.

Some argue that taking every time you 'open' the body and lens, you expose them to dust.

Some argue that leaving it mounted together, causes mildew to grow between the back element and the ccd. (Ever see fungus growing inside a 'sealed' lens? Sure you have). And that mounting and unmounting allows the cavity to 'breathe' and balance the humidities between inside and outside air.

Some argue that the camera mount isn't 'sealed anyway' and to leave it mounted unless absolutely necessary... the less often you change lenses, the less likely you are to 'mis-mount' and strip the tiny screws in the mounting.

Some argue "The damn' thing has INTER-CHANGEABLE LENSES, deal with it!"


Sorry, you're going to have to make your own call.

<<<-- Originally posted by Dan Barnhill : I have a trip overseas coming up. Airports seems to get more jittery every time I pass through one. Has anyone had any issues carrying on their XL2? -->>>

I flew from San Francisco to Tokyo and back and no one cared in the slightest. I was using a very large Kata MCC2 which should have attracted the attention of everyone that could have stopped me. It barely fits in the overhead bin.

The only time anyone ever said anything to me flying with this setup was when leaving Honolulu. I was told I had to check it, but I told him to bite me as it wasn't going to happen, and took it on anyway.

Christian

Christian, you're lucky. I've seen people actually escorted off airplanes for saying less.

Plain and simple, I use an XL2 for TV work and I need to travel a lot by plane, in the US and in the EU.

I always carry my XL2 with me, not in a case or anything. The other equipment (tripod, microphone, tapes, batteries, ...) go into a backpack which I also have withj me as carry-on.

The camera goes under the seat, or on US flights I place it in the overhead lockers. There I stow it with blankets and my backpack to keep it in place. Under the seat is easier off course.

The tripod goes in the overhead lockers too.

Never had problems, this gets accepted on every airline.

Don't spend money on expensive and overall unpractical cases! This is from 5 years of experience carrying my XL1 and now XL2 with me on all sorts of airplanes, countries and trips. From Boeing 747 to small twin prop-planes ...

<<<-- Originally posted by Bill Zens : Christian, you're lucky. I've seen people actually escorted off airplanes for saying less. -->>>

I've actually had that happen once, no less than in Honolulu where the above comment was made. But, that was seven years ago.

<<<-- Originally posted by Arlie Nava : so are you guys saying that there's no problem in detaching the xl2 components apart even if i plan to store it for a long period of time (coz that will be great if that's the case)? Im just thinking that assembling\disassembling the xl2 often will eventually cause problems to the view finder connector and the lens mount. (or is it just my overprotective imagination?)
-->>>
Arlie, apart or together, for storage, I don't think matters that much. My recommendation to disassemble was more for shipping.

I think that if you have the re-usable silica gel in your case you should be okay. Talk to some of the people at camera rental houses, or TV camera people and ask them what they suggest. Kodak used to have a brochure on photography in "Tropical" conditions.

tamrac has a bag, the 2248 that is definetely carry on legal and made to fit the XL-1, the bag looked too small but sure enough the xl2 fit inside, although i would remove the mic just to be safe, it will zip up with it attached. the bag goes for a little over $200, they also have a 2249 which is slightly extended for the bigger shoulder pad and it claims a second lense will fit, the tag says it's carry-on legal but i could see getting sweated for it. the structure of both bags is similar to portabrace with a hard plastic shell with viewfinder lump and adequate padding.

Thanks Jon.

I haven't had to fly in a while, but I wonder if my giant Porta Brace HK-P3 might get me sweated. I may look into something smaller when the time comes.