Photographers / Computer Users - How do you plan to handle the camera/computer ban?

I guess, for me, it would mean either not bringing a laptop at all or designating a cheap travel laptop without any personal stuff on it. It would be much easier for me to leave the laptop at home than the camera. My (SLR) camera is quite old, but I would be sad to lose it. The lens itself is very expensive - I don't know how they handle lenses, (meaning, can you bring one abroad or not?) You could always take out the disk with all the photos. In short, I would check in a less valuable laptop or not take one at all) and take out the crucial camera components so, in worst case, all I'd lose is the camera body. I don't think I'd go as far as shipping because it's too expensive (I doubt the value of my depreciated camera would be worth the shipping cost).

Most people are not using such expensive cameras with so multiple, bulky lenses.
Electronic camera pictures can be downloaded nightly to a laptop and transferred to "The Cloud."
I travel with an inexpensive 10" Acer computer with Windows 10, and I don't have much of anything in memory. It's light and very good to travel with, however. If I lost it or broke it, I've already got my money's worth. I keep all my good stuff on my 17" powerful laptop left at home.

I just will not fly home from any those airports. I carry a lot of photo gear and a laptop. I depend on the laptop for storage of my photos. The "cloud" is useless for me because in most places I stay the internet connection is poor and, even when good, uploading 400-500 full resolution RAW photos a day is just not possible. I might be able to carry my portable back-up drive on the plane as carry-on. It is no bigger than a smart phone.

PS. You can not shrink wrap the suitcases because they must be available for security to open and inspect them.

I just will not fly home from any those airports. I carry a lot of
photo gear and a laptop. I depend on the laptop for storage of my
photos. The "cloud" is useless for me because in most places I stay
the internet connection is poor and, even when good, uploading 400-500
full resolution RAW photos a day is just not possible.

Agreed: no way my RAW files can be transmitted to "the cloud." I will look into different airports and different carriers. Don't care about laptops, but I want to bring my camera!!!

We travel and take extended vacations because my husband is able to work as long as he brings his company computer with him. I imagine there are others with simular situations. We can't risk a situation where my husband's company computer could be taken away. That's really sad.

We will purchase a lap top when we arrive, put everything on a flash drive before we leave and then donate the computer to a charity before we leave. Or, just leave the laptop at home since we are on vacation.....

I'm sorry, there must be more to this than what I read? What I read, in regards to Europe, refers to direct flights from Istanbul to the US or Istanbul to the UK. Is it broader than that?

Just wait until this ban becomes the standard everywhere...

ira,

I never travel on the airlines on the list, travel to the countries on the list or make direct flights to the U.S., so at least for the moment I'll continue to pack as usual. If the rules change for Canadian airports (other than Montreal), I'll cross that bridge when the time comes.

I use a small, cheap Netbook during travel, so wouldn't be too concerned if I had to check it. If this ban becomes more widespread, my DSLR would be a problem. I haven't seen anything on whether P&S Cameras are included?

I haven't seen anything on whether P&S Cameras are included?

Ken, the way I'm reading the ban, it's ANY electronic device larger than a standard smartphone aside from medical devices. "Larger" is a little ambiguous, though? Height and width of some P&S are similar to a smartphone but not usually depth.

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/03/21/fact-sheet-aviation-security-enhancements-select-last-point-departure-airports

I am in the same situation. I flew Turkish to Venice for Carnival a few weeks ago with all my best camera equipment a lots of other electronics. I would have been in deep trouble if this ruling had come down while I was in Venice.

I have had such good experiences flying Turkish Airlines that I really hate to stop flying with them, especially now that they fly direct to and from Atlanta.

So, what would I do now?

• I carry my laptop mainly for work emergencies, although I do enjoy using Lightroom to do initial backup and organizing of my photos each night. I would probably leave the laptop and tablet at home, and I would keep my work-related files on a USB thumb drive in case I needed to access them while traveling. It would be a total pain to try to do work from a public computer at a hotel, but I could do it in a pinch.

• As for cameras, I would probably get a decent P&S, and take the risk of putting it in checked luggage. But then there is the battery problem. You can only have the battery in your camera --- no spares in checked luggage or carry on. Ouch! Renting a camera at my destination may be another option. Shipping, as you suggested, is another option. At least you can insure your gear if you ship it.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), I don't have any plans for international travel any time soon.

I'm hoping there will be enough push-back that the U.S. will figure out a way to work with the airlines and airports and eliminate this ban. Tough on those caught unawares in the middle of a trip though. I've flown several times on Turkish and it's usually cheaper and better service, plus I like to sample the lokum at Ataturk when transferring.

One solution might be to temporarily take a different airline. It may cost more but it may mean you can keep your electronics and photo gear with you.

I am in the same situation. I flew Turkish to Venice for Carnival a
few weeks ago with all my best camera equipment a lots of other
electronics. I would have been in deep trouble if this ruling had come
down while I was in Venice.

Can someone direct me to the information that says that it is prohibited to carry a lap top or camera or anything else in your carry on when flying to or from Venice?

The website says:

Impacted International Flights Bound for the United States

These enhanced security measures will only affect flights from 10 of
the more than 250 airports that serve as last points of departure to
the United States. A small percentage of flights to the United States
will be affected, and the exact number of flights will vary on a day
to day basis. Airlines will know in advance which flights are affected
by these measures

Of those 10 airports, ONE is in Europe. And there are no restrictions about leaving the United States with what ever you want, where ever you want to stow it.

I have no specific plans to fly on the airlines/airports included but if I did I would need to:

-talk to someone at my work as we are currently not allowed to put our work laptops in checked luggage. I don't know if they've changed the policy on that due to the ban. I might not be able to bring it, which would be bad for my job and travel. Or maybe they'd give me a blank laptop? Not sure.

-wrap my iPad in clothes and hope it gets through unstolen and undamaged

-check my camera body, same as iPad, carry on lens and memory card.

James,
Many (if not most) Turkish Air flights to a European city and to cities in the Middle East or Asia are routed through Istanbul, so IST/Ataturk Airport is likely the departure point back to the US (in your example, the first leg may be Venice to Istanbul but the second leg is Istanbul to the US). There are people on this forum who fly Turkish Air and carry expensive camera equipment and/or have a reasonable concern about checking in their laptops/cameras. There is a huge cost and quality advantage to flying Turkish Air that shouldn't be minimized. Also, there are many business people who transit through IST to the US. Even if it's a small percentage of total flights, does that alone make it just to disproportionately impose costs and inconvenience on those people? The key is "for what"? Where is the justification for this? "Security" can be used as an argument to get rid of all sorts of things and impose all sorts of costs. Your quote also states something to the effect that the number of flights affected can change by the day, making this even more unpredictable and arbitrary. That doesn't seem like a good way to treat travelers who want fairness and predictability. I've been through the numerous security layers at IST - US airports pale in comparison to what's done there.

I think the OP was trying to address legitimate needs of people who are either serious or amateur photographers (or people whose use of a laptop is not discretionary) with this post. You may not fall into either of these categories, so this ban may seem quite trivial.

Kathy,

"Ken, the way I'm reading the ban, it's ANY electronic device larger than a standard smartphone aside from medical devices."

Thanks for that. My smallest P&S is not much bigger than a smartphone, but I suspect that would also be included in the ban. It would probably fit within the dimensions they've listed (16 x 9.3 x 1.5 cm / 6.3 x 3.7 x 0.6").

It's not likely that I'll ever be using the listed airlines on flights to or from Europe, so will probably never have to worry about this.

There were 1,466,000 international flights in 2015. Guess that half of those were to the US and the other half out of the US.

This year Turkish Air will have approximately 3,650 direct non-stop flights to the US (more than I thought I would find). So that’s one half of one percent of the incoming international flights.

Another measurable impact on people returning home might be the UK restrictions. If your flight is from Istanbul to the UK and then from the UK to the US.

Agnes, as for the what for; I called my friends in Homeland Security and they wouldn't tell me. I have suggested that it would be helpful if they would keep Wikileaks updated on a daily basis so that we can judge if they are doing their job in a competent manner. But to date they have refused to cooperate.

James, I flew to Venice via Turkish Airlines with a connection in Istanbul. If the ruling had come down while I was in Venice,I would not have been permitted to bring my electronics into the cabin on the return flight. My choices would have been to check my electronics in my very lightweight Osprey backpack or ship my electronics back to the US.

Fortunately, I got home before the ruling came down. Whew!

There is a huge cost and quality advantage to flying Turkish Air that
shouldn't be minimized.

That's so true. Even ignoring the cost difference, Turkish makes a huge effort to make flying as pleasant as possible. Delta could learn a few things from them. I have had superb experiences flying Turkish --- and I will admit that I kind of enjoy the layovers in Istanbul, too.

So your return trip was also through Istanbul and then directly back to the US. I agree on one thing, sure hope they have the sort of intel and concern that justifies doing this on such short notice. But we wont know that till Wikileaks tells us. Till then grin and bear it.

My Plan (for now)

Will take my older Mac Lap with me, and plan to format the drive, install latest Mac OS on that too, and only move applications to it so it's a functioning machine without data.

I ordered several 512 GB flash memory sticks, will install latest Mac OS onto them, and use them for data and files I usually have on my main laptop. That way my data and files is on small flash drives, and nothing mission critical, sensitive or confidential will be on a 6 year old computer.

Will investigate DHL, FedEx and UPS, decide which provider is best, and pick up shipping boxes and bubble wrap before our next trip. The day before we return home will ship back my laptop, iPad and most expensive camera body, pack a less expensive camera body, and take lenses, memory cards, as carry on.

Why would I go through all this?

Our experience with Turkish Air and Atatürk airport has been superb - the best service we've ever seen, so we prefer to fly with them whenever possible ... and our next flight is already booked.

Taking photos helps me observe the things I see, so I take several lenses and camerii. I shoot RAW ... and often multiple exposures for B+W HDR, so it's important to have a laptop to transfer the images off the camera memory cards onto several backup drives.

Photos from our recent Rick Steves Bulgaria trip with Stefan

https://www.flickr.com/photos/serkes/albums/72157672307571650

Ira

ira, you are a magnificent photographer. Thank you for sharing; especially a place I love so much.

AND, I do understand the idea of finding something you like, something you are familiar with and something you enjoy and then having it compromised like this. Frustrating as hell. When some business or person treats me right, gives me great service and gives the impression that they care about your experience then they become my choice for life. You will notice that about me if you read my hometown posts. I unapologetically hawk the good business and the good people.

Those are great photos! They really bring out the essence of your trip. I agree with you about Turkish Air - I got spoiled and it's hard to think of another airline as a replacement. Plus, the flights are always red eye from my area, so that works well for me in terms of being able to sleep.

Thank you all!

Here are some of the photos I took during our Rick Steves Turkey trip with Alp.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/serkes/albums/72157659001909150

This is my favorite of all - it shows the essence of why we keep on traveling!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/serkes/22410756191/in/album-72157659001909150/

Ira

PS - The images are a bit fuzzy because I resized them for the web

Ira, Ira, Ira, this most recent set of photographs from our shared time in marvelous Bulgaria is magnificent! For me you have re-opened great memories plus a good dose of photo-envy! And, it was wonderful to recently "bump into" Carol at the excellent Half Moon Bay nursery (plants, not babies or toddlers!).
Certainly I understand and commiserate with your angst and expense over the new travel regs re computers and cameras. You spend almost all of your waking travel hours with your face into an expensive camera or computer.
This June I will also be returning from Athens on Turkish Air, including a long flight from Istanbul direct to SFO, probably the same flight you use. I usually check a bag going home, so I guess I will need to pack only my iPad (mostly backed up to yonder cloud) and my very nice but very small Canon point and shoot, thicker than a phone (without any memory cards inside). Minimal adaptation for me, I figure. Good luck Ira!
PS: I just saw your additional wonderful photographs from Turkey, especially Istanbul, where I was recently. Just this afternoon I saw the fun documentary "Kedi" about the many roaming and beloved cats of Istanbul, which I highly recommend to anyone who all those cats made smile.

Hi Larry ... Carol was excited to see you at Half Moon Bay too!

While searching for my Turkey photos, I came across this video with Alp (Gokalp Kasim) ... our guide and cat whisperer.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/serkes/22374036816/in/album-72157659001909150/

As it turns out both our girls are on my desk!

Ira

PS - Not so much angst as annoyance about having to figure out a work-around. The expense will be both time and money ... and having to spend both before and at the end of the trip.

It looks like Turkish Airlines is trying to work out some strategies similar to what Emirates is doing to minimize the impact of the electronics ban.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-airlines-mulls-measures-to-avoid-potential-losses-from-laptop-ban.aspx?pageID=238&nID=111211&NewsCatID=345

Of course, you still won't be able to bring your camera into the cabin.

You can buy a cheap tablet for less than $100. Pack it in your checked baggage. Take a book to read on the plane.

This looks like the kind of reasonable response I'd have expected from Turkish Airlines.

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2017/03/24/turkish-airlines-electronics-ban/

And information on insurance

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2017/03/22/electronics-insurance/

Been exploring options and it looks like shipping a camera body and laptop from Europe could cost $300 or more.

Ira

"Ira, if you haven't purchased your tickets, fly to/from Ataturk Airport via Europe on Lufthansa, British Airways or another airline of your choice."

Thanks - this trip is already booked. Will definitely do it next trip.

I was talking to my world travelling friend earlier today and he suggested just that ... going from the United States it doesn't make a difference; flying back to United States he could use Turkish Airline to fly into a European destination, then any airline to fly from Europe back home.

Ira

I've always gotten a lot of work done on long flights ... much harder to do without a laptop. Kindles are also banned but fortunately the iPhone has Kindle and Evernote Apps which work well.

Before setting out on our next trip, I plan to:
Bring along project information, note pads, post-its, pens and paper (atoms, not bits - how 20th Century of me)
Download books onto the iPhone Kindle App
Transfer files and documents to the Evernote App so I can catch up on reading (be sure to sync and download the files too)

Evernote Tip - I always transfer trip info, itineraries, hotel information, passport copies, ticket info to Evernote, and sync it across iPhone, iPads, Kindles and laptops.

Yes ... I was trained as an engineer and used to install computers for Chevron. How did you know?

Ira

Just returned from our Switzerland/Rick Steves Italy 17 Day trip and here's what I found.

Opted to "gate check" the laptop and camera. I brought along a camera bag and duffel bag (to put the camera bag into) just for them. Turns out they take each item, slip it into bubble wrap holder, seal it with a "luggage tag" and put it into a sealed Turkish Air suitcase. Each suitcase probably had 20-30 items. I watched as the brought 7 heavy suitcases down the jetway stairs (sealed with a cable tie) and loaded them into the cargo hold.

LIFO - Last In First Out (or so I thought)

I was baffled that the airport sign board said "boarding" about 2 hours before our flight. Turns out that that's when they start the gate check process. Turkish Air had to hire about an addition half dozen people to do it.

I used a stripped-down computer rather than my primary one, and felt comfortable with the process (and even more comfortable that I'd encrypted or deleted any personal/private information from the laptop before returning home)

Arriving Home - 3 minutes through customs thanks to Global Entry.

Figured the time consuming step would be picking up the laptop/camera at the baggage carousel. Turkish Air set up a table staffed by two people, was about 6th in line ... and waited and waited and waited for baggage to arrive. I'd guess it took 30 minutes for carousel to start up and 45 minutes for the equipment suitcases to arrive. We'd arrived home, people with connecting flights were starting to hyperventilate. I'm guessing that TSA reviewed the luggage - that's why it took so long.

So LIFO was likely LILO (LAST IN LAST OUT)

Once the equipment arrived, the pickup went quickly - we'd signed for it when we dropped it off, signed when we picked it up.

Overall - a smooth process which took way more time than I'd expected. Get to the departure gate earlier than you might otherwise do so, and plan for an extra 30+ minutes picking up your luggage when you arrive home

Ira Serkes

PS
One suitcase didn't lock so we put two straps around it. The bag arrived with the straps in disarray and no blue TSA notice, so I think someone went shopping in Rome, Istanbul or San Francisco and decided that our heavily used Rick Steves guidebooks weren't worth taking.

Ira, thanks for the update. It sounds like the process went fairly smoothly, except for the extra time. That is very good news.

Yes ... Be sure to plan for the extra time ... it will make it much less stressful