Traveling on Airlines with my Varicam

[Steve Wargo]

Ray,

They stopped asking us to “power up” a few years ago. But, REMOVE the viewfinder if they make you stow the camera. We just did a return flight with AWA and they put us on a small plane,with small overhead bins. They promised to HAND CARRY the camera down to the tarmac and HAND LOAD it into the plane’s belly. Imagine our eyes when they TOSSED it onto a conveyor belt and we then saw it slide off the end onto the ground. After we found that the EVF was torn of, they replied “We have a contract that says we are not responsible for camera equipment”. However, they voided their own contract when they took our CARRY ON and verbally promised special care in handling. We are presently battling them to pay for the damages. And you know us. We don’t lose. Either way, don’t give it to them. Carrying a small handgun will do the trick if they try to take your gear.

Southwest has better planes. I doubt you’ll have a problem. Keep your case under 22″ long and check the rules and regs for specifics on carry-on size. Personally, I would use a shoulder case. You know, the glove type of protection that wraps around the camera. Ask if you can pre-board and explain that you need to be careful how you pack it in the overhead. Southwest’s people are actual human beings.

Birthday is still coming up, by the way.

Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona

It’s a dry heat!

[Jeff Merritt]

Hello Ray,

Glad to see you’re coming to the VariCamp in Burbank. I look forward to seeing you there.

We have shipped VariCams around the country dozens of times in hard cases and have had no problem. Just consider it a suitcase and check it but be sure to put tie-wraps on it. Eventhough TSA may open it up, it’s worth the chance. Again, we’ve never had a problem or a lost camera.

Good luck. See you at the VariCamp.

Happy New Year to you and everyone on the COW.

Jeff Merritt
Product Line Business Manager
High Definition Products
Panasonic Broadcast
323-436-3676

[Rrayburn]

I have traveled many times this year hand taking the Varicam on planes. I carry two small Portabrace cases…1 case for the camera body and a battery just in case you are asked to power up. Remove the lens and viewfinder and carry them in the second portabrace…I put them in the Portabrace padded drawstring bags that came with the smuggler camera case. Put some foam or bubble wrap in the bottom of both cases.

I always ask to board early (I have never been turned down) Put one under the seat the other one or both in the overhead…watch them carefully, put a jacket or pillows around them and make sure someone doesn’t move them or try to jam a big case on top of them. They are well protected since you always hand carry them, and since you are in two rather small cases instead of one large odd looking camera case….no one gives you a hard time……you should always be able to store them in the cabin….but it is important to get on the plane early.

No scatches no bumps…works for me.
Russ

[Tony]

Steve,

I can’t believe you would have allowed the camera out of your hands without putting the camera into an ATA shipping case to protect the camera instead of praying it would survive “Naked” in the cargo hold.

I personally always carry a hard case as a backup everywhere I travel in the event I need to ship the camera instead of carrying the camera onboard.

If I had been in your shoes I would have either taken the camera and EVF apart and stashing it under a seat or leave the plane and wait for the next flight. The only time I ever had my camera taken from me was the time I personally had to stuff the camera into a suit closet on the plane and surrounding it with pillows. The camera secured inside a porta brace case survived but then again this was back in the days when betacam sp cameras were built like bricks and weighted alot but they survived a hell of alot of abuse.

I highly doubt the airline will pay up in any reasonable amount of time that will minimize your downtime and out of pocket expenses for the EVF repair but I wish you the best of luck.

Sorry to hear the bad news.

Tony Salgado

[Peter Steinman]

OT a bit but, why bring the camera to Varicamp ? I was thinking of going too but, I really don’t want to bring my camera down with me. Any benifit to having your own camera with you ?

[Gary Adcock]

[leaknoil] “OT a bit but, why bring the camera to Varicamp ?”

So you can tune your own camera with tools you may never get to use like Collimators for adjusting back focus or a current DSC charts with HD scopes.

Not to mention if trying out all the toys on your own gear.

Gary Adcock
Studio37
HD and Film Consultation
Chicago, IL USA

[Peter Steinman]

Most of that stuff will just need to be set again I’d think. Just taking everything apart to get it into carry on luggage would probably require doing it all over. Not an expert on alignment (hence why I’m thinking about taking the workshop) but, backfocus for sure.

What toys do they usually have to try out at these things ? How many people bring their own cameras usually ?

If I was driving to LA I’d think about it but, such a pain and worry flying with all that. I need more convincing. I’d hate to find out I missed out on something because I didn’t though.

[Ray Palmer]

The reason that I plan to bring our Varicam is to give us as much time possible with the menus. There will be two of us attending from the same shop and this way we can even shoot after class with our camera and practice what we learned.

I also would like the Panasonic guys to look at my camera. I am not convinced that our EVF is the best it can be. This way I can compare our lens and View Finder with others at the class.

Ray Palmer, Engineer
Salt River Project
Phoenix, AZ
602-236-8224 office
There are three types of people in this world, those that can count and those that can’t.

[Gary Adcock]

[leaknoil] “Most of that stuff will just need to be set again I’d think. Just taking everything apart to get it into carry on luggage would probably require doing it all over. Not an expert on alignment (hence why I’m thinking about taking the workshop) but, backfocus for sure.”

Yeah, you do need to take it.
Your camera is a very well disguised Ferrari that masquerades as a utility vehicle.

If it’s your camera –all of those settings can be saved and called up later, while white shading is lens specific, the majority of the rest of the settings are indeed savable. Different looks, color and gamma settings and then go back to your (generic) starting point.

“What toys do they usually have to try out at these things ? How many people bring their own cameras usually ? “

TOYS???? damn near everything you can think of that will fit on it.
Fujinon brings lots of lenses, Telecast Remote fibre, Filters from Schneider, Add ons from AJA, DSC, IDX, Century Optics, Leader, Bron, etc . All there for you to play with.

I bring an entire post suite so people understand the power of what a Kona board and an FCP workstation means with Varicam DVCPROHD content. (I am the Post instructor at the Varicamps)

Gary Adcock
Studio37
HD and Film Consultation
Chicago, IL USA

[Ray Palmer]

Great post.
Thanks,
Ray

Ray Palmer, Engineer
Salt River Project
Phoenix, AZ
602-236-8224 office
There are three types of people in this world, those that can count and those that can’t.