I suppose it makes sense for it could easily be used as a weapon, but for whatever it is worth as a warning...the screeners at Rome's FCO airport would not under any circumstances allow a tripod in carry-on luggage this Wednesday morning, 26.10.05.
Takes a lot of faith, or at least insurance, to place a premium carbon fiber legset and the Arca-Swiss C1 cube(which they also wouldn't allow upon its lonesome) in the unseen hands of baggage handlers.
The world is getting nuts. Photography restrictions everywhere. Yet it is crazy. If I were a terrorist, I would snap a pic from handheld 35mm camera and be on my way in 3 sec. I would not be stting up a tripod, view camera, and making a big deal out of it.
Then there is the x-ray problem that has been beat to death.
Ronald, I think that (as Jarrod surmised) the screeners' objection was to the prospect of using a tripod as a weapon, not a fear that someone would use the tripod to take photos.
I bought a long duffle specifically for this reason and wrap my tripod in the middle, inside a bundle of clothes, but of course "in the unseen hands of baggage handlers" even this approach has major shortcomings. Heck, even great insurance isn't particularly helpful if the tripod is damaged on your way TO the shoot (as opposed to on your way home).
I have found far more often than not that if my tripod is not in a case I'm allowed to take it onboard, but I'm always prepared to check it if forced to.
This seems to be more common in Europe than the USA. I had the same experience in Nuremberg, Germany a year ago. It doesn't seem to be an issue in the USA as long as you obey the 2 item and size limits.
Swinging a C-1 cube with my carbon legs - well I could do some serious carnage with that set-up. Maybe it could be the weapon of choice in the next Wes Craven movie?
The bigger question is, if I had a $2000 tripod, why I wouldn't have a padded case for it. That head alone needs a special carrying case lest any dirt gets into it. And carbon legs are certainly strong, but a nick can ruin them.
It happened to me in the US too.
Anyway, consider that few months ago a tripod was trown against the Italian first minister Berlusconi!
Bye
On Topic, really. To add an odd cultural point-of view: I was among the last occupying troops in France. In the Alsace Lorraine area, as many locals associated a tripod with a machine-gun as with a camera (machine guns were supported by tripods). Sure, they didn't take it as a weapon, but the psychological aspect was clear as there were still unexploded shells, small-weapons parts, helmets and soforth to be found by farmers' fields.
I always check mine in a Tenba TTP bag, head attached, handles loose or removed. Never had a problem with it.
I solve this problem by having a hard sided suitcase and then I put my tripod in that with the ball head detached. Never had a problem.
Frank
Whom suggested I don't have a padded case for my tripod? Stick to being a professional cheapskate rather than extrapolating inaccurate inferences.
I have 6 tripod bags, 3 Tamrac unpadded versions and 3 Hakuba padded ones in differing lengths for my various legsets. The padded one gets me there & I prefer to leave its excessive weight in the hotel room while enjoying myself.
But that doesn't mean one would prefer to have a $2k device which they're entirely dependent upon out of their possession, for just because the item is physically unlikely to be damaged doesn't mean it cannot be lost or stolen-ruining a trip at least in the photographic sense.
The C1 isn't particularly fragile; I just cover the head with a neoprene sleeve, put the whole setup in my regular rolling case and worried not a second about it being damaged. That what insurance is for, but on the way TO a locale all the money in the world can't quickly procure that same setup.
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