interesting email regarding customs & your camera gear

[puckster55pics]

Hey There,

I received a interesting email from a nature photo club here in the Twin Cities regarding needing certain customs forms needed to transport your camera gear. Here's the link http://www.birdsasart.com/njuly31.htm

Has anybody had this kind of issue before? I've not traveled outside the U.S. with my camera gear since 9/11 so I was unaware of any changes. Has anybody had issues going to & from Canada? Just thought I would put this out there just in case.

[pierces]

I've been on over a dozen cruises since 9/11 (before and after 2007 when that article was posted) that required going through customs and have crossed to and from Canada almost weekly for the last year. I carried a load of gear on each cruise and have taken my DSLR along often to Canada with never a mention of this by customs officials. As a side note, I've never had bags x-rayed on arrival. None of the airports I've ever passed through even use x-ray equipment in the regular customs area. They typically hand-inspect bags.

 

Of course,I carried a pair of tiny folding pliers (with no blades but a tiny screwdriver for eyeglasses) for 6 months straight and passed through TSA security perhaps 70 times (handled 20 or more times by US and Canadian inspectors during the extreme scrutiny after the crotch-bomber incident last Christmas) before they confiscated them explaining that NO TOOLS OF ANY KIND are allowed in carry-on luggage because of the possibility that they could be used to disable the plane*.

 

The only thing consistent at airport customs and security is the inconsistency.

 

Dave

 

* You may want to reconsider flying anywhere on a plane that can be disabled by a 2½" pair of pliers!

[mnbruce]

Hey There,

I received a interesting email from a nature photo club here in the Twin Cities regarding needing certain customs forms needed to transport your camera gear. Here's the link http://www.birdsasart.com/njuly31.htm

Has anybody had this kind of issue before? I've not traveled outside the U.S. with my camera gear since 9/11 so I was unaware of any changes. Has anybody had issues going to & from Canada? Just thought I would put this out there just in case.

 

I have never been asked for documentation by customs in any country. I crossed into Canada a few times last year,by land and air, and my gear never got a second look and I carry a bit of equipment with me. Dont give it a second thought.

[puckster55pics]

Thanks, I don't know why the customs officials don't like this guy but he certainly seems to have caught the ire of some in customs:rolleyes:

[zackiedawg]

I've traveled both on cruises and by plane to 3 continents since 9/11, at least 15 trips out of country (including South America), and never heard of anything like this. I travel with a very heavy camera bag stuffed full of gear.

 

As Dave mentioned, you never really know what you're going to get, but likely that was an anomaly and the majority of the time (so far, all the time for me) I don't think anyone with camera gear would be harassed for any special forms.

 

How one deals with questions from customs, police, security, etc is often a big part of how you are treated too - I hear lots of internet stories from people professing the harrassment they endured, but many times the way the person is writing might be a tip to a confrontational tone...or they just had a person who was having a bad day, or didn't like people wearing red hats, or who knows what. Without having been there, there's no way to verify the story from both sides. Sufficeth to say, many millions travel with extensive camera gear all over the world and haven't had any such incident. So I wouldn't worry.

[c-to-sea]

Years ago, when I travelled a lot on business (and pleasure), I would register my

camera and other items with Canada Customs. They would stamp a card that I then

kept with my passport and other travel documents. This was simply to have proof that

what I was bringing into the country on my return had been with me when I left and

not purchased while on that particular trip. As I recall, I was never asked to produce

this card. However, I did hear of some who arrived with what appeared to be new items

and could not provide proof to Customs that they had not just been purchased. It would

seem that both Canadian and US Customs are not as interested in checking for this type

of purchase, particularly since there is so much more 'Green Line' clearance in effect.

That said, it would not be a bad idea when carrying expensive camera or other equipment

to also carry a copy of the sales receipts, just in case.

 

As a p.s., when we flew home for our last cruise, the border official asked for a copy of

our onboard account statement. Seems they are interested in whether people are

purchasing expensive goods on the ships and not declaring them.

[Durangler]

The only thing consistent at airport customs and security is the inconsistency.

 

Dave

 

* You may want to reconsider flying anywhere on a plane that can be disabled by a 2½" pair of pliers!

I've often times wondered if their consistant inconsistancey is all part of the plan. Keeping us all wondering what may happen as we send our belongings through their systems. :confused:(shrugs)

[pierces]

I've often times wondered if their consistant inconsistancey is all part of the plan. Keeping us all wondering what may happen as we send our belongings through their systems. :confused:(shrugs)

 

Hand-inspecting and allowing a "forbidden" item to pass 20+ times before flagging it doesn't strike me as a very effective "master plan"! :D

 

 

Dave

[trophy_23]

I actually went to the local border (after buying some new gear) on the way south from Canada into the US to register my gear so I didn't have an issue coming back into Canada. The guy looks at me and said "why would you want to do that?". Anyways, long story short a veteran border guard came and registered my gear, but I have never needed to show the card.

[SeattleCruiselover]

I have actually had much more "hassle" over my laptop than I have ever had over my extensive collection of camera equipment. I have had to open the case and turn it on a number of times going into and returning from Vancouver. I'm told that this is to prove that it's a laptop and not a bomb.

 

That said, if I had to, I could just pull out the laptop and go to the Nikon website since all of my equipment is Nikon made, and pull up my profile. It shows exact dates that all of my equipment was purchased, where, and when it was regisered with Nikon for warranty purposes.

[dileep]

I have actually had much more "hassle" over my laptop than I have ever had over my extensive collection of camera equipment. I have had to open the case and turn it on a number of times going into and returning from Vancouver. I'm told that this is to prove that it's a laptop and not a bomb.

 

That has only happened to me in Israel! They even asked me to open a document. I had a shortcut to Boston Pops playing Stars and Stripes on my desktop! They were not amused to hear it full blast!

[SeattleCruiselover]

That has only happened to me in Israel! They even asked me to open a document. I had a shortcut to Boston Pops playing Stars and Stripes on my desktop! They were not amused to hear it full blast!

 

Oh, well, equal time. Next time make sure it blasts out Hatikva.