Air travel with 120 film

ericdav · Apr 20, 2007

HI All

Is there any reason to be concerned about airport xrays and 120 film? I will be taking PanF, HP5 and Porta 160,400. I really want to take my Pentax 645 but I am concerned about Xrays damaging the film. Will TSA do a hand check instead of a xray? Any frequent flyers with advice?

Thanks Eric

Roger Hicks · Apr 20, 2007

Dear Eric

(a) No problems

(b) The TSA in the US will almost invariably do hand searches if you ask. Outside the US, things can be different. But given (a), I wouldn't worry. By all means carry a scrap roll of 120 to help explain what these shotgun-cartridge-size things are.

Cheers,

R.

jeroldharter · Apr 20, 2007

I would not worry as long as the film is in carry on baggage. Do not pack it with checked luggage.

I have passed a bag of film through 30+ x-ray scanners over the course of 6 months in countries including Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador without problems.

Rolleiflexible · Apr 20, 2007

Roll film is really easy to take through security in limited quantities. I take the rolls out of the wrappers, stuff them in my pockets, and walk through the metal detectors. There's no metal and so they pass through the detectors, unharmed by x-rays. Sanders

ericdav · Apr 20, 2007

Thanks for the Advice. I will ask nicely for a hand search and that does not work then I will just send the film on though the scanner.

Eric

sienarot · Apr 20, 2007

Nope, you shouldn't have a problem. I was worried about it before when I was travelling to Australia last year but didn't run into any problems. I figure security's gone through enough people's bags to know what film is, even if it is non-35mm format. You might even come across a few security guards who are into photography and strike up a conversation about your gear like I did with my Hassy

Allen Friday · Apr 20, 2007

I travel quite a bit with 120 film. I send anything 400 speed and below through the x-ray machine in my carry-on luggage and have never had a problem. If I have 800 speed film or 3200 speed (which I use alot on travels), I request a hand check. I take the film out of the wrappers and put it in a clear zip-lock bag. When I get to security, I pull the bag out of my carry-on and hand it over for inspection. Generally, they will swab the ends and run the swab through the explosives detector. I try to make it as easy for the TSA people as possible. That and a friendly attitude goes a long way to being treated well.

The US recommends hand checking 800 film. European airports say 800 film is fine for the x-ray scan. I have them hand check 800 speed film anyway. I just mix the 800 and 3200 together in the bag.

bjorke · Apr 20, 2007

i have had problems with tsa ineptitude and with fogging on iso 400 film (Neopan). I fly a fair bit.

I like Sanders's suggestion a lot.

What I normally do is unbox and un-foil all the rolls I'm carrying. They go in a BLACK plastic bag (I use the bags that 35mm bulk-rolled film is wrapped in). I have at least two such bags, one for unexposed rolls and one for exposed rolls. They go in the camera bag which is carry-on baggage.

The TSA usually likes things being bagged. 35mm spools I keep in clear zip-locs, their favorite.

I've had problems with TSA people mixing the bags together and ten wanting to x-ray ALL of them anyway (Unexposed rolls are usually expendable, unless I'm on my way to somewhere where the likely supplies will be non-existent or hard to find -- exposed rolls are IRREPLACEABLE). Sincere pleading for my exposed rolls has so far kept them out of the machine in the US. Overseas, particularly at Heathrow or in China... not so much.

In Frankfurt the airport police seized my film AND BRONICA when I enter the country, and returned them to me when I left. I think they just wanted me to know that bringing a non-Leica rangefinder camera into the country was considered Bad Form

Wendel4 · Apr 21, 2007

Sanders is right

Sanders McNew said:
Roll film is really easy to take through security in limited quantities. I take the rolls out of the wrappers, stuff them in my pockets, and walk through the metal detectors. There's no metal and so they pass through the detectors, unharmed by x-rays. Sanders

That's totally right. I wore a coat with big pockets once and stuffed about 20 rolls of 120 film in them. Went through 4 metal detectors without a beep, not even a carryon x-ray scan.

Ed Sukach · Apr 21, 2007

Writing from Sweden on a borrowed PC - from Öland (note the correct letter):

I had a little trouble in Logan Airport (Boston) - initially the security "type" denied my request for hand inspection - even when I told him that TSA was advising (really DEMANDING!) that film be hand inspected. He told me (ver batum), "Only ISO 200 needs to be hand inspected - anything else; 100, 400, 800 (!!) was immune to X-rays." (!!!).
Rather than argue, I placed my film on top of the pile (shoes, hat, jacket, top coat, etc.,), and the girl operating the X-ray machine told me to put the film in another tray for hand inspection!. Done. At Kefalvik, my request for hand inspection was simply done, with no trouble.

So ... I am in Öland - Böda-Baden. Öland (love this keyboard) is a WONDERFUL place for photography!! Unfortunately my Gossen exposure meter has chosen to "act up" (to Bogen for repairs when I return home) so I'm using "Sunny 16" a löt.

More later!

jstraw · Apr 21, 2007

Ed Sukach said:
He told me (ver batum), "Only ISO 200 needs to be hand inspected - anything else; 100, 400, 800 (!!) was immune to X-rays." (!!!).

AAAAARRRRRGH! One could speculate that he was told something that he misheard (200 and slower, perhaps) which while also wrong, would be marginally more logical and that he wasn't paying attention.

bjorke · Apr 21, 2007

Good luck Ed, I had a (barely more than teenaged) airport guard at Arlanda look at me when I asked for a hand-inspect of my 120 film and quick as his glance he just said "no" and shoved the bag into the machine.

That was one of the ones I *know* got fogged, btw. Watch yourself.

(The guys at Keflavik are decent, they have a tourist and photographer-driven economy, heh -- and a low-traffic airport)

Ian Grant · Apr 21, 2007

Ed, I wrote elsewhere about this, but at the height of the draconian security from & to the UK i took film in & out of Turkey.

I asked for a hand search and got a flat refusal, however afterwards a security guy came across for a chat, he's a photographer and on a panel with representatives from Ilford, Kodak, Fuji and others. He assured me that film scanned in hand baggage was perfectly safe in with modern machine, he wasn't just quoting others he said he'd taken part in the tests himself subjecting film to various different machines.

Normally I'm extremely sceptical, but this guy really did know what he was talking about, and was a 5x4 user, we discussed various developers and experiences.

Perhaps we are forgetting that nearly every passenger is (or was) carrying film, and I've never met anyone who has lost a film due to airport scanning.

Ian

Early Riser · Apr 21, 2007

I travel frequently with over 150 rolls of 120 film, 75 sheets of ready load and 3 boxes of polaroid. In the US, by law if you request a hand inspection they HAVE TO. I carry a copy of the FAA regulation Section 108.17, paragraph E, that states,"If requested by passengers, their photographic equipment and film packages shall be inspected without exposure to an X-ray system". If someone wants to be diffcult I can show him the rules. That said having such a large qauntity of film hand searched takes a lot of time and be prepared to arrive extra early.

Regarding the UK, they will not hand search it period. For that reason I try to avoid any stop overs in the UK. However I have done testing and have found that film x-rayed 4 times showed no sign of fog. The odds are in your favor that it will be fine to have the security people x-ray your film.

David A. Goldfarb · Apr 21, 2007

Ed Sukach said:
So ... I am in Öland - Böda-Baden. Öland (love this keyboard) is a WONDERFUL place for photography!! Unfortunately my Gossen exposure meter has chosen to "act up" (to Bogen for repairs when I return home) so I'm using "Sunny 16" a löt.

More later!

Ask some locals to corroborate or check against a meter, but as far North as Sweden in early Spring that may be more like "Sunny 11" or thereabouts.

As to the original question--just put it through the X-ray, if it's not high speed film. I do it often and never have any fog issues. If you're going someplace where you can buy film locally consider buying it locally.

Matthew Gorringe · Apr 21, 2007

I haven't had any problems in Korea, Australia or Hong Kong but I do always use one of the super heavy duty lead bags even though I'm not sure of their value. I can get 20 rolls of 120 in one and just take specialty film that I don't think I'll be able to get locally.

Rolleiflexible · Apr 22, 2007

Early Riser said:
I travel frequently with over 150 rolls of 120 film, 75 sheets of ready load and 3 boxes of polaroid.

Holy cow! And they said shooting six rolls of 120 was way too much. :-D

Sanders

Early Riser · Apr 22, 2007

Sanders McNew said:
Holy cow! And they said shooting six rolls of 120 was way too much. :-D

Sanders

When you go away for 6 weeks at a time you don't want to run out of film. Plus I only get 4-6 exposures on a roll.

hywel · Apr 22, 2007

Who said shooting six rolls of 120 was way too much?

I've just de-boxed 50 rolls of 35mm and 50 rolls of 120 and plopped them in zip-loc bags ready for ten days in Egypt.

But to address the original question I've never had any problems with any film I've been forced to put through hand-luggage X-Ray machines (even with three or four passes with Delta 3200) but I've also found zip-loc bags and a really pathetic pleading please please please attitude can get you a hand inspection everywhere I've been. Except the UK and Krakow. I always take the 35mm out of all packaging but leave the 120 in the foil.

Hywel

Shmoo · Apr 22, 2007

This is all great information, since I'm heading to Europe in 2 weeks. Is it better to take your film out of boxes and wrappers before leaving? I was thinking of taking plastic film cannisters along with me (the ones J&C sell).

langedp · Apr 22, 2007

Getting a hand inspection isn't always a solution. I've always had good luck in requesting and receiving hand inspection of my film by TSA. Especially sheet film. Just last week however, I asked for a hand inspection of my sheet film and the TSA personnel said sure and handed the boxes to another agent. That agent proceeded to open the film boxes to do a hand inspection I asked him to please close the box as there was undeveloped film inside. He responded that he had to open them up to see if there were any weapons inside :confused: I told him to just send them through the x-ray. Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.

jstraw · Apr 22, 2007

Does anyone have a link for the current FAA regulations as regards hand-inspection of film?

Early Riser · Apr 22, 2007

Dead Link Removed

roteague · Apr 22, 2007

Early Riser said:
I travel frequently with over 150 rolls of 120 film, 75 sheets of ready load and 3 boxes of polaroid.

Which is definitely not much for a lot of trips, I'm sure. My last trip, to Outback Australia, I carried 200 sheets of 4x5 (6 boxes of QuickLoad, the rest cut sheet), 30 rolls of 120 and 25 rolls of 35mm. I think the next trip, I may cut out the 35mm, and only take 4x5 (the 120 is for a 6x12 back). I leave the 4x5 and 120 film in their original boxes, and only take the 35mm out (since I buy it in ProPacks anyway).

I don't waste my time, or the inspectors time with hand inspection. It just isn't worth the effort, since hand x-ray machines cause no damage at all.

Roger Hicks · Apr 22, 2007

Shmoo said:
This is all great information, since I'm heading to Europe in 2 weeks. Is it better to take your film out of boxes and wrappers before leaving? I was thinking of taking plastic film cannisters along with me (the ones J&C sell).

I strip 35mm out of boxes and tape the box-ends to the plastic tubs. When I use the film, I tear the box-end off. That way I can't confuse exposed and unexposed. For 120, I carry it in the boxes: not worth the space saving of pulling it out. Exposed 120 goes in a Zip-Loc (for inspections), inside a black plastic paper bag (for the rest of the time). This has worked for me for decades. Everything goes in Zip-Locs.

Where in Europe are you going to be?

Cheers,

R.

Air travel with 120 film

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