SCUBA Hank 5 Posted March 10, 2016 How many of you Check your rig in a hard case vs. carry it on? Any problems for those of you who Check it? I am on the fence between a hard case or soft case - Carry On. Or a larger case which I will check and not have to worry so much about weight/fitting everything inside... Let me know what you do and if it's working -Hank Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trimix125 73 Posted March 10, 2016 (edited) Hi,i like to take the minimum i need with me.Means camera, lenses, housing & ports,one strobe with arm and chargers...Second strobe and arm and back up batteries check in.But, i use a m3/4 setup....With my dslr, i was allways putting housing and ports in the check in luggage.... Two years ago we met a couple in the philippines, and his luggage was not in the aircraft, came 3 days later...His housing was in......If you wanna go with a liveaboard, that means no pics....So depends on your setup and destination....Regards,Wolfgang Edited March 10, 2016 by trimix125 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vondo 28 Posted March 10, 2016 Carry on my entire m4/3 system plus mask, dive computer, all batteries and charger. I wrap everything in a couple of days of clothes and put it in a roll-aboard. Always get a laptop in there and sometimes my regs. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TimG 62 Posted March 10, 2016 Cameras and lenses in a camera bag over my shoulder; housing, macro port, strobes and bits in a roller Pelican as cabin baggage. BIG dome port, ULCS arms with my dive gear in a big roller bag and checked-in. Clothes? Wearing them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesR 26 Posted March 10, 2016 Carry on: bodies, lenses, teleconverters Check: housing, ports, strobes, lights, clamps, arms, cables, tools, extension rings, and everything else I can't think of at the moment. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SwiftFF5 134 Posted March 10, 2016 Carry-on: video camcorder, housing, lights, arms, batteries, etc in a Pelican case. Regulators and dive computer in "personal item". Checked: BCD, fins, wetsuit, dive skin, booties, dive lights 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeVeitch 0 Posted March 11, 2016 I put my camera in the housing with the dome port and carry it on by the handle, I then put it under the seat in front of me (don't do emergency aisle seating as many airlines don't let you put stuff under the seat in front of you on emergency aisle) Strobes i put in my laptop bag along with lenses (i have a big laptop bag) Arms, synch cords, flat port I check in wrapped in my clothes in a hard case) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thetrickster 328 Posted March 11, 2016 Carry-on. All camera and computer kit. Hold is for the CCR and dive kit Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diggy 54 Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) I carry the housing(minus ports) and strobes in my laptop haversack. The camera's/lenses/video lights etc are in my lowepro hand carry cabin bag with rollers. The large dome, arms, 60mm and 100mm ports are in my checkin dive bag. Cheers, Diggy Edited March 11, 2016 by diggy 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWDiver 42 Posted March 11, 2016 Beauty of a compact system is I carry EVERYTHING on and still all under 15lbs. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesR 26 Posted March 11, 2016 Beauty of a compact system is I carry EVERYTHING on and still all under 15lbs. Every now and then I wish I had my RX100 still, mainly when packing to travel. Once I get in the water, it's not an issue. I could get a lot more in my carry-on bag if I only took glass for underwater use, that's for sure. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Glasseye Snapper 47 Posted March 12, 2016 Carry on all camera gear, MFT, including gopro and nikon tough, chargers, strobe, batteries, laptop, external hard drive, and fish ID book in backpack. Check in for dive gear and the odd piece of clothing. Bart Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tursiops 81 Posted March 12, 2016 OMD M10, NA-EM10 with 12-50mm macro port, CMC-1, WWL-1, two YS-D1s, arms, tray, floats, all the misc stuff, and batteries and chargers. Arms, tray, clamps and floats have to go in checked luggage. Spare lithium batteries for dive/video lights go in the roller ThinkTank along with everything else. It's about 40 lbs as carried on. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SCUBA Hank 5 Posted March 12, 2016 Thanks all! Sounds like everyone does a little something different. My new housing arrives Tuesday and I'll determine how much of a pain it is to remove the arms. If I can get the arms off easily I will buy the Pelican Hard case. If not, I think I'll pony up the money for the Think Tank International travel bag. I like the idea of carrying enough on to assure you can still shoot (marco lens and port) and checking the Big Dome ports etc. Worst case you would still get to take some photos. I do lots of Liveaboards so that prompted the question out of fear missing my rig the entire trip. H Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tursiops 81 Posted March 12, 2016 Thanks all! Sounds like everyone does a little something different. My new housing arrives Tuesday and I'll determine how much of a pain it is to remove the arms. If I can get the arms off easily I will buy the Pelican Hard case. If not, I think I'll pony up the money for the Think Tank International travel bag. I like the idea of carrying enough on to assure you can still shoot (marco lens and port) and checking the Big Dome ports etc. Worst case you would still get to take some photos. I do lots of Liveaboards so that prompted the question out of fear missing my rig the entire trip. H Why would taking the arms off be difficult? What rig are you talking about? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Griff 23 Posted March 13, 2016 My wife and I always check in dive gear and use Manfrotto Veloce camera bags which are lightweight and can hold a DSLR housing with camera body inside, ports, strobes etc. The second pic shows you can hold 2 OMD bodies in there housings, 2 strobes, 2 macro ports and a 4.33 dome, a couple of clamps etc. MTF lenses are small enough to slip into spare slot. This means if your luggage is lost, you can still shoot your subjects on your expensive diving holiday! If carry on is 10kg this is ok or we split them over 2 bags and they come in around 7 - 8 kg within the carry on limit. My wife works for check in on a major airline and they do weigh your carry on especially if it looks heavy or you have no checked luggage. The budget tickets with no checked luggage mean people will load up their carry on to 20kg and then moan when they have to pay excess to check it in. Also buying excess baggage in advance is a lot cheaper than doing it at check in or having to ditch it! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davephdv 0 Posted March 13, 2016 I carry on a minimum rig to shoot. The rest my gear,and my second system, I check. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E_viking 30 Posted March 13, 2016 Hi all, I assume that the different Solutions are based on different regulations in different parts of the world. Some Solutions would not work here in Europe, due to limitations on check-in etc etc. Rig sizes changes your possibilities drastically. My wife has a M4/3 System and she packs everything ( except arms and handles) in a reasonably sized Camera Backpack. I need to pay much more attention to my Fullframe rig. My solution: Camera and a Lense in the Housing + Flatport, wrapped in Neoprene and carried in the Lanyard Domeport and Lenses in a Backpack => Looks reasonably sized, but is heavy. The rest is checked-in. It is very uncomfy at the Airport, but I have never been checked. I have seen a lot of People with rollers being checked. /Erik 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cneal 9 Posted March 13, 2016 I use a Tamrac shoulder bag for my DSLR, three lenses for underwater (12-24, 60 and 105 micros) , one 85-400 telephoto topside and the Aquatica eyepiece. My iPad got in this bag as well. This weighs in at about 15 pounds. This goes under the seat in front of me. I use an Akona roll on camera bag (no longer sold) for my Aquatica housing, 8 inch dome port, macro port, two DS-161 strobes, extensions, strobe arms, carry handle, sherpa strap, chargers, vacuum pump, assembly tools, and assorted small items. This is 38 pounds and goes in the overhead. I do admit to checking this on the return flight. The only problem experienced was learning how fragile an Aquatica eyepiece is and how expensive it is to repair, it is now in the carryon with lenses. I have had no problem carrying the roller on with Delta and US Air. With a small plane like a Twin Otter in the islands it has to be checked. Regulators and masks with corrective lenses go in my wife's carry on. Lugging this through airports can be trying. The best advice I can offer is buy no luggage without wheels or the ability to mount to the handle of a roller. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
okuma 64 Posted March 13, 2016 Two full systems: Cameras, lens, computer and batteries in carry on, all else checked. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phxazcraig 115 Posted March 19, 2016 I always try to carry my camera gear with me into the cabin. Usually with a backpack and largish waist bag (Think Tank). This worked fine with a Sony RX100 in a Nauticam and dual strobes. But it no longer fit when I went to a DSLR rig. (Nikon D810 and Nauticam housing, with 105vr macro port and 16-35 dome port). The problem is the dome port, which is 230mm. It's just HUGE in terms of packing. (Not light to carry either). I can get all the rig except the port into my carryon, but the port has to go into my wife's carryon, or checked luggage. As my next dive trip will be me alone, I'm going to have to put the dome into a checked suitcase, and I'm looking for some sort of protective hard shell to hold it inside the suitcase. I can't stress enough how large that dome port is. It's made me wonder if I should have gone DX instead of FX underwater, just to have a smaller dome port. I literally cannot fit both the housing and dome port in the same carryon, even with no other gear. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BC83 7 Posted March 19, 2016 How about this little lot, take it all everywhere I go! Carry on - 4 sets of regs, sidemount for 4 tanks. Plus computer and laptop Check in 1 - pelican SLR, housing, ports, dome, strobes, arms, body, lens, accessories etc Check in 2 - sidemount BCD, back mount wing and backplate, fins, undergarment, 2 drysuits, wet suit, canister torch, 2 back up torches, sidemount rigging kits, boots, plus much more dive kit! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
errbrr 73 Posted March 22, 2016 If I'm flying domestically in Australia and no connections, I may check the camera in a big pelicase. The problem is the pelicase weighs 7kgs on its own which cuts into the baggage allowance a bit. Most of the time I just fold the arms and the strobes over the top of my dSLR 5DII housing with the 8" port on it. Put the whole lot in a backpack with the camera in the housing and my macro lens in the front pocket and a jumper under the base. Then a 15" laptop, ipad, dive computer, passport, etc in my "purse". The two pieces combined weigh 15-20kg so not getting it weighed is important and why I don't use a roller bag. I prefer transferring through airports that have those little hand luggage trolleys... On the way home sometimes I check the strobes because if they don't turn up for a week it wouldn't be the end of the world. On the way there I like to have everything I need for photos in the bag and ready to go. You can always hire dive gear. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bubffm 178 Posted March 25, 2016 On the way over to destination I take pretty much all the AV stuff in Handluggage. AX-100 Housing, lights, arms, clamps, camera / backup-camera, flip-adapter, macro lenses, optical masks... As we are two travellers and my wive is not taking foto or video equipment with her, we are still well within the total 16kg allowance. On the way back, Im more relaxed and put arms, lights, clamps, masks, flip-adapter in checkin. If the suitcase arrives delayed its no big deal on the way back - but it can have a huge impact if you go on a boat and your luggage is not there. I can do with just a few t-shirts and 2 swim-trunks on the boat for 10 days if needed but not without my AV equipment :-) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SCUBA Hank 5 Posted March 27, 2016 How about this little lot, take it all everywhere I go! Carry on - 4 sets of regs, sidemount for 4 tanks. Plus computer and laptop Check in 1 - pelican SLR, housing, ports, dome, strobes, arms, body, lens, accessories etc Check in 2 - sidemount BCD, back mount wing and backplate, fins, undergarment, 2 drysuits, wet suit, canister torch, 2 back up torches, sidemount rigging kits, boots, plus much more dive kit! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk What Pelican Case are you using to Check the SLR housings etc? Model Number? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
