3 weeks in Spain

[ronlamarsh]

I will be spending 3 wks in Spain in June 2011. I will be taking my Rollieflex and a contaflex. I plan on bringing my own film(carry-on) but am nervous about the return with exposed film and the notorious high powered x-ray machines used in europe.
Am I right to be nervous about my exposed film: rollei retro 100 in 35mm and rollei superpan 200 in 120? If I am right what are the possibilities of getting processing in Madrid or Barcelona? Or would it be better to ship it back via DHL/Fedex?
In case anyone is wondering I am taking the contaflex because its zeiss tessar along with the rollei retro is a beautiful combination(I like it better than my F3HP) and if it gets abused or stolen I'm not out that much. The Rolleiflex will be welded to my body for saftey.

 

[theoria]

If you carry them in your hand luggage, I don't think you will have any problems. I even shot Ilford Delta 3200, pushed at 12800, took it back home undeveloped, and didn't notice anything wrong with it.

BTW, can anybody indicate some good photographic shops in southern Spain (Seville, Malaga etc) , offering a good stock of 120 film? (I'll travel there this summer, so I might need to visit one if I run out of film)

 

[perkeleellinen]

Do we really use "notorious high powered x-ray machines" over here? They don't seem to affect my films. I went to Berlin last year via Frankfurt and I carried Superia 800 through at least 6 x-ray machines. At one point the operators thought the film canisters were batteries and I had to show them what they were - they put the films back through the machine for good measure. Photos seemed fine.

 

[faustotesta]

"notorious high powered x-ray machines" ???

Europe is famous for many other things. Good and bad.
The good ones are more (History, food, technology,sport, to name but a few..) , than bad ones.
Among the bad ones you will not find the "notorious high powered x-ray machines" .
Maybe they were in tha pages of a Dan Brown book....

 

[ronlamarsh]

Do we really use "notorious high powered x-ray machines" over here? They don't seem to affect my films. I went to Berlin last year via Frankfurt and I carried Superia 800 through at least 6 x-ray machines. At one point the operators thought the film canisters were batteries and I had to show them what they were - they put the films back through the machine for good measure. Photos seemed fine.

Sorry to make unfounded accuastions it must have been something I read that was obviously erreonious or I mis-interpreted it as applying to hand carry-on. I know that checked baggage in the US and everywhere else gets a rather healthy dose I must have mis-interpreted this fact. Again sorry to be an alarmist am looking forward to the food, sights and a great time seeing how the rest of the world lives.

 

[David Henderson]

Where do you get the information about notoriously high powered X Ray machines? First I've heard of it.

There is a photography industry in Europe, professional and amateur. These photographers travel a lot by air and rarely get hand checks. And yet you don't see thread after thread in forums along the lines of "The X Rays ate my pictures" or "How can I possibly earn a living when I can't even get my pictures home". And you didn't see threads like that when everyone used film either. Sure you can get processing in European cities, and you can if you wish spend part of your vacation time getting to a lab to drop them off and then back again to collect, and lets hope they do as good a job as your lab back home. Oh, and I don't believe exposed film is any more susceptible to X ray damage than unexposed film.

 

[peri24]

barcelona

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[bblhed]

I was in the USSR when Chernobyl happened, I changed planes several times to get there and back with both exposed and unexposed 400 speed 35mm film, there was a person with us that had 800 speed film as well. My film was X-rayed at every airport I went through, and twice at a few of them and my film, and my film was fine. The guy with 800 speed was fine as well.

That was probably as harsh as any average tourist is ever going to be on film.

FYI, you should be more worried about your film in the airplane than at the airport X-ray, I know this because some of the radiation detection devices I design can not fly or they will be contaminated. That sky thing is a really good radiation shield as it turns out, having less of it over you is not good for your film.

 

[marco5555]

Yeah, my film was fine after going through Italian, Indian and American Xrays...

 

[Robert Hall]

How about Salt Lake City to San Francisco to Taipei to Chennai back through Chennai to Hong Kong to the Mainland to Hong Kong to Maccau back to Hong Kong back to Mainland China to Taipei to Los Angeles.

400 speed 8x10 sheet film, 400 sheets and some rolls, some exposed, others not. Not a mark on any of them. Sometimes you just have to be a little Zen about the world.