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Kondwani

Kondwani

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I am planning a long haul trip where one stage will require a maximum weight of 8kg for cabin luggage. I guess many of you have had the same dilemma as to how to minimise weight yet take enough kit in the event of any issue with your main camera, which in my case will be a Canon 7D Mkii. (plus 100-400mm, 10-20mm, 16-300mm lenses, x1.4 converter)
I do have a Canon 50D which will use the same lenses but I would then need to take an additional set of batteries and battery charger and it is quite old.
Should I take the 50D (perhaps in hold luggage or sell the 50D to buy a decent Compact camera as the backup ? NB. Finances will not allow for a second 7D body unfortunately.
Cheers
 
Unless it is specifically a photography trip (e.g. a safari) I always think traveling light is the best option, so given your kit I would take the 7Dii, superzoom and then get a fast prime. A decentish compact camera does the job as a backup.
 
I will be going to Patagonia in Chile (self-drive) and although my main interest is wildlife (hence the current combo) I suspect that landscapes will be the prime targets for this trip. I realise that the 7D may not be the best for landscape but changing it is not an option.
 
If you need to charge more than one type of battery, a universal charger is probably your best bet - the one I have can also charge AA(A)s and has a USB port.
As for the weight issue, charger should be safe in the main hold baggage, as should any supports, filters etc. basically, anything not over-fragile or containing Lithium batteries. Wear a coat with several decent sized pockets and slip any lenses that are taking you over the limit into a pocket - you can probably get away with sticking them back in the bag once you're round the corner after the weigh-in!
 
Nod said:
As for the weight issue, charger should be safe in the main hold baggage, as should any supports, filters etc. basically, anything not over-fragile or containing Lithium batteries. Wear a coat with several decent sized pockets and slip any lenses that are taking you over the limit into a pocket - you can probably get away with sticking them back in the bag once you're round the corner after the weigh-in!
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I wouldn't put a camera battery charger in hold luggage. On one of our trips our hold luggage went walkabout for seven days. Seven days in which I needed to charge my camera batteries several times.

I have, though, made good use of a 'fisherman's jacket' with many pockets in which I was able to carry, amongst other things, batteries, charger, SD cards in cases and even lenses. It's a good idea to wear a thin loose-fitting coat over the jacket to make the lumps and bumps less obvious!

A warning: anyone considering putting the contents of such a jacket into their carry-on luggage after check-in should think carefully. Many airlines now re-check weights either at the gate or on the way to the gate. We have experienced this several times in the UK and around the world.
 
Personally I never needed second body while traveling. And sometimes I had thrown that in the car and never even touched it. You can always buy something if s*** happens.

50d bare may likely fit in a bigger jacket pocket anyway.
 
If you fancy something super cheap and indestructible you should look for 1dsii. Better iq than you've got and can be used and abused in any way you can imagine almost in the water
 
I always used to carry my canon 100-400 in my hand in its case. Or the wife held it. Never got challenged. I have now traded in most of my canon gear to Fuji x to keep the weight down. I even traded in my 500mm as I never managed to use it overseas. There are a few airlines where the cabin baggage is over the rubbish 8-10kgs like BA.
 
Yes BA do offer 23kg cabin luggage but we have a connecting flight where the limit is the 8kg. It will be spring / summer when we go so it might look a bit odd if I'm wearing a big coat with pockets stuffed with camera gear.
With regard to the battery charger I feel that this is an essential piece of equipment not to have with me in the cabin but I do agree that the tripod, filters etc could be placed in hold luggage.
Ned. I would be interested in what kit you took to Patagonia.
Thanks to all.
 
I took a load of m43 gear, from memory:

EM1ii, EM5ii
12-40 Pro
40-150 Pro + TC
100-400 Panasonic
17mm f/1.8 (I think)
9-18mm
10.5" iPad pro

All in a small backpack.

I do remember that on an internal flight (maybe Santiago to Puerto Natales) that they did pull me up on my backpack and had to transfer some kit to my wife.

Some photos here (was mainly in Chile but the condor photos were in El Chalten): https://www.flickr.com/photos/72341657@N02/albums/72157666455743099/with/25122058198/
 
Some great photos Ned, thanks...……..just hope mine will turn out as good.
 
I would keep the charger in your hand luggage as a photo mate of mine was without any way of charging his kit for many many days as his luggage was delayed.
 
Kondwani said:
Yes BA do offer 23kg cabin luggage but we have a connecting flight where the limit is the 8kg. It will be spring / summer when we go so it might look a bit odd if I'm wearing a big coat with pockets stuffed with camera gear.
With regard to the battery charger I feel that this is an essential piece of equipment not to have with me in the cabin but I do agree that the tripod, filters etc could be placed in hold luggage.
Ned. I would be interested in what kit you took to Patagonia.
Thanks to all.
Click to expand...
On the Northern or Southern hemisphere? :cool:
 
What does your camera bag weigh now, with all the kit you'd like to take? Are we talking about slimming down by 1-2kg,which should be achievable, or is it worse than that?

I went on a trip to Antarctica recently where I had a limit of 8kg, like you, for a connecting flight. My kit was not wildly dissimilar to yours either: 7D II, 5D III (same batteries and charger!), 100-400, 24-105, 16-35 f4; plus a laptop. The fully loaded camera bag was around 11.5kg.

My tactics were:
(1) try to make it look light as I carried it, hoping that it wouldn't be weighed;
(2) comb through the fine print of the airline's rules to look for loopholes which I could exploit if required - for example some allow a "small personal item such as a small handbag or laptop bag" in addition;
(3) wear clothes with lots of large pockets where I could put lenses, batteries, and other detritus so it wouldn't count within the 8kg.

If you're traveling with someone who isn't going to be pushing the weight limit so aggressively then of course you can 'pool' your allowances.

If I were you I would be trading in my 50D for a used 60D. You can pick up good used 60Ds for around £200-£250, minus what you get for the 50D, and it uses the same batteries and charger as the 7D (and 70D, 80D, 5D series, 6D series, and EOS R, so it's pretty well future proofed). That will help with the weight but will also make life easier in general.
 
StewartR said:
I went on a trip to Antarctica recently where I had a limit of 8kg, like you, for a connecting flight. My kit was not wildly dissimilar to yours either: 7D II, 5D III (same batteries and charger!), 100-400, 24-105, 16-35 f4; plus a laptop. The fully loaded camera bag was around 11.5kg.

My tactics were:
(1) try to make it look light as I carried it, hoping that it wouldn't be weighed;
(2) comb through the fine print of the airline's rules to look for loopholes which I could exploit if required - for example some allow a "small personal item such as a small handbag or laptop bag" in addition;
(3) wear clothes with lots of large pockets where I could put lenses, batteries, and other detritus so it wouldn't count within the 8kg.

If you're traveling with someone who isn't going to be pushing the weight limit so aggressively then of course you can 'pool' your allowances.

If I were you I would be trading in my 50D for a used 60D. You can pick up good used 60Ds for around £200-£250, minus what you get for the 50D, and it uses the same batteries and charger as the 7D (and 70D, 80D, 5D series, 6D series, and EOS R, so it's pretty well future proofed). That will help with the weight but will also make life easier in general.
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On each of our Antarctic trips I have taken pretty much the same as you with the 100-400 replaced with a 50-500 or 150-600 and the 16-35 replaced by a 12-24 so a little more weight than yourself. I packed the carry-on case to be reasonably over the 8kg limit (most airlines will not complain about up to 1kg over so think a couple of kg), had some of the weight in my small rucksack and the balance in my jacket-of-many-pockets.

Tactics were similar to your own: smile and say 'hello' to the check-in agent, don't arrive at the desk sweating with exertion, avoid straps which look as though they're about to be stretched beyond their limits, use the pockets in the jacket with care and disguise it a little with a thin and loose rain-type jacket over it (you really don't want a whole lot of bulges on display) and, if all else fails, ask the agent what they can do to help!

As for travelling with someone who might offer some capacity, that would never work with Management here.
 
Kondwani said:
Yes BA do offer 23kg cabin luggage but we have a connecting flight where the limit is the 8kg. It will be spring / summer when we go so it might look a bit odd if I'm wearing a big coat with pockets stuffed with camera gear.
With regard to the battery charger I feel that this is an essential piece of equipment not to have with me in the cabin but I do agree that the tripod, filters etc could be placed in hold luggage.
Ned. I would be interested in what kit you took to Patagonia.
Thanks to all.
Click to expand...


Doesn't have to be a big coat - I wear a fleece when we go to Crete in summer and that has big enough pockets for a lens in each )and I've needed to use the trick a couple of times!)
If you'll be near civilization you could save a few ounces by sticking the charger lead in the hold baggage - the figure 8 leads can be found pretty much anywhere.
 
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