Category: web links

Web gem for Wednesday – go buy some baggies!

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Starting the new year off with a bang, the Wall Street Journal reported this morning that the Transportation Safety Administration has implemented new policies regarding what battery types can be brought on airplanes. The new rule speaks to the Lithium batteries we’ve all come to know and love that charges everything from our cell phones to watches, cameras and laptops. That’s right, your Li-ion batteries are now a restricted item. What are the rules?

Well, it turns out you can have one in your device, so your camera, laptop, cell phone, and other such equipment is safe. You can also carry two spares, provided each is stored in its own sealed plastic bag or the original packaging. Loose batteries, whether in carry-on or checked baggage, are no longer permitted. Lithium content is also restricted now to less than 25 grams. For now, it’s safe to say that virtually all cell phone, laptop, camera, and watch batteries fall well under the limit, including standard AA and AAA batteries. Whether this is per battery or a total of all batteries is somewhat unclear, but from what I have been able to gather, the aggregate total is in reference to the total Lithium content per battery. This is not a definitive piece of information but is the best I can determine from the travel sites (referenced at the end of this post) and other resources.

For those that are curious, I have been able to determine that Lithium content is based on a factor of 0.3 per cell multiplied by the rated capacity in ampere hours. If you look at the back of your batteries, it will tell you certain key information that can be used to determine your total Lithium content. For example, on my Canon XT, the back panel shows that it has a rating of 7.4 volts, with 720 Milliamp Hours. It’s the mAh that we need to use for determining how much Lithium we have. So, if I take the rating of 720 mAh and convert that to regular Ampere Hours (remember your metric system?) I get a value of 0.72 (720/1000). Now, I would use that 0.72 and multiply it by 0.3 to get my total lithium content. So, the XT/XTi batteries have about 0.21 grams of Lithium. Here’s a chart of common Canon cameras, their battery models, and the total Lithium content:

Camera Model

 Battery Model mAh value Ah value Total Lithium content
Rebel XT (350d) NB-2LH 720 0.72 0.216 grams
Rebel XTi NB-2LH 720 0.72 0.216 grams
20D BP-511A 1390 1.39 0.417 grams
30D BP-511A 1390 1.39 0.417 grams
40D BP-511A 1390 1.39 0.417 grams
5D BP-511A 1390 1.39 0.417 grams
1D Mark II NP-E3 1650 1.65 0.495 grams
1D Mark III LP-E4 2300 2.3 0.69 grams
1Ds Mark III LP-E4 2300 2.3 0.69 grams

It should be noted here that the 1D Mark II series of the EOS family did not appear to be a Lithium battery, rather a Nicad battery, so it should be exempt from the new restriction. Regardless, at most, any EOS battery will yield considerably less than 1 gram, so with a total of 3 (one in the body and 2 spares), you are just a hair over 2 grams of Lithium (2.1 to be exact). When coupled with your laptop Lithium content, and cellular phone content, you should still be well within the parameters. As for other devices, I just checked my cell phone and laptop. The former (a Motorola v325i), and that has 880 mAh, so comes in at 0.264 grams ( 0.88×0.3). The laptop comes in a little closer as my Macbook Pro (15”) has an Li-ion battery that comes in at 60 Wh (no milliWatt hours here…), so the yield there is 18 grams of Lithium. I’d read elsewhere that the 17” MBP has a Wh capacity of 68 (or 20.4 grams of Lithium).

What it basically comes down to, is that you now must put your spare batteries in a plastic baggie, and can only tote those in your carry-on. (You cannot transport them in checked luggage.) Here’s my theoretical total Lithium content if I travelled with everything and the maximum number of spares:

Camera: 0.63 grams (0.21×3)

Cell phone: 0.78 grams (0.26×3)

Laptop: 54 grams (18×3)

For a grand total of 55.41

As a means of reference, here’s the links I visited in compiling this post:

Wall Street Journal Article

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119911051123859361.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Mac Owner’s Blog (for MBP 17” numbers):

http://stevenfettig.com/mythoughts/archives/000728.php

Safe Travel (note the <dot> GOV distinction)

http://safetravel.dot.gov/whats_new_batteries.html

Calculating Lithium Content

http://www.rosebatteries.com/pdfs/DOTshipping.pdf

 

 

When I get home this afternoon, I will set this up as a dedicated page so it won’t be archived and add it to the “blogroll” links on the side panel for easy reference. Happy Wednesday all, and go buy some baggies!

 

ETA: The dedicated page is now up and can be found here: Battery Lithium Content

Wednesday Web Links

JasonLeave a comment

Having travelled during the recent holiday, a few photography-related issues came up during my travels.  First off, was the procedures used to handle photography equipment.  While travelling, my gear list included the following:

  •  Apple Macbook Pro
  •  Canon Rebel XT
  •  Canon 18-55mm kit lens
  •  Sigma 70mm f2.8 lens
  •  Canon 530 Speedlight EX
  •  Various CF cards, batteries and charging mechanisms

 Prior to entering security checkpoints, I pulled my laptop out, set it in its own container, and sent it through the security X-Ray.  Nothing I had was ever submitted to additional inspection.  This was quite the opposite experience that others have recorded on their blogs (see Scott Kelby’s experience recounted here). It was quite a pleasant experience.  One thing that helped me move through my travels with ease was in knowing the expectations of the TSA, and what they look for and like to see.  For example, I also know from previous experiences that leaving your batteries inside the flash will display oddly on their X-Ray scanners, so I always make sure batteries are removed from devices when packing.  It also helped to check the TSA restrictions and guidelines on their website (especially since my wife enjoys her lotions and potions).  So, in the interests of sharing that information with others, here’s the TSA link for permitted/prohibited articles:  TSA List.  Needless to say, DSLR’s are not subject to additional searches or inspections by any regulation in place with the Transportation Safety Administration.

 The other thing that I encountered specific to photography was how and where we are permitted to take pictures.  Without regaling all the details, here it’s enough to say that after a frustrating experience with a supervisor, I wanted to report him to the customer service department for his airline.  After snapping his picture, he suddenly became much more animated, and dashed off.  A few minutes later he confronted me with two local policemen who stated that “You can’t just take people’s picture anymore.”  At this point I replied, “Well, I am not sure what he told you, but the only reason I took his picture was to assist in reporting him to his superiors because he refused to even try to help me.  As far as taking people’s pictures, legally speaking, he has no right to privacy in a public place, and I can take his picture as long as I don’t use it to promote a commercial product.    Here’s a printout on Photographer Rights that may be of interest to you.”  For those interested in what I handed them, it said in part that:

 ” Members of the public have a very limited scope of privacy rights when they are in public places. Basically, anyone can be photographed without their consent except when they have secluded themselves in places where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy such as dressing rooms, restrooms, medical facilities, and inside their homes.”

 Suddenly these two officers, who were intending to interrogate me, turned their heads to him questioningly, clearly indicating he had recounted a very different story from what actually occurred.  Having this document also bolstered the evidence that I was within my right to do what I was doing.  So, I would encourage everyone to carry a copy of this with them.  Check it out here:  Photographer’s Rights.  Thanks to Bert Krages for putting this information together. Other than the flight delays and dealing with less than helpful airline supervisors, the holidays were quite enjoyable, and I hope everyone else had a great Christmas too.  See y’all tomorrow!

Wednesday on the Web

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For my first post of “Wednesday’s wonderfully wise web gems” (it’s an addiction, I know…), take some time to stop over at Scott Sherman and Michael Stein’s Digital Photography Show. Self-admitted non-pros give great information on events in the industry, interview industry-leading experts and big wigs, as well as some pretty innovative contests with cool prizes. Their average podcast length ranges between 45 minutes to an hour and change. Another great resource is Photoshop User TV. Adobe gurus Scott Kelby, Dave Cross, and Matt Kloskowski deliver tips, tricks, news and events relating to Adobe products and share their thoughts on gear in a half hour long video podcast every Monday. They are all part of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals that offers training, and workshops for people of all skill levels on many of the Adobe products. Well worth the cost of membership too, and you get access to much more than a weekly video podcast including discounts from some of the most respected vendors of photography gear and products in the industry.

Last, but not least is Fred Miranda’s online photo community – with so many forums and communities it can seem like an insurmountable task to find the right ones that gel with your interests. Fred’s site is well organized, and offers something for everyone whether you’re a Canonite, Nikonian, a gear hound, a color guru, or like to just look at pictures. Another added bonus is that Fred sells actions for improving your work flow efficiency, and these are a great resource for a minimal investment ($5-$20). Product reviews, articles, and a great sense of community round out the forums quite well. Granted, I may be partial as I have been a member there for almost three years now, but the thoughts and perspectives of that community are quite valuable.

Don’t forget to vote in the poll – and see what is the most popular image editing software. The answer may surprise you! (It surprised me to see this one in the lead.. 🙂

The Digital Photography Show

Photoshop User TV

Fred Miranda