[pentageek]

At worst, it's an inconvenient 30-seconds to put stuff in the bin and repack it at the other end.

I second this. Usually I was asked to take the camera out of the photo backpack, rarely they were asking to take out extra lenses, too. Nothing really troublesome or risky, assuming that you pack your stuff accordingly.

[aslyfox]

I posted about this a few months ago

the procedure has been expanded to all air ports in the US as far as I know

only exception is suppose to be for those who have been accepted into the pre check system

https://www.tsa.gov/precheck

I recently traveled in May and had no problem with pre check but was singled out for " advanced " exam a pat down once and hand swab the second time

[tvdtvdtvd]

Thanks for your response. Very informative. I am curious as to whether or not you had to breakdown the camera by removing the lens and allow radiation to get in there.

No further breakdown required, they just wanted the camera out of the bag.

[dubyam]

No further breakdown required, they just wanted the camera out of the bag.

Maybe because of the disagreement on policy between the two TSA employees which kind of put me in a bad spot, but they made me take all my lenses out of their pouches/carriers, and everything.

[Just1MoreDave]

What I did was put a DA21 and short strap on the camera, so it is really compact, looks less intimidating, and is easy to take out of my backpack. I was able to leave all the lenses, chargers, etc. in the backpack. TSA is actually proud of being inconsistent, so you can't count on knowing the rules exactly or how they will be interpreted. So I had a plan in case I had to extract everything.

On one recent flight, they wanted everyone to remove snacks and put those in the bin. But the worst - I have a hat with an LED light in the brim. It has a coin battery, a switch and some wires. It's handy on a trip, so it's been through security maybe 30 times. Last fall, I was at Dulles, three hours before the flight, totally unconcerned about screening, until my bag started attracting interest. The regular guy called over a supervisor who called someone on the phone, who took photos of the screen before allowing me to unpack each item. I expected it to be the camera stuff and was surprised it was the hat. It just looked weird on the xray and they couldn't let it go.

[Jonathan Mac]

I have often had my hand luggage manually checked due to the sheer volume of photographic gear I sometimes carry. On holiday I have a backpack full of it and when I visit my folks in Scotland I sometimes buy gear online, have it shipped to their house and then take it back with me to Spain. I expect to go through that and I have absolutely no problem with airport security doing their job as long as they are courteous and professional about it, which they almost always are. Be courteous and patient back and you shouldn't have any trouble.

[yucafrita]

Over here you have to be able to switch on any electronics to prove that they haven't been modified into something nasty. Apparently this has caused problems for people carrying pre-electronic film cameras, confronted by security staff completely unable to grasp the concept of a camera without an LCD screen.

They havent asked me to switch the camera on (Berlin Tegel) but they swabbed the camera and the film canisters after the x-ray. Doesnt hassle me, its only film. In Paris, Amsterdam and Lima it just went through the x-ray (and no, my films never got fogged, neither in the suitcase when it went to the cargo bay).

[Schraubstock]

At O'Hare one year I had to proof that the camera gear I was carrying was actually capable of taking pictures by shooting off some frames with the border officer standing next to me. I then had the SD card confiscated because I took pictures in the customs hall which is prohibited. I sign on the wall says so I was advised, even though I could not see one. Erasing all images the officer made me take was not sufficient as they can be unerased I was told.

I am not game enough to argue with people in uniform with this sort of intellect.


I reckon that officer's wife beat him up in the morning before he set off to go to work. I happened to have been the one he could vent his frustration on.

[Ahab]

Don't sweat it. I've been through a number of airports in foreign countries with these kinds of rules. At worst, it's an inconvenient 30-seconds to put stuff in the bin and repack it at the other end.

If you are worried about theft (although with all the security surveillance at these check points, theft can't be too common), then let your wife go through first. Once she's been screened and is on the other side of the x-ray machine, then send all the camera stuff through.

I agree, been all over the world and never had a problem.

[Tonytee]

Over here you have to be able to switch on any electronics to prove that they haven't been modified into something nasty. Apparently this has caused problems for people carrying pre-electronic film cameras, confronted by security staff completely unable to grasp the concept of a camera without an LCD screen.

Well, it is my understanding that the U.K., has just about the most secure system of checking through passengers as well as bags and electronic equipment. I have been told the measures are strictly classified and cannot be revealed to the flying public. Good to know.

Thnx for your contribution.

TT

[TwoUptons]

I’ve had more problems getting cheese through security than cameras 🙂

I do put small pieces of masking tape over the battery contacts, and I smile when they run my stuff through the machine back and forth to get a better look.

I’ve found getting to the airport early and having enough time for connections helps my state of mind.

That, and never connecting through DeGaulle. It’s a great place to go to but horrible to go through 🙂

-Eric

[Dartmoor Dave]

I’ve had more problems getting cheese through security than cameras 🙂 I do put small pieces of masking tape over the battery contacts, and I smile when they run my stuff through the machine back and forth to get a better look.

I think if I was an airport security screener I'd be very suspicious about a cheese that had battery contacts and masking tape on it.

[aslyfox]

Since I have enrolled in the PreCheck program

TSA Pre✓® | Transportation Security Administration

I have had no problem in the US

but in 2016, after a night in Amsterdam transiting through Schiphol Airport I had to completely remove everything from my camera back pack

biggest problem was that there was no warning, attendant saw me and said empty it completely, I could leave nothing in the pack at all, everything came out:

camera bodies

lenses

filters

batteries

chargers and cords

memory cards and external hard drives

certainly took me more than 30 seconds



but then the option wasn't acceptable - not getting onto the connecting flight to Tanzania

[Tonytee]

I believe this is a good time to share my experience with Airport Security. In 2005 my sister came to visit us for a few days and of course I needed to pick her up at PDX, Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon. To start off it was right during rush hour on a Friday afternoon and there were six accidents, all on my side of the freeway. I had placed my cell phone inside the glove compartment, locked it and the car. Needless to say I was very late in getting to the airport. I had tried to get through airport security, but no matter what I did, I still managed to activate the alarm for the metal detector. They finally moved me to an isolation booth and I looked around me, my pockets and then looked at my knee brace which had sewn inside, metal rivets. Okay, that came off and then I was good to go, almost. When I went to retrieve my belongings in my tupperware tub, I noticed there was a cell phone in my tub and it was turned on, but it was not mine. I alerted a TSA officer and told him that my cell was locked in my car and I do not know how this cell showed up with my belongings. How in the heck did this happen? When I pushed the tub through the scanning equipment, the cell phone was not in it. It came out of the scanning equipment with a cell phone. That was taken care of, finally found my sister and then shortly thereafter we were enroute to my house. Truth is stranger than fiction. Thanks for reading.

Tony

[dbs]

Hi Tony

So did you score a new phone then...?

Dave