anyone had probs w/airport scanners & fog?

[Sirius Glass]

Tom, I've been through Paris, CDG airport, with film twice and had no problems.

Ian

Was the film scanned or did you ask for an inspection?

Steve

 

[Ian Grant]

Scanned both times in Paris, I've never yet had an occasion where film hasn't been scanned at at nay airport.

I have had film hand searched by passing a metal detector all over the clear bag containing only film then the security guy just put it through the scanner aterwards !!!

Ian

 

[jeffreyg]

re my previous post:
I remove the outer wrapper for hand checking because one time I was asked to do that (I forget where - I think Milan, Italy) on film I hadn't used so I figured it is easier to make it as easy as possible for the airport personal.
Jeff

 

[rternbach]

re my previous post:
I remove the outer wrapper for hand checking because one time I was asked to do that (I forget where - I think Milan, Italy) on film I hadn't used so I figured it is easier to make it as easy as possible for the airport personal.
Jeff

Yes, make it easy, be polite, and don't do what one fellow I met did and grab the airport inspector by the shoulders as he was about to pull the exposed 4x5 plates apart to inspect them. Unless, of course, if they are your life's work and can never be re-captured--then do as you see fit.

 

[ooze]

It happened to me once with a couple of rolls of 120 film (FP4+). I was back in London from a trip to Turkey and found that some rolls (about 2 out of 20) had strange sinusoidal patterns on them. At the time I wasn't sure that it was due to an airport scanner, but years later after following a link here at APUG I saw sample pictures of film with x-ray damage; it was the same pattern. The film was bought in London and checked through x-ray at Heathrow and Istanbul airports.

Having said all that, I travel quite frequently by plane (with film) and this was the only time there was a problem.

Cheers

 

[Erik Petersson]

Today I was surprised. I developed a roll that I accidentally packed in the checked luggage. There was no trace of fogging! Made my day!

 

[Stephen Schoof]

Anyone have any success requesting alternative inspections of carry-on film: visual, manual, or hand in lieu of scanning? My experience has been inconsistent in this regard.

It really does depend on who is running the scanner. On a recent trip to Peru we went through security in Charlotte (NC), Lima, Cuzco, Lima again, and Atlanta. The only refusal for a hand-check was the first time through Lima, where the guy politely but assertively told me the machine was safe and to send the film through. On the return in Lima the woman running the scanner reached for my Ziploc film bag and did a hand-check before I had time to ask (the place was busy both times).

In the U.S. I had a security officer sigh at the sight of my bag of ~60 35mm rolls and suggest I just send it through the scanner; before I could respond another security guy came up, checked a few rolls by hand, told me he was a photographer, and let me through.

 

[Sirius Glass]

In the U.S. I had a security officer sigh at the sight of my bag of ~60 35mm rolls and suggest I just send it through the scanner; before I could respond another security guy came up, checked a few rolls by hand, told me he was a photographer, and let me through.

Nice to hear!

Steve

 

[Ian David]

Of course, this will all change when someone eventually attempts to get something illicit on a plane by concealing it inside film cannisters. Then every newspaper and politician on the planet will express outrage about the fact that these things were ever allowed to bypass the scanner...

In the U.S. I had a security officer sigh at the sight of my bag of ~60 35mm rolls and suggest I just send it through the scanner; before I could respond another security guy came up, checked a few rolls by hand, told me he was a photographer, and let me through.

 

[Ronald Moravec]

Digital is the answer. Just forget it.

I travel by car and toll booth collectors do not care about film or anything else

 

[Ronald Moravec]

The data sheet is worthless unless they tell you how many passes were made to detirmine safety.

 

[Ronald Moravec]

The data sheet is worthless unless they tell you how many passes were made to detirmine safety.

X rays damage film no matter what they say and the more passes, the more damage

 

[BrianShaw]

You are correct Ron. The I3C provided that data many years ago. It is available but not too easy to find. The "data sheets" are summary based on a criteria that can be disputed by anyone who looks at the study data and has an opinion. That study doesn't seem to have ever been updated; I don't know if it would matter or not in a statistically significant way but it sure would be interesting.