Pixel Perfect wrote:
Still torn whether to take the 70-200 f/2.8L IS II, but I think that's pushing it and for birding the 100-400L will be a better choice.
I agree. I took my 70-200/2.8L IS II to Utah last summer, because I photographed a number of indoor events. I used it with 1.4x III and 2x III extenders for wildlife. Not bad, but not as good at 400mm as the 100-400L would be. I posted examples here last fall.
Pixel Perfect wrote:
Not sure about which tripod. For travel I usually take my lightweight Slik CF tripod which weighs 1.2kg and BH which weighs ~450g. But for the 500 I'd prefer my larger Gitzo 1325 and gimbal head, but that's about 3kg total and takes up a lot more space in my checked suitcase.
I generally take my Gitzo ultralight GT-0540 CF for most stuff and a Feisol CM-1471 Rapid for heavy lenses. For my 500L, I generally use a monopod, handheld (esp. panning), and/or on a beanbag. I rarely use a tripod anymore for my 500L.
jcolwell wrote:
I generally take my Gitzo ultralight GT-0540 CF for most stuff and a Feisol CM-1471 Rapid for heavy lenses. For my 500L, I generally use a monopod, handheld (esp. panning), and/or on a beanbag. I rarely use a tripod anymore for my 500L.
Yes I do have a monopod, so I might take that and my lightweight tripod for landscape work. I'm thinking of getting the 500 II for much better handholdability. This is going to be one expensive trip .
Well, I delayed my post on this thread a day or so until I had some hard data about traveling with the 500mm II lens. I wanted to pack for a trip to Florida with not only the 500/1DX but also the 5DIII/24-105 and other desirable odds and ends. Upon careful measurements I decided on the Think Tank Airport Accelerator, the largest of the manufacturer's line that's eligible for a carry-on.
I had it bloated and topped off with a laptop and iPad. Despite my early apprehensions, the resulting 30 lbs or so package fitted fine in the overhead with just a bit to spare and made the trip successfully.
In addition to the stuff mentioned above it had:
In the main compartment:
16-35mm lens, Pancake 40mm lens, both battery chargers, 1.4X/ 2.0X TC's (bagged and shown stacked in the photo), extra lens caps, extra battery, CF card case, lens hoods and the supplied Think Tank waterproof bag cover.
Filters, A Lenspen, a card reader and other paraphernalia fitted in the inside cover pockets.
As mentioned, the outside compartments were mainly occupied by the laptop and iPad and a bottle of water.
I thought I might have been able to fit a bit more but on the other hand the weight was on the edge of being intolerable. So it turned out alright. The rest of my stuff traveled in the checked baggage.
It's somewhat surprising that, had I not wanted to include the 5D and 24-105, the significantly more compact Think Tank Streetwalker Pro can be easily fitted with the 500 with hood reversed, the 1DX, both TC's in their padded bags, CF card case, waterproof cover, extra battery, and a few other smaller items. The packaging isn't as comparmentalized but the equipment seems safe enough that I have been using this system on my local shoots and would trust it as careful carry on longer airline trips.
The photos of this are also shown. Note that the 1DX body sits by the narrow end of the 500 which in turn is in the reversed position with the camera end at the wide section of the Streetwalker.
As bought ...
Packed and ready - without being too bloated
The Streetwalker Pro. Not too neat but safe enough.
When we flew from UK to Florida last November we used BA. They have a very generous carry-on allowance of 23Kg and I put the gear in a ThinkTank Airport Antidote, total weight was about 13Kg, 2 bodies, 500, 300f4 and a 70-200 f4 plus other odds and ends.
The real problem for me was carrying that load. I'm a reasonably strong and stocky 65 year old who is a gym regular but I must say that lot almost defeated me when lugging it around the airports with a small back pack and large case on wheels as well.
Sad to say I've now said goodbye to the 500 and 300 and compromised with a 300 2.8 and extenders.
Thanks for the very detailed reply Doc and the photos. The advantage I have is being able to split gear across two camera bags, so I don't need to get the largest bag and I've decided to get the Airport Commuter.
Doctorbird wrote:
The photos of this are also shown. Note that the 1DX body sits by the narrow end of the 500 which in turn is in the reversed position with the camera end at the wide section of the Streetwalker.
That seems like a good way to carry 500 II + camera.....I haven't thought of that myself.
I flew from Miami to London on British Air a few years back, and my gear bag was weighted and came to double the max allowance. However after I showed them the contents of the bag, they let me through.
I had gone through the posts. In coming months, My friend planning to visit the one of the countries which is famous for birds. So, He need to buy 500 f/4 with his carry-on luggage. Is there any restriction at the airport? If anyone had an experience regarding the topic, Please produce that details which will helpful for my friend. Any kind of suggestion is greatly accepted.
I used a Tamarac roller bag (like the current model 5591 I thing) for my carry-on twice to East Africa. I carried my 300 f2.8L I in a Think Tank Glass Taxi and used the roller bag for the rest of my gear and a 15-inch laptop. Didn't have any problems with the carry-on except when flying on a small commuter plane in country. We all had to have our bags stowed below in cargo. However, when we explained to the crew that our bags carried very valuable photography equipment they were very careful with everything. None of the 12 photographers on the trip had any problems. Arthur Morris suggests wearing a Vested Interest photo vest to remove equipment from you carry-on if you find it exceeds weight limits. Not a bad idea.
I just returned from Iceland on Icelandair with no hassles. I was loaded with equipment and flew to Reykjavik out of Denver. Perhaps it was the luck of the draw but the packs sailed through with no inspection and no hassles. I had over 15Kg in my roll on and a backpack as well.
WildImages wrote:
I just returned from Iceland on Icelandair with no hassles. I was loaded with equipment and flew to Reykjavik out of Denver. Perhaps it was the luck of the draw but the packs sailed through with no inspection and no hassles. I had over 15Kg in my roll on and a backpack as well.
Good luck. You will love Iceland!
Thanks for the heads up, can't wait for the trip. Hope the summer weather is good.
Singapore Airlines carry-on limit: Economy: one piece, 7 kg per piece. Sum of length, width, height (including protrusions) not exceeding 115cm.
I can completely understand your choice of airline and direction of travel, however, if carry-on weight/size restrictions is a concern, flying with US carriers is generally less of a hassle, in exchange for probably worse in-flight service and getting to deal with US customs/immigration hassles.
Personally, I'd drop the 15" laptop for an 11" Macbook Air. I'm sure you're planning to bring an external HDD for backup anyway, just bring a second for an MBA if the internal storage is insufficient. That's assuming you're a Mac user. Perhaps there is something similar for Windows, like from Acer, Asus, etc.?
rscheffler wrote:
Singapore Airlines carry-on limit: Economy: one piece, 7 kg per piece. Sum of length, width, height (including protrusions) not exceeding 115cm.
I can completely understand your choice of airline and direction of travel, however, if carry-on weight/size restrictions is a concern, flying with US carriers is generally less of a hassle, in exchange for probably worse in-flight service and getting to deal with US customs/immigration hassles.
Personally, I'd drop the 15" laptop for an 11" Macbook Air. I'm sure you're planning to bring an external HDD for backup anyway, just bring a second for an MBA if the internal storage is insufficient. That's assuming you're a Mac user. Perhaps there is something similar for Windows, like from Acer, Asus, etc.?...Show more →
Flying from Australia and avoiding US altogether Australia->Singapore->Manchester->Keflavik. No US flights were remotely competitive in price, service quality aside. I'm not a Mac person, and didn't really want to buy a new laptop for the trip, certainly not before Haswell ships at any rate which is around July. You can carry the laptop on separately so unless they are totally anal about weight I should be ok with the gear spread across two bags and I can put some lenses in a jacket pocket if I'm worried. Bag dimensions of the ThinkTank are well under 115cm total.
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