Long haul travelling with (a lot of) kit

AllMyOwnTeeth

I'm heading to Australia for a year next month and I'm wondering if any of you have any experience in traveling with lots of glass and multiple camera bodies.

I shoot sports mostly and need to bring my big glass with me (300mm and 400mm) as well as an assortment of smaller glass, some flash heads and a couple of nikon camera bodies. I have a lovely rolling storm case which is carry on size and it will take care of the small gear but I'm worried about checking the big stuff. I've heard all sorts of horror stories about people having D3's and Leica M8's nicked out of checked luggage (with the chargers and accessories taken from different bags!).

Any hints or tips on what I should do?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

TelePaul

OutOfFocus wrote: »

I'm heading to Australia for a year next month and I'm wondering if any of you have any experience in traveling with lots of glass and multiple camera bodies.

I shoot sports mostly and need to bring my big glass with me (300mm and 400mm) as well as an assortment of smaller glass, some flash heads and a couple of nikon camera bodies. I have a lovely rolling storm case which is carry on size and it will take care of the small gear but I'm worried about checking the big stuff. I've heard all sorts of horror stories about people having D3's and Leica M8's nicked out of checked luggage (with the chargers and accessories taken from different bags!).

Any hints or tips on what I should do?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I'd put in a call to the airline and ask what the story is on baggage insurance.

AllMyOwnTeeth

Did that - $20 USD per kg. It's about $2480 short by my calculation

TelePaul

OutOfFocus wrote: »

Did that - $20 USD per kg. It's about $2480 short by my calculation

Okay. You could look into getting your kit insured by an insurance company, or if you pay home insurance premiums, see if they'll cover some sort of 'reasonable use' scenario...travelling with a camera would seem reasonable in my book, but then again, I'm not an insurance salesman.

decsramble

OutOfFocus wrote: »

I'm heading to Australia for a year next month and I'm wondering if any of you have any experience in traveling with lots of glass and multiple camera bodies.

I shoot sports mostly and need to bring my big glass with me (300mm and 400mm) as well as an assortment of smaller glass, some flash heads and a couple of nikon camera bodies. I have a lovely rolling storm case which is carry on size and it will take care of the small gear but I'm worried about checking the big stuff. I've heard all sorts of horror stories about people having D3's and Leica M8's nicked out of checked luggage (with the chargers and accessories taken from different bags!).

Any hints or tips on what I should do?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

It's slightly off topic but are you going there to live in an apartment or to backpack around?

If you are staying in backpacking hostels then your main problem wont be the airlines, it will be keeping your gear safe when you go to sleep/the pub/the toilet....... if it's not locked, it'll walk, real quick. If you have more stuff than you can fit in a small locker or can carry with you at all times then it would rapidly become a serious hassle trying to keep stuff secure, dont bet on hostels having secure and solid lockers or storage.

I've never checked my cameras, dont have more gear than I can fit in my carry on.

Paulw

When I travel, I only bring what I can carry.

I have specific camera insurance, and that covers me worldwide for 45 days of travel.

You will need to check what insurance cover you have, if any, and what cover it gives you.

Normally, I leave the big glass (300mm) at home. The rest, fits in my carry on luggage. I would be personally very cautious about checking in my camera gear. The airlines will not give you any special treatment, that I know of.

Best of luck.

Fajitas!

Buy a cheap looking bag/rucksack. Lock your storm case, throw it into the bag/rucksack, lock the rucksack

Check out local insurance companies too - Will be cheaper than you expect tbh!

sunny2004

I travel a lot with a lot of kit, what I do is put camera bodies and lenses tightly into a carry on bag.. all other items, tripods monopods cheap stuff, chargers batteries etc go into the suitcase...

DotOrg

you could DHL it to your address in Australia, pack it properly and get insurance from DHL on the contents of what you send.

AllMyOwnTeeth

Thanks for all the feedback guys - much appreciated.

I checked with a courier and it was going to cost in-excess of €400 to send it!! I'd also have to get a goods description code from Revenue and include 4 invoices - even though I own the gear it still has to be shipped as commercial goods.

I'm going to be staying for up to a year so I need to bring a range of gear (I'm a bit too fussy to do the whole backpacking thing - will be renting a base in the brisbane area). My local insurance won't cover me abroad for that long so I'll need to arrange something out there.

I've found a solution - my stormcase (thanks Fajitas - that's a great idea) won't carry everything I need to bring so I went looking for a soft alternative and I found a range of products from ThinkTankPhoto. I just got the Airport Addicted bag in the post this morning (which is international carry on size) and it's a beast! It just seems to swallow everything I can throw at it. OK so it cost nearly the same as it would have to courier the items over but I'll save on the return trip and any other international travel (requiring big glass).

Thanks again,
Jonathan