Beginning January 1, 2008, the U.S. Department of Transportation is changing how and how many extra lithium batteries we pack for our flights (such as those for cameras and computers). In sum, you may not pack extra lithium batteries in your checked luggage, but you can put them in your carry-on bags.

Effective January 1, 2008, the following rules apply to the spare lithium batteries you carry with you in case the battery in a device runs low:

• Spare batteries are the batteries you carry separately from the devices they power. When batteries are installed in a device, they are not considered spare batteries.
• You may not pack a spare lithium battery in your checked baggage
• You may bring spare lithium batteries with you in carry-on baggage – see our spare battery tips and how-to sections to find out how to pack spare batteries safely!
• Even though we recommend carrying your devices with you in carry-on baggage as well, if you must bring one in checked baggage, you may check it with the batteries installed.

• Under the new rules, you can bring batteries with up to 8-gram equivalent lithium content. All lithium ion batteries in cell phones are below 8 gram equivalent lithium content. Nearly all laptop computers also are below this quantity threshold.
• You can also bring up to two spare batteries with an aggregate equivalent lithium content of up to 25 grams, in addition to any batteries that fall below the 8-gram threshold. Examples of two types of lithium ion batteries with equivalent lithium content over 8 grams but below 25 are shown below.
• For a lithium metal battery, whether installed in a device or carried as a spare, the limit on lithium content is 2 grams of lithium metal per battery.
• Almost all consumer-type lithium metal batteries are below 2 grams of lithium metal. But if you are unsure, contact the manufacturer!

Lesley Ann Miller of LAT Photographic has taken the time to provide the following information regarding the Lithium Battery/TSA carry on headache we all will face in the new year.  I would suggest keeping the information with your equipment so you can better educate your friendly TSA agents the next time you fly.  A special thanks to Lesley for taking the time to do this.

Here is the math to determine the watt-hours and lithium content of common Canon and Nikon batteries.  Knowing that “watt-hours = amp x volts” and each watt-hour = 0.08 grams of lithium content”, here’s how our batteries rate:

Canon EOS-1D Mark III (LP-E4)
11.1v 2300mAh
25.53 watt-hours
2.0424 grams lithium content

Canon 40D/5D (BP-511A)
7.4v 1390mAh
10.286 watt-hours
0.82288 grams lithium content

Nikon D3 (EN-EL4a)
11.1v 2500mAh
27.75 watt-hours
2.22 grams lithium content

Nikon D300 (EN-EL3e)
7.4v, 1500mAh
11.1 watt-hours
0.888 grams lithium content