ASK COREY: What’s the best carry-on luggage for photographers?

Hey Corey, I see that you travel a lot. I have some questions about traveling as a photographer. Do you bring your camera equipment onto the plane when possible? If so, what carry-on for camera equipment do you recommend? Also, are there all-purpose carry-ons that you might recommend in general? Thanks for the help! Keep up the good work. —Ben from Boise

Hey Ben, great question. Traveling is one of the best parts of being a photographer/filmmaker, but it can also be one of the most logistically challenging in terms of packing for a small-footprint production. As someone who spends so much time in the airport, I’ve put a lot of research into figuring out how to make this aspect of my life easier and more efficient.

My methodology for traveling as a photographer is to always bring everything I need to get the job done well.

The best carry-on camera luggage piece that I’ve found is by far the Lowepro Pro Roller x200 AW Rolling Bag. It’s awesome, and everyone in my crew has one. It’s the largest legal carry on for major airlines domestically (for Europe, and other international airlines, you need a smaller roller or amazing negotiating skills), and fits into the overhead compartment of most big jets.  It fits an entire kit: two camera bodies, 6 to 10 lenses, a hard drive or two, batteries, and a laptop. Essentially, everything I need to pull off a shoot.

I will check extra gear such as specialty lenses, sliders, jib arms and tripods, packing those items in Pelican cases or additional bags. But the reality is that I roll onto the plane with just about everything I need to get a photo or video shoot done—and it’s all neatly packed away in my Lowepro Pro Roller x200.

The other cool thing about this bag is that you can detach the Reserve Pack—basically, the guts of the bag—from the rolling frame. It literally unzips right off the frame. That way, when you are on one of those smaller commuter flights, and the gate attendants tell you that you’ll need to check your bag at the gate, you can unzip the Reserve Pack, check the frame, and still bring your camera equipment on board with you.

In terms of other carry-on luggage pieces, I would highly recommend checking out the Outdoor Gear Lab for their comprehensive, side-by-side review of the best carry-on luggage. They took the 11 best luggage pieces on the market, and put them through the ringer, rating them for everything from ease of transportation, storage, durability, weight and looks.

Hope that helps! Bon voyage!

Lowepro does NOT reccomend using the Pro Roller for baby transportation.