Do you take the battery out when flying?

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Matt N said:
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?
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During the holidays, on the outbound trip TSA opened my ThinkTank rolling bag and visually inspected cameras and lenses. On the return trip they didn’t touch my bag at all.

Trip to England last fall, I just had a small Billingham bag with brand new Zf and a 24-120 lens. No problem leaving the US. On my return from Heathrow the bag, camera and lens were searched, scanned, and searched again.

So, you never know. Be prepared to do as asked and do it with a pleasant attitude. 😊
 
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GrandNagus50 said:
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.
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Never had that happen in the US. In Canada they remove one of several Allen wrenches I had. In Taiwan the found every loose allen wrench I had but not those attached to an L bracket. When I asked why (in both countries) they said tools are not allowed. I guess they thought I might take part the plane or go into secure areas with the Allen key.
 
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Actually you should have a fresh battery and card as well as a wide angle lens on the camera. If there's an incident and you survive you'll be geared up to shoot it!

Sorry, photojournalist here that worked for a directory of photography that would regularly tell us he expected his staff to have great photos of the second coming!
 
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splatbass said:
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.
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splatbass said:
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!". :ROFLMAO:
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We travel extensively around the globe with alot of camera equipment and have never had my camera equipment removed from bags or scrutinized. Not saying it can't happen but that would be highly unusual. I did have a tiny allen wrench confiscated once
 
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Carmel Nikon said:
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.
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Thanks for such a clear, concise and informative post. Your post is another example of how professional and knowledgeable this forum is. The number of members that post great info and advice i is impressive and I appreciate and am amazed by it.
 
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billklipp said:
We travel extensively around the globe with alot of camera equipment and have never had my camera equipment removed from bags or scrutinized. Not saying it can't happen but that would be highly unusual. I did have a tiny allen wrench confiscated once
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I think this post jinxed me. Traveling around the globe for 25+ years always with 3-8 cameras and associated lenses never been scrutinized until today. Flying out of Loreto Mex we were asked to pull all our cameras out of bags and put in bins. No big deal just a minor hassle.
 
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billklipp said:
I think this post jinxed me. Traveling around the globe for 25+ years always with 3-8 cameras and associated lenses never been scrutinized until today. Flying out of Loreto Mex we were asked to pull all our cameras out of bags and put in bins. No big deal just a minor hassle.
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It’s happened to me last year in London and in DC. I try to be as cheerful as possible and do what I’ve been asked to do in order to keep it a minor hassle.
 
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Matt N said:
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?
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It depends where you're going. In the USA, not likely. In India--YES--everything has to come out of the bag, and I mean everything. It's a bit nerve-wracking because Indian airports are chaotic to begin with, and keeping one's eye on everything is insane. So when I travel to India--which I'm doing in a few days--I do make sure all my lenses and accessories are in protective pouches where possible, instead of bare.

The only other place I've had to take all my gear out was, oddly, Norway.
 
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