Going to Europe

[Alfred D.]

[...] you are assigned bookbags to carry for identification purposes I have a suggestion run out and buy sonething like this:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/388729-REG/Lowepro_34731_CompuRover_AW_Backpack.html

Wich has exactly the camera space you need and has a good amount of space on the top to hold a days worth of travel items like food maps guides or whatever you want it also has 2 fairly sizeable water bottle pockets on the sides to keep your water away from the rest of your gear. This bag also has an excellent raincover and a laptop pocket if you want it. So here is the tricky part, take the bookbag you are issued and cut it to pieces!! using either a needle and thread or just some saftey pins take all the pieces of your issued bookbag and attach them to you new lowepro camera backpack making you easily identifieable to the rest of your group and to boot you make your fancy camera bag look ratty and sewn together therfore detrring potential thieves. I know I know this is the greatest idea anyone has ever heard.

Sounds like a plan, JIP!
I like lateral thinking!

 

[Rhys]

I know you are trying to be funny here but all he was tring to say is they will give you a hrd time at securty if you are carrying water bottles or things like that

Airline security people give anybody that looks nervous a hard time. It's called profiling.

I'm actually serious that al-quaida could well hit fuel, water or food supplies or even medical supplies.

 

[Alfred D.]

Airline security people give anybody that looks nervous a hard time. It's called profiling.

Yeah, I call it arbitrary guessing and prejudging.

 

[cszakolczai]

Flying many times a year from most major European airports, my experience is that I always managed to get my backpack (with my laptop, one camera body, 300mm tele, two larger zoom lenses, filters, batteries and so on) into the cabin. Just my tripod goes with my checked in luggage.

Just had trouble once at CDG airport in France where they did not know what a tele lens is so I almost missed my connecting flight.

I've found the same to be true. The most thorough are the Germans who actually asked me to remove all my lens caps turn the camera on and actually hear the shutter close. They than proceeded to ask me to turn my video camera on so they could make sure it was a video camera as well. I think you'll be alright, just be prepared to get dirty looks from the fellow passengers who you are holding up. I am always the person who holds up the line or gets patted down so I speak from experience.

 

[tim.bennett]

I've found the same to be true. The most thorough are the Germans who actually asked me to remove all my lens caps turn the camera on and actually hear the shutter close. They than proceeded to ask me to turn my video camera on so they could make sure it was a video camera as well. I think you'll be alright, just be prepared to get dirty looks from the fellow passengers who you are holding up. I am always the person who holds up the line or gets patted down so I speak from experience.

I travel a fair bit within Europe Amsterdam - Dublin mostly but get round europe okay including spain and Italy.
And in general i would carry my Lowepro Vertex 100 carrying 1 body with 2 lenses and a laptop. Then i stuff it full of cables, flash, external hard drive and my tablet. and have had little problems. take a laptop out before you get to the screening and be friendly and do what they as you.

But what ever you do don't bring waterbottles they'll take them off you.

 

[cszakolczai]

I travel a fair bit within Europe Amsterdam - Dublin mostly but get round europe okay including spain and Italy.
And in general i would carry my Lowepro Vertex 100 carrying 1 body with 2 lenses and a laptop. Then i stuff it full of cables, flash, external hard drive and my tablet. and have had little problems. take a laptop out before you get to the screening and be friendly and do what they as you.

But what ever you do don't bring waterbottles they'll take them off you.

I always take out my laptop and other objects but I think being 20 years old and having a lot of camera gear and other electronic objects, I look a little suspicious. I understand and usually dont mind until they start handling my gear and don't treat it well.

 

[TheOtherBob]

I just ordered a Tenba Messenger -- it seems a bit more "messenger bag" than most camera bags, so it might not get in the way as much. I'll let you know how it goes.

I agree with the suggestion that you shouldn't flash your gear around too much -- no point in making it too obvious. But at the same time, I've never been too worried about taking pictures in European cities. Just use common sense, don't leave your camera bag sitting under your chair, and you should be fine. I've also never had any trouble carrying my gear onto an airplane, so my view is that a pelican case would be quite a bit of overkill. Your mileage may vary, and there's always that "one bad TSA agent" to consider, but I wouldn't worry about it too much.