Should you take the battery out of the camera while flying? (still in your carry-on)
Do you take the battery out when flying?
- Thread starter Matt N
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No reason to remove batteries prior to flying. If anything batteries still installed in the gear (computers, cameras, etc.) are typically considered lower risk and safer than loose batteries that could conceivably short out and overheat.
Archibald
Well-known member
I leave the batteries where they were. The one in my camera stays in my camera. The spares stay in the spare pocket.
Have you ever boarded a plane and at the gate they tell you that you have to gate-check your roll-aboard because all the overhead compartments are full? And then they add, And there aren't supposed to be any Li batteries in it. You are poised to enter the jetway and there is a long line of other passengers behind you, and they expect you to know what is in the bag and remove batteries!?
Have you ever boarded a plane and at the gate they tell you that you have to gate-check your roll-aboard because all the overhead compartments are full? And then they add, And there aren't supposed to be any Li batteries in it. You are poised to enter the jetway and there is a long line of other passengers behind you, and they expect you to know what is in the bag and remove batteries!?
RikWriter
Well-known member
No.
For the roll-aways issue, that's only for lithium primary (non-rechargeable) batteries that have Li metal inside, and are used in some types of roll-away bags. Li primary batteries have a very different safety risk profile (higher risk) than rechargeable Li Ion batteries, and are regarded as a safety issue in aircraft cabins. A few years back there was a fire caused by one. As an aside, I've made both Li primary and rechargeable batteries in the lab (Duracell days, years ago), they are a very different deal from each other in use, safety, performance, etc.
For Li Ion, there's no safety benefit to removing the battery from the camera. Keep it in. Good question, and in this case, easy answer.
For Li Ion, there's no safety benefit to removing the battery from the camera. Keep it in. Good question, and in this case, easy answer.
Thanks everyone!
Palouse
Well-known member
WHY?
fulltimewanderer
Active member
Have always left them in the camera, how ever any backup batteries are placed in their appropriate container or cover installed.
If I remember correct there is a limit of 100 Wh per rechargeable battery that you are allowed to carry on a plane rather than having it in the Check-in luggage.
So, from this side, no reason to remove.
From my perspective there is actually a reason to leave it in !
I got caught in checks, where the guys asked me to actually demonstrate that the camera and the lenses work, i.e. they are no fake items made to look like real camera gear, but really are for "something else"
. This actually required to have batteries in the camera.
So, from this side, no reason to remove.
From my perspective there is actually a reason to leave it in !
I got caught in checks, where the guys asked me to actually demonstrate that the camera and the lenses work, i.e. they are no fake items made to look like real camera gear, but really are for "something else"
. This actually required to have batteries in the camera.
The "gate check" issue seems to be a relevant one here, given that the rule is no lithium batteries in checked luggage. OTOH, the one time I was forced to gate check my bag (for a short flight from Dallas to Houston on a small Embraer aircraft), the gate agent said nothing about lithium batteries.
I do believe that if you have a big power bank that is beyond what is acceptable for transport in the airplane cabin, that means you cannot bring it on the plane at all.
I do believe that if you have a big power bank that is beyond what is acceptable for transport in the airplane cabin, that means you cannot bring it on the plane at all.
I don’t have any big power banks, just some extra batteries. I have three batteries total for one camera and two batteries total for another.
I guess it’s obvious that I haven’t been through an airport with my camera gear yet. Do I need to remove all of my cameras and lenses from the bag when I go through security?
Short answer: only if they ask you to. The reality is that in a number of aspects of "going through security," airports differ in their requirements and procedures. Every once in a while an agent will want to check your gear for gunshot residue. Every once in a while they will take you aside and want to go through your whole bag. Usually, they just pass the camera bag through the scanner without incident.
No reason to remove battery from camera and no reason to remove camera gear from bag. You will often - depending on the xray machine - be asked to remove other electronics like tablets and computers, but usually not cameras.
Ad Astra
Well-known member
I always leave a fully charged battery in the camera, that way if security ask you to turn it on as part of their checks all will be goodness.
Thanks for the responses! I’ll see how it goes.
Normally they don't ask to open the bag, but it has happened to me a couple of times. Depends on the TSA agent on duty, they can check anything they want. It can also depend on what country you are in. I was flying from Wellington NZ to Sydney and they made me take the battery pouch out so they could look at it - mine are pouches that separate the batteries so they were good with it. Then it turned out that I had gone through the security line for domestic travel instead of international and I had to go through a different line - and they also made me take the battery pouch out.
So from my experience I haven't had any issues in Japan, South Korea, Australia or Canada, but did in New Zealand. If you go to NZ make sure your batteries are either separated from each other or have the plastic caps over the end or they may not let them on the flight. In the camera is fine. Twice in the US I've had them open my camera bag to inspect it. But they let it through both times. And several times they have swiped the outside for explosives without opening the bag.
Archibald
Well-known member
No, don't remove stuff unless told to do so. The procedure is different at different airports. In my experience, smaller airports are more fastidious. There is a greater chance they will want to see something deep in the bag, or swipe your bigger items looking for hazards. At most airports they ask you to take out laptops. But at a few they tell you to leave the laptop in the bag. Just show up with lots of time and follow instructions.
It can help to have a readily-accessible place to temporarily stow your essential stuff. Many airports ask you to empty your pockets completely at security. Usually you have very important stuff in your pockets! - like your phone, wallet, passport, and boarding pass. That stuff has to go somewhere quick, and it needs to be easily accessible later.
My essential stuff goes into my camera bag just before I go through security (after the TSA agent checks my ticket with my ID).
If I was very concerned I would drain the battery to 10-20% of the max charge to reduce the risk of short circuiting and a fire.
A few european airports ask for cameras out of the bag and 2-5% of the time in the US. I have global entry which includes prechek with means laptops stay in the bag, shoes can be left on, ... Only a few times have they saw something which required additional scrutiny such as a long loaf of rye I was take from our favorite deli when visiting my mother. Soft mass - could have been an explosive material.
I once had a large summer sausage that my then mother-in-law gave me on a trip home that they thought might be a bomb. They got very serious, took my backpack to the table to search and I had no idea what they were so worried about. Then the agent pulled the sausage out and said "it's just a sausage!".
The other non-camera related issue I have is my artificial hip sets off the metal detector at most US airports (that still have them). Oddly, it doesn't normally set them off in foreign countries.
I also have TSA Pre-check, which I highly recommend. I really hate flying.....but it's a necessary evil.
I still cannot forget the time that a TSA agent confiscated an Allen key (used for mounting an L bracket onto a camera). Good thing these are cheap and abundant.
