16 Pro Tips For Flying With Camera Gear
Over the last 20 years, I’ve traveled to more than 40 countries and flown with film gear on more than 200 flights for various filmmaking jobs.
That included traveling the world with superstar DJs and visiting almost every country in Europe, North America, Australia, and many different countries in Africa and Asia.
In this article, I will share 16 pro tips for flying with camera gear, so you know what to do and how to pack your filmmaking tools when you want to hop on a plane for your next film project!
1. Think before you pack
When you’re traveling with your camera gear, every ounce matters. The more you pack, the more weight you’ll carry along the journey.
So before you start packing all your fancy film gear, think about what you’ll do, where you’ll shoot, and what camera equipment is the best fit for the job.
If you bring too much, you might bring too much stuff that you won’t use.
Ask yourself:
Where am I going?
How long is my trip going to be?
What camera gear do I need for this particular project?
What can I leave at home?
If the production budget is limited, you probably must make concessions when taking lots of film gear. In that case, it’s about finding ways to get creative with the space and the tools.
For example, if you’re limited with the amount of space you have but still want lots of different lens options, you might be better off taking a nice set of zoom lenses instead of a bunch of prime lenses.
Just get creative with it so you can do as much as possible with as little as possible!
2. Layout your film gear
Once you have decided what camera gear you want to take with you for the shoot, lay out every piece of equipment on a table at home, your office, or at the camera rental company, so you know precisely what you’re going to take with you.
If you use a specific camera, put everything together for that particular camera—memory cards, batteries, chargers, connection cables, etc.
Forgetting stuff at home is horrible. Believe me. I’ve been there. Back in the day, I used a small handheld setup for a RED camera most of the time.
Nowadays, you slide the camera monitor onto the RED’s camera body, but at the time, the RED camera still came with a connecting cable between the monitor and the camera body.
I forgot the little cable that connected the RED monitor to the camera’s body on one of my trips, so I couldn’t see what I was doing, and the camera became useless.
The bottom line is if I had checked everything in advance by laying it out on the table before packing, this fuck up could have been avoided.
3. Don’t forget your hard drives
Filming makes no sense if you don't care about the precious data you're collecting.
So please ensure you're handling the footage you've filmed with the same amount of love as you would give to your lover, pet, car, or home.
Backups are essential
I don't think you should take the risk of not taking any hard drives, not making back-ups of your footage, and just taking some extra memory cards with you so you can keep shooting.
If something happens to those cards, all your time, money, and effort invested in filming is lost forever!
You can never have too many backups so take as many hard drives as possible! If you have no room, you have to make room. Hard drives are the lifeline of your project while traveling.
I always use backup drives from the Rugged series of Lacie. They come with a silicone case to handle a few bumps.
Only use the source
If you're doing a big-budget project, a data handler, camera assistant, or PA is probably responsible for the data handling. If it's just you, my advice is to only make back-ups from the original memory card that came out of the camera.
Never make a backup from one hard drive to another. If the copy you've made on the first drive is corrupt and you back up that copy instead of using the primary source, your backup is also corrupt. Your footage is lost forever if you've already formatted the original card.
Split the drives
Try splitting the hard drives into camera bags when flying back home again. Even better is giving them to various crew members on separate flights!
If something happens, the material is safe. Always keep the backup drives in your carry-on luggage because your footage is lost if the check-in camera bag gets lost.
4. Use hand luggage as much as possible
When traveling with film gear, the number one rule is that anything you can’t afford to lose should go in your carry-on.
All your easily replaceable items, like clothes and toiletries, should go in the checked bags, and all the expensive stuff should be in your carry-on.
If you check in your luggage, there is always a chance that it might get lost or that it may be delayed. I’ve encountered this multiple times. It sucks, but it’s simply part of traveling by plane.
If you can keep it with you during the trip in your carry on bags, your chances of losing it are much smaller. Unless you’re being robbed at the airport or you leave your luggage behind somewhere…
Utilize your carry-on
With most airlines, you can take one personal item with you, like a backpack, and one carry-on bag that you can stow in the overhead cabin compartment. If you want to take a lot of stuff with you, you must utilize those two items to the absolute max!
The best option is to travel with someone, so you can use a carry-on for the camera, and the other person takes the lenses. In that additional bag, you can bring your laptop, hard drives, lithium batteries, gimbals, drones, steady cams, Go-Pros, etc.
Use a special camera trolley
Regarding carry-on trolleys, I always preferred the ones from a company called Think Tank Photo.
Their camera bags are lightweight and have many storage compartments for camera gear. They even have trolleys that can be worn as a backpack!
5. Use Peli cases for check-in gear
For all the film gear you can’t take with you in your hand luggage, it’s best to use Peli cases for their transportation. These are tough plastic cases with special foam inside, designed to withstand the most significant impacts.
As they come in many different sizes, and you can tailor the special foam on the inside to the specific gear, you can also use a Peli case as your carry-on!
6. Use clothes to protect your camera gear
If you can’t or don’t want to bring an extra bag for your clothing, you can use your clothing to help create some additional protection.
You can use socks, sweaters, and t-shirts to wrap your gear around. If you can’t wrap it around your filmmaking tools, tuck it in corners and fill up the empty spaces between the equipment to add extra protection.
Ensure you get all your clothing out of the cases before arriving on set. It will look strange when you unwrap that expensive lens out of your favorite Spongebob socks.
You can also use an extra pair of (running) shoes to help protect fragile elements like a small tripod head, camera lenses, microphone, filters, chargers, etc.
7. Use TSA locks
Now that you have chosen and packed all the gear you need for the shoot, you must make sure you use the right locks for your check-in luggage.
A TSA lock is a global security system that allows you to lock your luggage while permitting security authorities to inspect them without damage. Almost all suitcases nowadays come with these locks, but Peli cases usually don’t include them.
As you can imagine, all the gear involved with filmmaking looks quite impressive on an x-ray scan, so airport security staff will most likely have to double-check your luggage to ensure you’re not carrying any dangerous goods.
Especially in the States, I’ve encountered a notification letter of a security check from the airport security in my suitcase several times.
If you use a standard metal lock with a key on your Peli case, airport security will break the lock, and your luggage will continue its journey unlocked after the security check is completed.
So if you want to ensure your luggage stays safe after an x-ray scan, you better use a TSA lock on your check-in bags.
8. Double-check your insurance
Before leaving for the airport, double-check your insurance. In case of a lost bag, airline insurance only covers a small amount of money compared to the price of camera equipment.
So when you’re traveling with gear, double-check with your insurance. Make sure your insurance covers your camera equipment and covers traveling with your equipment.
You won’t have to blame the airline when something happens on the road, but you can contact your insurance.
If you’re renting gear, ensure your company has liability insurance and check with the rental company’s insurance they provide you with all the correct paperwork.
And that you bring those papers with you of course!
9. Have a nice chat at the check-in desk
Some good old kindness can get you very far in today’s world. So when you arrive at the check-in desk, start a friendly conversation and cover your carry-on luggage with your body as much as possible.
Ensure the person at the check-in counter is focused on you and your passport. Then place your carry-on behind the desk so the check-in employee can’t see it. If you’re carrying a heavy backpack, pretend it’s weightless.
Go with the flow of a friendly conversation, and believe me, when you’re kind to the person behind the desk, you probably won’t have any issues with taking along your heavy filmmaking equipment.
10. Getting away with heavy Carry-on luggage
Just like you and I, airline employees experience bad days from time to time.
If the person at the check-in desk insists that you check in your carry-on bag stuffed with all your precious camera gear, ensuring you that you shouldn’t worry and bla bla bla… Politely refuse to check in your camera gear.
The airport staff will throw your expensive filmmaking gear around like the other check-in luggage. That’s just how it works, no matter what they say.
Lithium batteries
To get away with taking your hand luggage on board, you need to do the following… If they insist you check in your carry-on bag, let them know you have lithium batteries, power banks, rechargeable AA batteries, a laptop, and other electronics.
For most airlines, it’s standard policy that those things are not allowed to be checked in.
So, if you have lithium batteries and power banks with you, within the allowance of carry-on item standards, this is your free out-of-jail cart!
Oversized clothing
If the weight of your carry-on bag is an issue, you can pull the following trick… When it comes to weight, airline employees only consider the weight of the luggage to be a problem, not your personal weight.
If you know your luggage is overweight, always take an oversized jacket full of pockets and stuff all the smaller items in those pockets. Lenses, batteries, chargers,… you name it!
When you’re finished checking in and around the corner of the check-in desk, you can take everything out of your jacket, stuff it back into the camera bag, and you’re ready for the security check!
Stay relaxed
Whatever situation you might encounter regarding the weight or size of your luggage, always stay kind and calm. Just be polite and understand the person at the check-in desk is just doing their job, just like you want to do yours. You lose if you raise your voice, get angry, or whatever else.
If you know that the amount of gear you want to take with you is becoming enormous, it’s better to ship it in advance. This takes a little longer and costs extra money, but it will save you the hassle at the airport.
I suggest only shipping in gear if you bring tons of camera equipment. If that’s not the case, the best option is to carry as much as possible on the same flight as you’re supposed to be in.
11. Board the plane early
The last hurdle you must take when taking lots of carry-on with you is the boarding procedure.
If you want to ensure you don’t have to sit the entire flight with a thirty-kilo backpack on your lap, don’t wait in a chair at the gate until every person is already on board the plane.
Lots of room
If you board early, you’ll have plenty of room in the overhead compartments to store your carry-on items above your seat.
If you wait too long with boarding, the overhead bins might be full, or your luggage packed with expensive items will be placed somewhere in the back of the plane. Causing you to wait until everyone leaves the plane so you can finally grab your bag.
First in, first out
Boarding early also comes in handy when the boarding personnel has a bad day and wants you to check your carry-on.
If only one person is checking the boarding passes, most likely, they will think twice about starting a discussion at the counter if 100+ people are waiting in line behind you.
Stand your ground
If new problems arise regarding your carry-on, don’t board the plane and grab another flight. Don’t argue with security personnel. Ultimately, they are in charge of letting you on the plane.
So if you act like an asshole, you probably end up staying home and losing the job opportunity (client included).
12. Use a small camera inside the plane
If you want to film something inside the plane, such as an aerial of the beautiful clouds, make sure you have a small camera. Something like a GH5 or a DSLR will do the job. Tools that look like you’re shooting a photo or video for your holiday vlog.
At the beginning of my filmmaking career, I used to own a Sony DCR-VX2000. I once took it with me on a commercial flight to Rome, and during the magic hour on the flight, I wanted to shoot the beautiful sky with that camera.
Once the flight attendant saw me filming, she almost screamed that I could not use professional film gear during the flight without written permission.
It’s better to go for that guerrilla undercover approach if you don’t have permission to shoot on the plane. Years later, I did a project for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in which we were actually asked to film on board! They bumped us into business-class seats, so we were more than happy to press that record button ;).
13. Become a frequent flyer
If you can, try to stick to one airline when it comes to flying and become a member of their frequent flyer program. These programs are always free, and the only thing you have to do is book your flight with that particular airline.
In return for your loyalty, you’ll receive frequent flyer miles and climb up the ladder of their loyalty program. After a while, you’ll notice that it will become much easier (and cheaper) to bring more (heavy) bags with you onboard the plane, and you’ll be rewarded with more comfort and luxury. Something I’m sure you’ll appreciate when you travel often!
14. Declare your gear at customs
If you want to prevent having issues at customs at your city of departure or entry, make sure you use a Carnet form.
This document outlines all the camera equipment you bring into the country to ensure you’re not importing and exporting something without paying taxes.
If you decide not to use a Carnet form and still bring along super expensive camera gear, you might have to pay taxes over the value of the camera equipment when you’re asked for this form at the border.
When that happens, you probably won’t be able to bring your footage and camera equipment with you immediately. This all depends on the country you enter, so depending on where you’re going and what you’ll bring along, always double-check with the customs before you leave to ensure you have all the right documents!
15. Use local rental companies
Over the years, as my project got bigger, I only traveled with the essential camera gear and used local film rental companies and some of their crew members to take care of the gear.
It saves you lots of hassle at airports, you won’t need security on set, and it gives you peace of mind with another party responsible for the camera equipment.
I understand this isn’t always possible if you’re on a low-budget or fast-paced travel schedule, but if you’re on a location for multiple days in a row for a shoot, save yourself the hassle of traveling with tons of film equipment and get it from local rental companies.
Only bring along essential elements the specific rental company doesn’t have if that is part of bringing your project to life.
16. Limitations can be a blessing
When it comes to traveling with gear, less is always better, and over the years, I’ve learned that the most remarkable pieces of work come from working with limitations.
They force you to push yourself and the available tools to the absolute max and devise solutions you probably never thought of.
My advice, embrace limitations. You’ll never have enough money and resources, no matter how big the budget is. Travel light and make the most of what you have.
And I promise you, you’ll travel home again with a bag that isn’t full of heavy luggage but genuine filmmaking gold.
