Flying from USA to Turkey and back

Has anybody flew recently from USA to Turkey and back. Are there any restrictions on how many cameras, lenses and other electronics you can take in carry-on?

Are you flying to Turkey on a US carrier or a foreign carrier?

There are two things to consider:

1) US TSA restrictions (which generally limit the size of a carry on and fluids, and stuff that could be considered a weapon (like saws of something) but not a bunch of camera gear. But it seems like TSA is not your area of concern….. so……
2) carry-on restrictions that are airline specific. Weight and size. US carriers tend to be far more “generous” than foreign carriers. All are listed on the carrier’s website. Or….
3) are you concerned with getting through customs in Turkey with your personal gear?

Where is your area of concern?

We are flying on Turkish Airlines. My concern is how many cameras / lenses can I bring with me.

Ok. With Turkish airlines or with a concern about Turkish customs (or something else)?

Here is what is acceptable for Turkish airlines:
www.turkishairlines.com/en-int/any-questions/restrictions/

As you can see, there does not appear to be any restriction on how many “cameras and lenses” you can bring on board in your carry on luggage. There also does not seem to be a restriction on how many camera batteries you can bring on (US, TSA has rules for that though — check their website). IMO, I really don’t think that anyone cares how many cameras or lenses that you bring….. but batteries are different…. Check TSA.

Obviously, Turkish airlines also has guidance on size and weight of carry-ons:
www.turkishairlines.com/en-int/any-questions/carry-on-baggage/

Does that answer your questions?

Thank you for your reply. Last year we flew to Mexico and I was told when going through Mexican customs that I can bring only two cameras. Luckily I had just two. Than we were sent for our carry-ons checked and when agent opened my camera bag and saw that I carry two cameras, several lenses, flash and other accessories, she went to consult with her supervisor. I saw super just waved her hand and they let us go.

Ok, you are specifically talking about Turkish Customs (not just carry-ons but all baggage and CUSTOMS rules) and if there are any specific restrictions related to CUSTOMS not “carry-ons”. As I have not been to Turkey, I can’t help with Turkish Customs. Others may be able to however.

Try to check in Turkish customs directly, if You really need. They probably have their regulations in English somwhere on the web. If no English version, can be in German - this is probably the most common language of foreign tourist in Turkey. You may even try to google translate their original rules in Turkish, as they use latin-derived script.
But if You have just two cameras and some lenses... I see no problem.
Regards
-J.

I tend to take this easy. 2-3 cameras + 4-5 lenses may be good enough for a lot of different things. I have occasionally put a reserve camera and/or reserve lens into the checked baggage. So far nobody asked me how about that battery in the camera in checked luggage. Basically I want everything that is hard to quickly replace in my carry on luggage: cameras, lenses, chargers. Reserve batteries are required to go by carry on.

Refrain from taking pictures of military sites ! Carefully look for this, before taking a landscape image of a great looking cliff or the like.

In inland flights in Brazil, it was 5 kg carry on only. I was way over, like 10 kg. Fortunately, there was my wife with less carry on, for just in case. Then I saw what the locals carried on, and knew I would not draw attention.

When was it?
I've read on photographylife about electronics ban with some countries and Turkey was one of them.
photographylife.com/electronics-carry-on-ban

I went Turkish Airlines, SFO-IST late October 2022, back in November 2022. Turkish customs and immigragrion was very relaxed. You do need a visa but no one checked it in Turkey. No one showed any interest in camera bag. I had two cameras and three lenses. They also required Covid vaccination, but again, no one checked it.

I have flown Turkish Airlines a good bit, most recently last week. It's a great airline. Although they do enforce weight restrictions (8kg?) for your main carry-on, I have never had any issues whatsoever with electronics or camera gear, and I tend to pack a lot of gear -- usually 2+ bodies, 3-4 lenses, a laptop, and all the supporting accessories. (Weight is much more restricted on budget carriers (in any country), but it's unlikely that you will fly a budget carrier for a long haul flight.)

Alan
[/quote]
When was it?
I've read on photographylife about electronics ban with some countries and Turkey was one of them.
photographylife.com/electronics-carry-on-ban
[/quote]

That article is way out of date. The US (and UK?) imposed an electronics ban on incoming flights from certain countries in 2017, but the ban had already been rescinded by the time I went to Egypt and Turkey in 2020.