Shipping camera gear fedex?

[Scott Pultz]

Now that I have a child, bringing my gear plus kid plus kid stuff through the airport is becoming a challenge. I'm not willing to check my camera gear so I'm looking for other options. My best thought right now (short of hiring a Sherpa) is to pack my gear and fedex it to my location before I leave on my trip. Gear rental companies do this all of the time so it should be okay?

I don't currently have a hard case but I do have an F-Stop bag that I can securely pack things in. I would then pack the camera bag into a rigid box with lots of padding. Or is a hard case the only way to go? Trouble is that I still want my camera bag on the other side.

 

[Peter Lyons Collister ASC]

I fedex my camera gear all the time. It is in Pelican cases but I think you could ship as you outlined. It is not cheap though.

 

[Todd T]

You should use a hard case for protection. Interestingly, some people pack the hard cases in cardboard boxes. It reduces handling costs and disguises the "high value" nature of the contents.

 

[Austin Glass]

How do you guys insure it? I priced out insuring the package with FedEx for the actual cost of the camera, and just insurance I think was somewhere around $800 if I recall correctly.

 

[Peter Strietmann]

Your own insurance should cover your gear when shipping. Make sure with your insurance agent first. Don't insure through fedex, they will send you straight to the poor house.

 

[Josh Becker]

Yeah, check your insurance. I was shipping a camera off for repair and insurance would have been a couple hundred bucks through UPS. I called my gear insurance and they said my policy covers my gear any time it's in transit. Whether that's with me, a friend, a courier, etc. It's covered.