So how do I get this big heavy camera
bag from point A to point B on an airplane?
I'm gonna show you how after...
Hey there welcome back to s David
Bergman, right here on Adorama TV.
Today I've got a question from Rui B and he asks...
How do you transport your gear when
flying? Do you carry everything on the
plane or do you check it underneath?
Traveling with gear - it can really be a
challenge sometimes, right look if you
have one camera, one lens, and a flash,
you should be fine, put them in a little
camera bag for protection, carry it with
you at all times, not a problem.
The challenge is somebody like me that's on
a concert tour right now, and I'm
traveling with a lot of gear.
A lot of wedding photographers,
other people who travel with a lot of gear,
it can definitely be a challenge,
so what I'm gonna do is...
show you how I do it... this is
my camera bag, this is a Think Tank
airport security bag, it's a big roller,
when it's fully loaded with my gear it's
heavy, it weighs just under 50 pounds, so
I have a lot of stuff in here.
Let me show you what is in here,
this is my typical concert setup,
now a couple of things are missing in
here right no, because we're using them
to shoot this video, but I'm going to tell
you what's normally in here.
I'm a Canon Explorer of Light,
and of course I shoot all
Canon as my favourite gear, so that's
all I have in here, but my go-to
workhorse camera is this Canon 1DX MKII
This is the sports action camera, I
shoot concerts like I shoot sports, so I
use these cameras, they're built like a
tank, the shutter is gonna last forever
the battery lasts for a good three four
shows, and I've shot hundreds of
thousands of frames on these cameras,
so I travel with five bodies and five
lenses, three of them are this 1DX Mark II,
I'll tell you why in a minute, but
I've got three of those that normally go
in these three pockets, again this stuff is
missing cause we're using it behind the
scenes.
So I've got three of those, my
other two bodies are this, is the Canon
5d Mark IV, that goes right in here, and
then this is the new Mirrorless, the EOS R
the full-frame mirrorless, with the
grip on it.
So those are the five bodies,
now the lenses I use...
here is the 24-70mm f/2.8,
this is the RF 28-70mm for that are
EOS R, the 100 to 400 4.5-5.6 lens and
the other two that are on the body so
that we're using is the, R 24-105mm f/ 4,
and the 16-35mm f/ 4, which is
overhead right there, so those are the
five bodies and five lenses.
Now why do I travel with all that?
Well the way I shoot the concert is,
I carry two bodies over my shoulders.
I use the hold fast gear strap, leather, nice leather
strap to divide the weight, which is
really nice, and then I have two cameras
that I use for remote.
So I'll put one sometimes overhead on
top of the... in the lighting trusses
overhead, and I'll put
one more on the drum kit or somewhere
else on the stage, and then the fifth
camera is this EOS R, that I've been using
so that I can use this lens, this is that
28-70mm f/2, I use this when I walk
around backstage, because it's like
having three prime lenses basically,
it's a 28-50mm and a 70mm f/2.0
lens, so that I can just walk around
shoot available light backstage with
this in the dressing rooms those kinds
of things.
So that is my basic setup, I also have one
more, I have one flash, that's underneath
this 100-400mm and a couple other little odds
and ends.
I have a little pouch with a Think-Tank
card wallet in it, and there's
a backup hard drive in there, and then my
Magmod Mag bounce that I use to shoot
the meet and greet with.
So all of that stuff goes in this bag, and again it's
heavy, so here's the thing, I will not
check this under the airplane, there's no
way I would ever give this to a baggage
handler to be thrown about.
Now these bags are really well made, and they're,
its protected but, it's not, I'm not going
to chance it with it going under the
plane, so what I do, luckily,
I have good status on the airlines.
I've been traveling a long time now,
so usually I'm one of the first people on.
I can usually take this bag on domestically,
internationally you really should use a
little bit smaller bag, the regulations
are a bit tighter, but in the US I'm most
of the time able to get this on the
plane, one little trick, don't just keep
this between us, but what when you put
this in the overhead you got to just
pretend like it weighs nothing, and just
put it in really gently, because if you
go oh my god, good lord, if you do that
they're gonna sort of flag you down, and
they might make you check that bag.
So you don't want to do that, so just you
know work, work on it, and just pretend it
weighs nothing.
I do carry another bag. a backpack on
as my as my personal item, that's got my
computer, and you know odds and ends,
or the headphones and things like that,
but this is my primary camera bag,
anything else that I have to bring with me like
hardware things to mount remote
cameras and battery chargers and things
that are not quite as fragile,
I am going to check underneath,
I have more Think Tank rollers that I can
use for that, and that gets checked
underneath no problem.
Now this bag, the challenge is,
once in a blue moon I do get wind up on a
very small plane where it will literally not
fit in the overhead, even sometimes and
they say it won't fit it will, but there's a
couple of planes that it actually won't
fit in the tiny tiny little over head, so
in that case, I will have to gate check
it, but I will do anything I can, it's
worth it, getting the airline status to
get on first, get that overhead space.
I'm that guy that has to be one of the first
people on the plane that you know
pushes my way, and I don't push my way in...
but I I want to be one of the first ones on
the plane, just for that reason, so I
don't have to scramble to find overhead space.
So really that's how I travel with
stuff, I know, I actually know Rui,
he's a excellent concert photographer over in
Europe, and you probably travel with the
same amount of gear that I do.
So that's the way I handle it over here in
the US.
I hope that helps.
Hey listen if you have a
photo question about anything
photography related, make sure you go to
AskDavidBergman.com - submit it on there
and I will pick the best ones to answer
right here on a future show.
Of course this is Adorama TV, don't forget to
subscribe down below, there's all kinds
of great photo shows, free educational
content from other great photo hosts
here at Adorama, so thanks for joining me
ask your own photo questions,
I'll answer new ones right here next week!