Air traveling security and film

[Juraj Kovacik]

Where is beter to have films when you have to go through these x ray scanners on airports - in carry-ob baggage you have with you in cabin or it is better to left it in checked baggage? Thanks for advice

 

[Leigh Youdale]

In your carry-on cabin baggage. It will almost certainly get fogged if it goes through the more powerful general baggage channels.

 

[Juraj Kovacik]

thank you. J

 

[BoxBrownie]

I recently came back from India and including internal flights and even an xray scan at tourist site (making a total of 10 passes and making me a nervous wreck worrying about it) my iso 100 b&w and iso 200 slide film showed, to my eyes no sign of damage. My film was always in my hand luggage. I would never check film in as those scanners can be much more powerful. I chose slower film as I knew there would be virtually no chance of a hand check these days and I got the impression that some of the younger staff had no idea what film was. One guy wanted to know how I could see what I`d taken as my cameras had no screens on the back.
Hope this offers a bit of reassurance.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

[debanddg]

+1 .. me too came back from Europe with multiple checks.. none of my ISO 50 / 100 rolls [30+ of B&W and slides] and one solitary roles of ISO 400 B&W roll demonstrated any sort of X-ray artefacts.. needless to state all these were in my cabin luggage..

 

[ozphoto]

Please don't pack in your hold luggage - I remember processing someone's holiday pictures that had been packed as such. It showed terrible fogging and also had the pattern of their hair-dryer fan cover on quite a few of the negatives. (Think circular cross-hatched ghosting).

From memory about 50+ rolls and all damaged in one way or the other; such sorry faces as they left the lab with their precious holiday photos. . . .

 

[Juraj Kovacik]

thank you all for help. i'm going to take just Iso 100, so I hope it woill survive in carry on bag. Thanks again

 

[MaximusM3]

Never in checked in luggage. I've carried 100, 400 and 3200 through 3-4 X-ray checks of carry-on and never had any issues. You can also politely ask to have your film hand-checked. Most airports screeners will oblige, although some get annoyed.

 

[jp498]

I just traveled and mailed most of my film ahead of me to the town where I was staying. I mailed it to myself, general delivery, in that town, and picked it up at the post office. Other people have been known to make arrangements for their hotel to receive it. It worked out great for me in terms of reducing stress for air travel.

I did take some film in my carryon and didn't get any hassle about it this time. They didn't didn't even open/take out my speed graphic. At both check points, they opened my camera bag and backpack and xrayed everything at least twice, and swabbed everything thoroughly. Probably a balancing of time versus thoroughness.

I use sheet film, and security tends to think of film as a roll product. Last time I traveled by air a couple years ago, they were insistent on opening up my film boxes as part of a hand inspection. I managed to prevent them and we both decided Xray would be preferable. If you are using roll film, it's probably not a big worry.

 

[Franswa]

Always carry on. I also ask them to hand inspect my film instead of going through the small x-ray machine. No one has turned me down yet

 

[Dave Krueger]

I don't trust the airport screening systems despite what they say. I just made a photo expedition to San Francisco. Shipped the film to the hotel by fedex and had a return shipping label to ship it back. Hotels ship stuff for customers all the time so it's pretty routine for them. I also put those Kodak DO-NOT-X-RAY labels all over the box.

Anyway, everything went very smoothly, I've had film hand checked at the airport, but they usually try to talk me out of it, so they clearly don't like doing it. When I left SF, the line for the security screening was very long, so I'm glad I didn't have to worry about it.

-Dave

 

[Edward_S]

I would say always have film in your carry-on baggage because if it goes as checked baggage there is a risk that you will lose it if the bags go astray. I've never had any problems with 100 or 400 speed film going through the carry-on scanners, even multiple times.

 

[Ronald Moravec]

carry on is the only way. All X ray damage film to some degree. The reason you do not see it is it manifests as a low even fog exposure which you print through with some quality losss. Damage is cumulative. There are no x ray machines that do not damage film regardless of what people here say and what the airlines tell you.

Baggage scanners , if you get picked, put stripes of overexposure across the frame rendering it useless.

Digi is better for travel.

 

[CGW]

If you can budget some extra time, go for a hand inspection. Make it easy by having 35mm in cans and 120 out of 5/20 pacs in ziplocs. They'll likely swab and sniff 'em all but it sidesteps the scanners. Be patient and polite. It sometimes offers the inspectors a break from the stinky shoe bins.

 

[removed account4]

the last times i went to and from europe the film
was all carry on ... and went through scans a handful of times
no problems
the time before we didn't fly direct but went through heathrow
and were scanned what seemed every few feet ...
on the way back i put a lot of my exposed film in my luggage
( whoops ! ) and when i returned none of my film was damaged ..

have a fun and safe trip !

john

 

[Brett_Jurgens]

I always carry my film with me, and ask for a hand inspection. Often I am told that the x-rays are safe for up to 800 speed film. I have a roll of 800 and 1600 film I have been carrying for years just to help convince security to hand check my film. I carry my film in lead lined bags. If I do have to put the film through the x-ray, this helps protect it. It also helps protect the film during the flight itself. A family member once allowed one of my suitcases to go through one of the larger checked baggage x-ray machines. It completely ruined every single roll of film.

 

[debanddg]

Asking for hand inspection is fine provided you are not making the request in airports like Dubai airport.. they provide strollers for babies which are stored under surveillance just a few feet away from the scanners at the entry point -- in spite of that they will scan the strollers!! The world is large with lots of differences in attitudes across places - so better to be prepared that your film will be scanned..

 

[Juraj Kovacik]

Thanks again for advices. Going to fly from Vienna and Keflavik so there will be two scans in the worst case. I hope with carry on and just 100 ISO films in would not be a problem. If there will be space and mood I wiil ask for hand inspection

 

[DanielStone]

In Keflavík(Iceland), I didn't have any problems with asking for a hand inspection, except for getting some weird looks from the bodacious good looking blonde woman at the x-ray machine . I was flying with 8x10, 4x5 and 35mm film. None got x-rayed, and all turned out great once developed.

-Dan

 

[steven_e007]

I've requested hand inspection at British airports recently (Heathrow and Birmingham) and been refused. At Heathrow a few years ago they even asked me to remove the film from the 'film safe' bag and insisted on putting every film through the scanner individually. I objected and the security guard chucked a photocopy of a "which?" magazine article at me which claimed the scanners did no damage. I explained that they tested 100 and 200 ISO 35mm film - in metal cans. I had some Delta 3200 roll films with just backing paper. I would have had more luck trying to explain this to my cat. He can't speak English - but would at least have done me the courtesy of trying to listen...

So, be prepared in some airports to have everything put through the scanner. Bin Laden has a lot to answer for...

Having said that - I couldn't see any bad effects at all on my film afterwards

 

[Juraj Kovacik]

dears, thanks for all advices. And I enjoy reading your stories and hope to add my own when I will be back.

 

[BrianShaw]

Enjoy your trip!