I fly way too often (close to 3,000,000 miles on American alone) and I've
never had any problems when I fly with gear. Even when I carried most of my
gear to supplementally shoot my daughter's wedding in Atlanta (you can't
shoot a wedding if you are part of it), in Dallas there were no questions
and in Atlanta, just a long look. It may help that the TSA people in Dallas
know me and spend more time talking to me as they hand check my person due
to my internal defibrillator than they do with most. Although I don't
usually try taking a full-blown adult tripod with me, my clamp/table-top
always makes it through as carry-on. When I think I'll need it, the
full-sized tripod goes as checked baggage in a tripod bag.
In the EU, again I've never been inconvenienced with carry-on problems. In
Heathrow, I did have an inspector very carefully and thoroughly go through
everything. He was extraordinarily consciences and polite. When I
complimented him on his thoroughness, he replied that in his previous life,
he had been a sergeant in the British Army in Belfast and had to retrieve
some of his men with tweezers and he was never going to be responsible for
that happening to people who went through his inspection.
Just avoid film faster than 400 - it may fog after multiple passes through
x-ray facilities.
Larry in Dallas
