tr3a
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Profiling of Divers at Los Cabos Airport
- Thread starter js1221
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Tippytoes12
Contributor
But fraud !
Kensei
Master Fin Sharpener
Did a Socorro trip with a group in May of 2023. One person went down a few days early and was hit with the camera fee. Our trip leader contacted the boat and told them what happened. Boat owner said this was illegal and there was no Mexican tax on camera housings. He called the CSL airport and started yelling at people. When I arrived, there was list of everyone in our dive group posted in customs. The posting said to not charge these people the camera housing tax.
Since I live in the Los Angeles area, I have been to CSL diving several times. My bag looks like any other tourist bag and I wear nothing that identifies me as a diver. So far, haven't had a problem.
Since I live in the Los Angeles area, I have been to CSL diving several times. My bag looks like any other tourist bag and I wear nothing that identifies me as a diver. So far, haven't had a problem.
DazedAndConfuzed
Contributor
Just came upon this thread about camera tax. I did see a page about camera gear on my Socorro liveaboard's pamphlet, but didn't pay too much attention as I thought it was just the usual requirement when bringing gears into Mexico, which I did plenty of times to Cancun/Cozumel airport. I did get charged an extra fee for bringing a camera into a cenote, while the divers with gopros didn't. I felt their rule was completely arbitrary as my camera had video resolution lower than the gopros.
What is the actual chance of getting caught and being forced to pay the tax? An anecdote here and there might show how bad the situation can be, but doesn't quantify how frequently it happens.
I just have Sony P&S with housing, wet lens and a couple of small strobes & small flashlight sized video lights, along with a Panny P&S as backup & macro. Do they go after people with these type of amateur gears? I do have them all in a camera case that looks like a wheeled carryon. What gears are not needed for Socorro dives? The Panny P&S has an underwater mode, so I can shoot it w/o strobe, but I use it w/o wet lens so am stuck with its 24mm field of view.
Should I just get a gopro type camera and use some red filter so the while setup looks inconspicuous?
Also, I usually bring all my scuba gear in my Cressi dive bag. Should I be packign all my scuba gears in a regular luggage, and maybe stuff my camera gear/housing into the luggage where all our clothes/wetsuits will be? My other plan is to have my buddy roll the Cressi bag while I roll the regular luggage along with my suitcase looking camera case.
What is the actual chance of getting caught and being forced to pay the tax? An anecdote here and there might show how bad the situation can be, but doesn't quantify how frequently it happens.
I just have Sony P&S with housing, wet lens and a couple of small strobes & small flashlight sized video lights, along with a Panny P&S as backup & macro. Do they go after people with these type of amateur gears? I do have them all in a camera case that looks like a wheeled carryon. What gears are not needed for Socorro dives? The Panny P&S has an underwater mode, so I can shoot it w/o strobe, but I use it w/o wet lens so am stuck with its 24mm field of view.
Should I just get a gopro type camera and use some red filter so the while setup looks inconspicuous?
Also, I usually bring all my scuba gear in my Cressi dive bag. Should I be packign all my scuba gears in a regular luggage, and maybe stuff my camera gear/housing into the luggage where all our clothes/wetsuits will be? My other plan is to have my buddy roll the Cressi bag while I roll the regular luggage along with my suitcase looking camera case.
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