Buying a camera in the Philippines just got harder

[JBW]

A new law (at least in America and possibly elsewhere) makes shipping cameras or indeed any gear powered by a 'Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery' via an airplane illegal. Now that I think about it: Can tourists take their cameras along now?

Every shipper B&H uses ships by air. As far as I know none ship by boat.

If this continues my next camera may be whatever is available in the Philippines.
Brian

[CP140]

The airlines seem to be saying (having just flown back from Chile earlier this month) that anything with a lithium battery has to be in your carry on bag and not in packed luggage... and yes, Air Canada and Alaska were both happy to let me have my camera with me.

[Manfred M]

A new law (at least in America and possibly elsewhere) makes shipping cameras or indeed any gear powered by a 'Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery' via an airplane illegal. Now that I think about it: Can tourists take their cameras along now?

Every shipper B&H uses ships by air. As far as I know none ship by boat.

If this continues my next camera may be whatever is available in the Philippines.
Brian

Not quite true Brian as that rule has been in place for a very long time for passenger planes. Enforcement has just been stepped up in the US.

So far as I understand it, that rule does not apply to air freighters, which is how the companies like FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc move those products. One of the companies I use for high power batteries still ships by air from the US but they apply an additional charge for moving Lithium Ion batteries ($45 per shipment), which has been around for some time.

[JBW]

The airlines seem to be saying (having just flown back from Chile earlier this month) that anything with a lithium battery has to be in your carry on bag and not in packed luggage... and yes, Air Canada and Alaska were both happy to let me have my camera with me.

Excellent.

[JBW]

Not quite true Brian as that rule has been in place for a very long time for passenger planes. Enforcement has just been stepped up in the US.

So far as I understand it, that rule does not apply to air freighters, which is how the companies like FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc move those products. One of the companies I use for high power batteries still ships by air from the US but they apply an additional charge for moving Lithium Ion batteries ($45 per shipment), which has been around for some time.

All I really know is that B&H wonj't ship cameras to the Philippines. I was just assuming that it was because their shippers wouldn't. Certainly when I contacted them they said it was because of a new law about batteries that they couldn't ship here.

B.

[Pippan]

Yes I recently tried to order a Godox Ving V860 ll flash from B&H (from Australia - MUCH cheaper from B&H) and they couldn't ship it due to its Li-Ion battery.

[Manfred M]

All I really know is that B&H wonj't ship cameras to the Philippines. I was just assuming that it was because their shippers wouldn't. Certainly when I contacted them they said it was because of a new law about batteries that they couldn't ship here.

B.

Interesting. Paul C Buff still offers to air ship Lithium Ion batteries to me for my Vagabond power unit by UPS Air, so I wonder if something else is going on.

[JBW]

Interesting. Paul C Buff still offers to air ship Lithium Ion batteries to me for my Vagabond power unit by UPS Air, so I wonder if something else is going on.

Trump is a real life Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland so there may well be something else going on.

[JBW]

Yes I recently tried to order a Godox Ving V860 ll flash from B&H (from Australia - MUCH cheaper from B&H) and they couldn't ship it due to its Li-Ion battery.

Exactly. Life just got a little bit more frustrating