do i have to check my chamonix in?

[Frank Petronio]

Flying Rochester to NYC = 2 hr to drive to airport and prep; 1 hr flight, 1 hr circling or waiting; 1-2 hr to get into Manhattan, $249 plus ground transportation in NYC and parking in Rochester ~ $100-150, 4 to 6 hours. And I can't bring all my gear.

Driving Rochester to NYC = 6 hours plus traffic delays in NYC, $55 gas and tolls. I can bring it all.

MegaBus Rochester to NYC = 6 hours plus traffic delays in NYC, $39 fare, free wifi and nice seats. And I can bring a couple 50 lbs bags.

I stopped flying.

[BetterSense]

I fly from Dallas to Ohio sometimes because I have family there. I've never had trouble bringing a MF cam, 35mm cam, bunch of film, compact tripod, and speed graphic in my personal item backpack. That's not even getting into the carry-on bag, which is all clothes.

I hate flying because of the security theater. If I don't check luggage, I have to mail half the contents of my pockets to my destination, and you can't mail firearms easily anyway. Plus I always manage to shake out a few rounds of .22LR whenever I clean out my carry-on bag, so one of these days the explosive material detectors at the airport are going to trip or I'll discover I left some innocuous item in my stuff that it turns out is considered a weapon of mass destruction. But its some 18 hours of driving from Dallas to Columbus, and only 2.5 hours of flying. Cost is comparable, but that time savings extends any vacation by nearly a day, plus not having to drive and being dead-tired from it. If I had a comfortable and reliable car instead of a '99 corolla, I would probably drive more. You have a car when you get there then.

[Drew Wiley]

I even did carry-on for 4x5 on those really cramped little jets which fly between the
individual islands in Hawaii. A Chamonix is quite compact and you should have no trouble as long as your carry-on bag is itself within the specificied size restrictions
(when in doubt make it a little smaller). And I always use a groundglass protector and
plenty of plastic box or bubble wrap around the camera and lenses per se. Check-in
often poses a risk, both for damage and theft or loss.

[jb7]

No need to check in a bag-
this is the only way to travel-
I think you might get an 8x10 in there-

Make sure to practice that look for security...

[Michael Wynd]

When I flew Ryanair in 2004, I had my 4x5 Nagaoka, film holders and lenses in a small backpack which I took as carryon luggage. Didn't have a problem.
Mike

[lenicolas]

thanks for your answers, some of them are hilarious!
i think i'll have to phone ryanair, or even better, mail them so i have a written proof of their answer...
Ryanair sucks, but when you can fly for less than 50€ door to door from paris to barcelona, you just do it.

I have to figure out if i want a checked in luggage or not cause if i have to do it at the airport they will charge 40€ both ways.

i'll never give up flying, but maybe i'll end up shooting digital

[77seriesiii]

dont forget that Ryanair also has a weird seat call, at least here in Germany. Its called, unless you paid for a seat reservation, run, push, shove and grab the first acceptable seat. They will hold you to weight and so be careful. In other words, if you have never flown Ryan, you are in for an experience and and bring food. A friend flew on ryan not too long ago and wore most of his clothes so his bag would go through the baggage check.

erick