The quest for photographic perfection...

No spare time on a cruise. Well, alright then.

 

How do you go with carry-on weight limits? A bag, two bodies, lenses and stuff must be pushing you over seven kilos, and that's without putting your spare undies in.

 

Not getting your bag weighed by the airlines is like driving drunk and evading the cops, or having fun with no rubber and no consequences. Sure, it works most of the time, but it won't always.

 

In over 300 domestic flights including over 100 to Canada, I have never had anyone request that I weigh my carry-on. The only time I ever saw it posted as a requirement was on a Qantas flight to New Zealand and they didn't end up weighing it then. Is this a regional requirement?

 

Dave

 

In over 300 domestic flights including over 100 to Canada, I have never had anyone request that I weigh my carry-on. The only time I ever saw it posted as a requirement was on a Qantas flight to New Zealand and they didn't end up weighing it then. Is this a regional requirement?

 

Dave

It's a matter of following the rules and being safety-conscious. As noted earlier, Emirates is one airline currently imposing spot checks on boarding, and passengers have either had to pay for extra baggage or leave stuff at the gate.

 

You ever read that fine print on your ticket, or is it for other people?

 

Yeah, I know. It's like getting your drivers license and you say you won't drive drunk, but you do it a few times anyway and nobody stops you, so you figure it's okay, and nobody's been hurt, and you're special.

 

In over 300 domestic flights including over 100 to Canada, I have never had anyone request that I weigh my carry-on. The only time I ever saw it posted as a requirement was on a Qantas flight to New Zealand and they didn't end up weighing it then. Is this a regional requirement?

 

Dave

In fairness, the weight requirement is very common on non-US domestic carriers. I’ve never seen them weigh bags, but they can (I’m usually connecting, which is different).

In fairness, the weight requirement is very common on non-US domestic carriers. I’ve never seen them weigh bags, but they can (I’m usually connecting, which is different).

For American domestic flights, the person injured must either sue the person causing the accident, or find that the airline had a direct part in the injury, such as a flight attendant stowing the overweight bag.

Obviously a more difficult task. Another reason not to travel to America nowadays, I guess.

No spare time on a cruise. Well, alright then.

 

How do you go with carry-on weight limits? A bag, two bodies, lenses and stuff must be pushing you over seven kilos, and that's without putting your spare undies in.

 

Not getting your bag weighed by the airlines is like driving drunk and evading the cops, or having fun with no rubber and no consequences. Sure, it works most of the time, but it won't always.

 

Correct, no spare time...... I don't spend time sitting around the cabin/hotel room on vacations. And if I am, then being in front of the computer screen is the LAST thing I want to be doing.

 

The gear itself... probably about 3-4 kilograms.:

Last trip:

D750 -- About 750g

Sony A6300 -- 400g

Irix 11mm -- 700 grams

Tamron 45mm -- 540 grams

Sony 70-200/4 -- 840 grams

Sony 35/1.8 -- 154 grams

 

So of camera + lenses, it was about 3.4 kg... Throw in extra batteries, chargers, the bag itself... probably about 5kg

 

As far as I'm aware, there is NO weight limit on carry-on bags on US flights. Never had a carryon weighed -- but they do check the dimensions.

Googling it, according to Delta:

 

No maximum weight applies to carry-on baggage except in the below stations:

• Singapore, Singapore - Changi International Airport (SIN) carry on should not exceed 15 lbs. (7kgs)
  
• South Korea - Incheon International Airport (ICN) carry on should not exceed 22 lbs. (10kgs)
  
• Beijing, China - Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) requires that domestic hand carry bags should not exceed 10kgs. Individual carrier rules apply for international flights.
  
• Shanghai, China - Pudong International Airport (PVG) carry on should not exceed 22lbs. (10kgs)
  

So there is no limit on most flights, but my 5kg bag is well within limits even for Singapore!

As to undies --- They either go in my checked bag or my "carry on bag" -- My camera bag is my "personal item" --

Airlines specifically allow the camera bag as a personal item... again from the Delta site:

Approved Personal Items

 

• 1 purse, briefcase, camera bag or diaper bag
  
• or 1 laptop computer (computers cannot be checked)
  
• or 1 item of a similar or smaller size to those listed above
  

 

 

The weight of a modest camera kit is simply a non-issue when flying. Yeah, if you were taking 3 Nikon D5s, as well as lots of exotic telephoto primes, could be an issue. But it's simply a non-issue with an average kit.

The issue if whether you want to deal with carrying the kit while on vacation, whether you want the "hassle" of changing lenses, etc.

But to me, it's like the hassle of bringing your own golf clubs on vacation. If you are a golfer, you might think it is well worth the hassle. If you aren't a golfer....

If you're an avid photographer, then packing and carrying the camera gear is well worthwhile. If you're not, then not worth it.

6% of injuries aboard aircraft are caused by heavy objects falling from overhead lockers. That's for head injuries, as opposed to bruising, eye injuries, fractures and others. The most common medical incident is heart attack, at 15%.

So you've got to be pretty lucky to be knocked on the head, but still it happens.

Boeing aircraft were the most unsafe, with just over half of all reports, but only a third of the total number of fatalities.

Source here.

It's a matter of following the rules and being safety-conscious. As noted earlier, Emirates is one airline currently imposing spot checks on boarding, and passengers have either had to pay for extra baggage or leave stuff at the gate.

 

You ever read that fine print on your ticket, or is it for other people?

 

Yeah, I know. It's like getting your drivers license and you say you won't drive drunk, but you do it a few times anyway and nobody stops you, so you figure it's okay, and nobody's been hurt, and you're special.

 

Actually, I have. My daughter works for United and I fly mostly United and Southwest. Neither mention carry-on weight allowances in their ticketing or online info pages. It is simply not an issue for US domestic flights. When making snide remarks about other's adherence to rules, please do some research prior to making them. We try to maintain civility on these boards and lording one's imagined moral superiority isn't generally regarded as civil.

 

Dave

So there is no limit on most flights, but my 5kg bag is well within limits even for Singapore!

Pish. Next time you pack for a flight, weigh your bag.

 

Just out of curiosity, how do you copy your memory cards with that setup and no laptop?

Pish. Next time you pack for a flight, weigh your bag.

 

Just out of curiosity, how do you copy your memory cards with that setup and no laptop?

 

Dual memory cards, so I'm recording 2 memory cards. If I'm worried about backups at all.

 

I know a lot of people are paranoid about backups. But in over 10 years of shooting, I've never lost an image from a memory card. I've only lost them from my computer when I accidentally deleted the wrong files!

I mean... If you shoot all day on a vacation -- OMG, what if you don't back them up until the end of the day?? Surely you should back up every 15 minutes!

Heck, you should pull out an external hard drive and back up each image as you take it!

 

I take the risk that my memory card will last the 5-10 days until I get home. It's not exactly a big risk.

 

And I do occasionally weigh my camera bag -- The worst it has ever been, was 15 pounds -- or 7 kg... Which prompted me to remove a couple of items as it was hurting my shoulder.

 

Thanks to my newest transition to Sony A7riii.. I can now carry 2 camera bodies and 5 lenses, and be under 7 kg.

I do occasionally weigh my camera bag -- The worst it has ever been, was 15 pounds -- or 7 kg... Which prompted me to remove a couple of items as it was hurting my shoulder.

 

Thanks to my newest transition to Sony A7riii.. I can now carry 2 camera bodies and 5 lenses, and be under 7 kg.

I was thinking of the old maxim: "In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they ain't." My experience is that there's always more stuff in my bag than I thought, and if you encounter one of these "hand luggage only" folk, they push things way too far.

 

Anyway, I may have come across as a little too snarky, and if so, I apologise.

 

I've read various criticisms of the A7/A9 range, but I also note that they are wildly popular, so Sony has got to be doing something right.

 

I would have gone down that road, but when I went to the camera shop after my bitter disappointment in the Canon M, Olympus had a special on the EM1, so I chose that instead of the A7. Never regretted the decision, but still I wonder...

 

I think the technical superiority of the DSLR is coming to an end, and in practical terms, a mirrorless body is handier and more convenient. You've got two of the best examples for hands-on comparison, and I might shut up and listen to your comments on this point.

 

Dual memory cards, so I'm recording 2 memory cards. If I'm worried about backups at all.

 

I know a lot of people are paranoid about backups. But in over 10 years of shooting, I've never lost an image from a memory card. I've only lost them from my computer when I accidentally deleted the wrong files!

I mean... If you shoot all day on a vacation -- OMG, what if you don't back them up until the end of the day?? Surely you should back up every 15 minutes!

Heck, you should pull out an external hard drive and back up each image as you take it!

 

I take the risk that my memory card will last the 5-10 days until I get home. It's not exactly a big risk.

Well, okay if you have dual card slots. None of my bodies do.

 

I've got a WD "My Passport Wireless Pro", which is a self-contained hard drive with a card slot. Shove a card in, it automatically makes a copy. It can also be controlled from a smartphone or tablet, so it can be used to publish on the go, albeit rather clunkily.

 

I like to make backups as I go, usually in the evenings when I get back to the room and recharge all the stuff. Cards can and do get misplaced or written over, and I like to have at least one copy, just in case. I don't mind (much) if I lose a day's shots, but if the whole trip goes missing, that's awful.

 

I remember my brother-in-law a few years ago, pulled out a memory card, saying "You've got to see these shots from Italy!", and there was nothing on it but his son's selfies with schoolfriends...

Well, okay if you have dual card slots. None of my bodies do.

 

I've got a WD "My Passport Wireless Pro", which is a self-contained hard drive with a card slot. Shove a card in, it automatically makes a copy. It can also be controlled from a smartphone or tablet, so it can be used to publish on the go, albeit rather clunkily.

 

I like to make backups as I go, usually in the evenings when I get back to the room and recharge all the stuff. Cards can and do get misplaced or written over, and I like to have at least one copy, just in case. I don't mind (much) if I lose a day's shots, but if the whole trip goes missing, that's awful.

 

I remember my brother-in-law a few years ago, pulled out a memory card, saying "You've got to see these shots from Italy!", and there was nothing on it but his son's selfies with schoolfriends...

 

That's why I go with very large cards == so I don't have to change cards during vacation. Because it's most likely to get lost or damaged when it comes out of the camera. As long as it's in the camera for the whole trip, the risk is tiny. Yes, something could still happen to the card, or the whole camera even. But the risk is pretty low.

I haven't encountered a plane yet where I couldn't get my camera bag under the seat in front of me, which is actually where I prefer to store it rather than the overhead bin. Lets me keep an eye on it better, know it's not being crammed and bumped by someone else wedging their bag in there too hard, and also eliminates the heavy falling luggage issue. Weight-wise, even when I had a DSLR, I adjusted my travel kit to what would make it through carry-on weight limits - my camera gear is pretty much my only carry-on as it's the only thing of high value and high damage or theft potential when flying. As I have gone more and more to mirrorless, and leave the DSLR behind now, I can bring a lot more lenses, and larger lenses, in the same bag size - so where I once had to limit to my DSLR and maybe 4-5 lenses with no big birding lenses when on a plane, I can now bring my mirrorless camera with 10-15 lenses if I wanted to, including up to 400mm lenses, and still get under weight and size limits for carry-on. And my camera backpack fits very nicely under the seat on most planes (at least most I've been on, which have all been passenger jets...I haven't had to fly anywhere on small commuter props that might be more restrictive). I admit I'd never check my camera gear - simply not an option for me - if camera gear ever gets banned from carryon, I'd ship it instead, where I can track it and insure it. I think lithium batteries should absolutely be carry-on only items - having a potential fire issue I think would be far better in a cabin where people can deal with it than in cargo where it can get out of control without anyone knowing. I would think that somewhere down the road, fire containment bags or cases for lithium batteries will become commonly available and recommended for travel.

My typical travel kit now is my mirrorless APS-C body (400g), plus 35mm F1.8, 16mm F1.4, 35mm F1.4 manual, 18-55mm, 10-18mm, 70-300mm, and 100-400mm plus 1.4 teleconverter, and 3 spare batteries...total weight just over 4 kilos. Still leaves room for a few extra items like watches (don't check those either, for obvious reasons), tablet, sunglasses, and various tidbits...and still under the 7Kg limit of even the fairly restrictive airlines.

While I'm not a big fan of sitting around my room or cabin looking at or playing with photos - I do tend to be a little freakish about only having one copy of photos while traveling...even with a dual-card setup and backing up to the second card, I wouldn't like that both cards are in the same camera - so if that camera was stolen, lost, broken, drowned, etc I could still lose all photos - I prefer having a second backup set of photos...so I back everything up to my tablet on late evenings back at the cabin, and those backup onto another SD card in the tablet itself. So I have the card with the originals, usually with the camera, the tablet's harddrive with a second backup copy of everything, and then I remove the tablet's SD card with third copies of everything and pack that in the checked luggage so it's traveling in a separate location than the carryon. Probably a bit overkill, but it works for me.

I can now bring my mirrorless camera with 10-15 lenses if I wanted to, including up to 400mm lenses, and still get under weight and size limits for carry-on.

My typical travel kit now is my mirrorless APS-C body (400g), plus 35mm F1.8, 16mm F1.4, 35mm F1.4 manual, 18-55mm, 10-18mm, 70-300mm, and 100-400mm plus 1.4 teleconverter, and 3 spare batteries...total weight just over 4 kilos. Still leaves room for a few extra items like watches (don't check those either, for obvious reasons), tablet, sunglasses, and various tidbits...and still under the 7Kg limit of even the fairly restrictive airlines..

Interesting kit - thanks for listing it.

But really, only one body?

Best,

Tom

Generally, yes. I used to always bring two bodies, but lately, I've found I never used the second body, or very rarely, and for 'insurance purposes', most places I travel to commonly would be pretty easy to buy another body if mine ever pooped out (Caribbean, US, Canada, Mexico). If I were going on a more exotic trip where I know I'd be far from anyplace to get another body, such as a safari in central Africa, or in the Aussie outback, I would likely bring a backup body or two for insurance.

Also, that's my airplane travel kit - which I intentionally try to pare down for weight and travel size restrictions. On many cruises, and on any driving/land trip, I can bring as many bodies and lenses as I want - most of my cruises depart and arrive in FL where I live, so I can bring whatever size bag I want with plenty of extra lenses and cameras I won't even use. I just got back from Disney World a few days ago, and I brought 12 lenses, two APS-C bodies, and an RX10. When all was said-and-done, I had used my A6300 and 5 of the lenses, plus the RX10 on the first night...and that's it. But since I just toss it all in my car and stay in a 1-bedroom villa, it didn't matter if I brought more than I needed to use!

I brought 12 lenses, two APS-C bodies, and an RX10. When all was said-and-done, I had used my A6300 and 5 of the lenses, plus the RX10 on the first night...and that's it. But since I just toss it all in my car and stay in a 1-bedroom villa, it didn't matter if I brought more than I needed to use!

I used to "overpack".... but in recent trips, I tried to scale down to what I actually will use. Why lug lenses that I won't use. Yes, there is the chance I'll miss a few shots. But as I said earlier, my goal isn't to get every single possible shot.

For many trips, I realized I can make do simply with: Something ultrawide (10-18 on the A6300 was my standard, or Irix 11mm on the D750 or 18-35 on the D750.. in the future, it will be 12-24 on the A7riii), and something normal view, preferably good in low light (on the A6300.. that meant the 35/1.8.). Telephoto is not a "need" for most of my trips so I'll only bring is sometimes. I may or may not bring an 85mm for full frame.

But now that I'm unified under the Sony system, and my lenses are relatively light.... I could see myself bringing all my lenses (only 5 or 6 right now) with 2 bodies.

I was in Greece recently, and I had to laugh at the tourists humping whopping great high-end DSLRs around, all with big expensive lenses. Some with a couple of bodies on different slings. Travelling - especially cruising - with a tonne of gear is a hassle, and how often do you have time to set up and grab that great shot?

Interesting. I find that when traveling, cruising is when it's the most convenient to bring most of your gear. Your hotel travels with you. So, on any particular day, you can pick amongst your gear and bring what you want for that day. Even if lugging that monster dslr around with it's pro lenses makes you tired, once you get back on the ship, you can dump it off in your room and not have to walk far to hit your bar/restaurant/show.

I find that if you're NOT cruising, and going to more than one location, then I have to be much more careful in choosing what to bring with me.

But as for the OP's question, there are very few locations where it takes that much time to get a "perfect" shot. Those mainly boil down to shots that require extra long shutter times. Most touristy places only require a quick handheld shot with today's camera tech. Whether it's a dslr or cell phone camera.

Interesting. I find that when traveling, cruising is when it's the most convenient to bring most of your gear. Your hotel travels with you. So, on any particular day, you can pick amongst your gear and bring what you want for that day. Even if lugging that monster dslr around with it's pro lenses makes you tired, once you get back on the ship, you can dump it off in your room and not have to walk far to hit your bar/restaurant/show.

 

I find that if you're NOT cruising, and going to more than one location, then I have to be much more careful in choosing what to bring with me.

 

But as for the OP's question, there are very few locations where it takes that much time to get a "perfect" shot. Those mainly boil down to shots that require extra long shutter times. Most touristy places only require a quick handheld shot with today's camera tech. Whether it's a dslr or cell phone camera.

It's funny, really. I get "perturbed" when I have to cart around a DSLR (Nikon) and a couple of lenses....but then I think back to the "good 'ol days" when I routinely carted around a Nikon F2AS with a MD-3 Motor and 50 or so cans of film - not to mention a plethora of 8 or 9 Nikkor lenses.....a Light meter, a Flash, a Tripod, a monopod - batteries for everything...usually about 20 pounds (at the very least).

My, how times have changed.....Now, 3-4 pounds of equipment bother me. :cool:

Some of my best photos that have been purchased by others were taken by a simple point and shoot but the subject matter was fantastic.

Those are some great photos. A little out of the way for most tourists.

Allan