XL2 luggage carry on

[Dan Barnhill]

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

[Richard Alvarez]

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.

[Pete Bauer]

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/showthrea...threadid=39736

Happy reading!

[Mark Sasahara]

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

[Dan Barnhill]

thanks everyone.

dan
nyc

[Ed Bicker]

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??

[Richard Alvarez]

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.

[Pete Bauer]

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.

[Bill Zens]

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?

[Ed Bicker]

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...

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

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.

[Bill Zens]

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?

[Arlie Nava]

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.

[Pete Bauer]

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.

[Mark Sasahara]

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.

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