Travel Tips with DSLR Gear

Hi,

I'm sure there will be someone here who can offer me some advice. I'm headed to the USA at Christmas on a basketball trip. I'm taking my DSLR plus batteries and have a few questions.

1. Is it possible to take batteries in your carry-on luggage, if so how many?
2. What size memory cards should I be looking at? (my 7D takes CF)
3. I want to shoot basketball plus general holiday snaps, whats best idea on lenses?
4. I have a Lowepro backpack, instead of taking a regular backpack do I take that? Given I have 3 batteries, plus flash batteries etc in there.

I know when I travelled just from Tasmania to NSW many years ago I was made put batteries in my checked luggage, wondering if there's a requirement for that especially on international trips?

Any help / advice I can get would be much appreciated.

 

1) Batteries now have to be in your carry on in most countries and cannot be checked. I would have at least 3 batteries, assuming you have access to a power point every other night.
2) If you are taking a notebook then I would take 2 CF cards at 32gb each, and rotate them as needed. If you are not taking one, then I recommend you take one....
3) Lenses depend on how far you are from the action and how long a lens the stadiums allow you to take.

 

1 - No probs to take batteries in carry on. As for how many, let me just say that if you are going to the US, I'd suggest going to the Sterlingtek website, and ordering a battery or two from them. They are better than the original Canon units. I was getting 800-900 shots/charge with my old 7D on the original Canon batteries, and 1100-1200+ with the Sterlingtek units.
I also noted you already have 3 batteries - could just take them all...

This was the case with any Canon DSLR I used - Sterlingtek batteries were always much cheaper (about $20) took about 10-15% more shots.

2 - If you are taking a laptop, a 16GB card is probably enough, though I'd go with a 32GB card, personally at least (depends how you shoot), if not... Do you shoot RAW?

3 - 70-200 F2.8 is what you *should* get, IS version even better, IS II better still, but... How much money do you have to spend on lenses? What do you have already? What's your style?

4 - Does your gear fit nicely? I tend to use good non-camera backpacks, as I find I can fit all my camera stuff in them, and also pack in normal carry on gear (from many, many years of experience, and many hundreds of thousands of flying miles). However, if it fits everything you have, and does what you want, just take it.

Without wanting to sound harsh or anything, you sound like you are fairly new to DSLR's, if not photography... If you have any sort of info on your camera/photography history to share, that may help.

EG - what I choose to take on a trip to the US, not to mention the style of shooting, will be wildly different to some of the other photographers here. I like to shoot on the long end, which means lots of fast long primes and zooms, and a wide fisheye, just for fun.

I'll happily shoot with a 75 F1.8 on my E-M1, which is about a 95mm on your 7D. Oddly enough, when I had my 7D, I was mostly shooting with a 100mm Macro F2.8 - pretty much exclusively for a lot of my trips in the US. New York, San Francisco, Vegas... Others wouldn't take anything other than a 35mm or a 50mm, or a 24-70...

Z...

 

Some thoughts from this amateur

Big SD cards = lots of rushed shitty photos 'because you have the room' I personally like the restrictions a smaller card imposes, you think more about shots. That's me though 16gb sounds good. Pack 3 in case you lose one / one breaks etc.

With the laptop, you might want to consider a portable hdd, just in case your laptop is stolen, or is damaged etc. Worst case you can fit some tv shows for watching on flights

Lens wise, is basketball going to be outdoors or indoors? The 70-200 f/2.8 is a brilliant lens, but the 70-200 f/4 is a lot more compact and lighter. Comes down to needs though. Personally my travel kit is the following: 18-105, 35mm prime for night, 70-300 VR if I can fit it in. The IQ isn't as good out of the 18-105 as a prime, but the flexibility gives you a lot more potential shots if you're in a rush.

With the bag, buy one you feel would protect the camera bag if it fell out of an overhead locker. I've heard a VERY solid thump when someones FF gear and L series lenses fell out of an overhead locker when it was opened after the plane landed and they were not happy.

I agree with Zee, a more general purpose backpack with a camera bag you can fit inside works well. I personally use a good hiking backpack, and throw in something like this http://www.camerahouse.com.au/produ...ack-Bag.aspx?gclid=CK7j1uT8vsECFVYMjgodZ2MAag. You get the benefits of a backpack designed for long use, and the padded goodness of a nice camera bag. I've used that combo both walking around Europe, as well as snowboarding, and had no issues.

 

Yup - pretty much what I do, though I am using just the internals of one of my camera bags in the bottom of the main compartment of my Black Wolf Monashee - works well, and I can even strap my tripod to the side if I want to.

Z...

 

Ahh... Your bag might be a bit fancier than mine!

 

I'll definitely investigate the Sterlingtek batteries as I have a battery grip on the 7D so could handle maybe another couple.

My biggest CF card is an 8GB and this is where I'm looking to spend $$$ rather than on lenses.

I've got a 70-200 2.8 which I used for motorsport plus basketball. I also have a 50mm 1.4 and 18-135mm that came with my 7D kit.

I have started shooting RAW lately and recently brought a 2nd hand Macbook Pro to be able to take. The backpack takes a 17" device however I only grabbed a 13" MB. I've got a bundle of external 2.5" drives to take too.

So there's no limit to the number of batteries in carry-on luggage?

 

I have a Lowepro Fastpack 200 backpack fyi.

Also I just tried the Sterlingtek batteries and the cart redirects to Amazon and then said it couldn't ship to Australia. Is this normal?

 

The limit is only restricted by the weight of your luggage. I would suggest you take some kind of jacket or vest that has a lot of pockets. If they pull you up for being over weight with your carry on, just stand in front of them and start stuffing your pockets. They will wave you though pretty quick when they see that.

If you have one of the older macbook pros that still has an optical drive, I could consider replacing that with a second hard drive. Makes storage simpler.

Fastbacks are pretty good, especially if you like backpacks over shoulder bags, but still want quick access to your gear.

Also your 18-135 is pretty good as an all round travel zoom, though you may find the 50 F1.4 a bit long on your 7D.

 

Just don't be silly about it (like 6+ batteries). Given it's with the rest of your camera gear though, it shouldn't be a problem. Airport security should be smart enough.

 

Yes definitely looking at a 500GB SSD as second drive. My macbook has the optical drive but I purchased with intention to rip it out and shove in second hdd.

I was thinking 4 batteries would be perfect.

Where in Oz can you buy Sterlinktek batteries if Amazon won't ship to Oz?

 

I always carry on all of my camera gear and my laptop because I don't trust baggage handlers to even notice the fragile stickers on my checked in luggage. Unless it's a tripod or something non-fragile, carry it on.

 

I don't even take a speedlite when travelling anymore. Doesn't get much use, so I just have a compact (S110) when I *need* flash.

 

You'll need to get them delivered to a US address. I bought mine before all that bullshit came into effect (thanks, Sony...).

I do have one that I'll probably never use again (from my old 7D) Make an offer and I'll probably accept it.

Z...

 

You should see someone about that stutter

 

Whoops - edited the wrong message...

Fixed now

Z...

 

Not a fan of third party batteries. I think this post that discusses the Sterlingtek batteries, though it's aimed at all third party batteries, sums it up:

Just because 99.9. percent do not overheat and ruin a camera or burn down your house, does not make them a good deal.
And, having been involved with fire safety of commercial aircraft, I cringe at the thought of having them on a aircraft, knowing they have already brought down a 747, and other crashes are suspect.

Regardless, buy original.

 

Because it's absolutely 100% impossible for a canon battery to spectacularly fail too

Not doubting you but I'm curious as to how a battery could bring down a 747? I'm happy to have a read through links and stuff because that's quite interesting if true.

 

on a side note, if you've paid your airline ticket with a CC, see if they offer you free travel insurance (amex i know does).

we just got back from o/s and while over there, lost a suitcase with about $500 worth of stuff in there. Lodged a claim with amex and hoping to get it all back (after paying the $100 excess)

 

Yep, although their cover isn't the best, all things considered it's pretty good for the amex surcharge.