What gear (not) to bring on holidays

Posted at September 18, 2011 by Sarah Hipwell 0 Comment

I recently returned from a super two-week family holiday in France.

I was determined to take some good stock shots so I decided to bring my DSLR, even though I always carry my little Canon IXUS 100IS.

We did the fly-and-hire to Bordeaux, so bringing luggage and gear had to be well thought out in advance. We paid for two check-in bags and I wanted to have all my camera gear in my carry-on luggage.

I decided to bring my DSLR and three lenses! I know, this was too many. In the end I only used the 18-200. I also took my rectangular silver/gold reflector and my trusty 109cm umbrella with the nano light stand. All neatly packed into my Lowepro Pro runner 200AW, which fit very snugly into my wheelie luggage bag.

Leaving Dublin Airport went very smoothly. Returning home did not! The french customs officials at Bordeaux said that my light stand could not be taken onboard as it could be used as a ‘blunt’ instrument.

So I had to venture back out to the check-in desk to check my carry-on luggage bag with the light stand in it, minus my belt on my jeans! I didn’t want to delay proceedings here, so I left the belt et al with my husband and our two girls.

I went back to the same young woman who we had just checked in with. At this point, I figured I would have to pay handsomely for the privilege of getting home my beloved light stand and most likely pay more in charges than the cost of the item.

I have to point out that the young woman at the check-in desk was brilliant! She arranged to get one of our luggage bags back from the hold, so that I could put my light stand in and not pay extra. In the meantime, I misplaced my passport in the fluster. I had managed to leave it on another counter!

I put the light stand in the bag and checked it through for the second time. I thanked her profusely and went through to the departure gates. At this stage, I began to notice my jeans were loose…I must have sweated alot in those 15minutes!

So, as a reminder when bringing camera gear from one country to another: Try and get information of what is allowed and isn’t beforehand, especially if like me you want to bring it on board the plane.