Film bag

abruzzi · Apr 3, 2019

I need a bag to store my film in when flying. Ideally this would be a bag that I store in another bag, then pull out during security checks to request hand checks. Clear would be best so it can be inspected without opening.

I was thinking a 1 gallon ziplock. It will hold enough rolls only if I de-box the rolls first. It might be a bit flimsy. (I’ll be traveling for over two weeks, and not knowing exactly what I’m going to shoot, I was figuring on bringing up to 30-35 rolls of 35mm film, more than I need, but I don’t want to get caught short.)

I know Domke makes some bags but since they’re lead lined, if I don’t get a hand check, it would probably cause the security to crank up the strength (according to the articles I’ve read.) I’ll be passing through airport security 4 times—three times in the US (El Paso, JFK, and Scranton) and once in Russia (Moscow). I don’t know if I’ll be able to get a hand check in Moscow. I also don’t know if I’ll encounter any other security (Russian train stations?) so I want to do my best to minimize exposure. I’ll have a few rolls of Superia 1600, which could be susceptible.

Has anyone found a good solution for this?

BrianShaw · Apr 3, 2019

I use clear zip lock bags. Inexpensive and makes life easier if you ask for hand inspection at airports. I use several, to segregate color from B&W, and a third for exposed.

They can’t “crank up the strength “ but will slow you down when you get pulled aside while they either hand inspect, or dump your film in a bin and put it through the machine again.

As for the 1600... leave it at home; that’s my solution.

MattKing · Apr 3, 2019

Zip lock freezer bags, rather than sandwich bags.
Take a couple extra in case of wear.

winger · Apr 3, 2019

I use ziplock freezer bags (they're thicker than regular ones) even when I'm not flying. I've been told conflicting things (go figure) about whether to leave film in the boxes or not. One group of TSAers said to leave them in the sealed paper box even though the film I had was in heat-sealed foil packs (it was 120). Someone else at a a different airport said to take them out so they could run their explosive detector swabs over the actual roll. While this was a few years ago, I don't know if there's a real consensus considering it involves a government agency.

Poisson Du Jour · Apr 3, 2019

My experience:
Clean, clear plastic bag with film stored in it, preferably out of the box(es) so it is plainly visible.
No fuss, no foibles at Security, just ask for a hand-inspection, and they "probably" will oblige, along with a quick internal swabbing.
DO NOT FALL FOR SO-CALLED LEAD PROTECTION BAGS: These will be a red flag at Security screening for just about a complete removal of all of the contents, additional to an x-ray of same, whether you like that or not. I do wish retailers would stop peddling the "benefits" of lead-lined bags for travel. We live in a different epoch now.

AgX · Apr 3, 2019

I assume one idea behind still using lead bags is to avoid "accidential" radiation, and to reserve the contained films for hand inspection.

abruzzi · Apr 4, 2019

So after a lot of searching online, what I’ve been picturing in my head is called a “cosmetic bag”. I honestly didn’t know this was such a thing, but after I found the name, then finding them became easy. Here is an example:

https://www.amazon.com/Transparent-Cosmetic-Portable-Organizer-Toiletries/dp/B07L64ZWLW

Based on the measurements provided, and my measurement of a plastic 35mm canister, this particular one should fit 48 rolls of film. Probably a bit more than I need. There are a lot of different sizes I can find.

jeffreyg · Apr 4, 2019

I have used ziplock bags and also a fishing chum bag. The advantage of the chum bag is that it has a draw string closure. There are some freezer bags that have a zipper-like closure. The regular zip closures can be a little difficult if you are in a hurry. Taking the film out of the boxes also takes up less room and makes it easier for TSA to check.

http://www.jeffretglasser.com/

http://www.sculptureandphotography.com/

Poisson Du Jour · Apr 4, 2019

abruzzi said:
Based on the measurements provided, and my measurement of a plastic 35mm canister, this particular one should fit 48 rolls of film. Probably a bit more than I need. There are a lot of different sizes I can find.

What!? 48 rolls!!
Slow down! I used all of and no more than 17 rolls of both colou and B&W 120 film when I travelled around Australia in 2011. It covered everything of worth and value and nothing that I could not see somewhere else, or again in a couple of years (which will be this year, commencing in June). And every roll was printed.

dabsond · Apr 4, 2019

Last spring I took four 5 pack boxes of Velvia from the US to Germany for vacation. The boxes were sealed and I asked for hand check. No problems. I think open rolls would draw more attention.

abruzzi · Apr 4, 2019

Poisson Du Jour said:
What!? 48 rolls!!
Slow down! I used all of and no more than 17 rolls of both colou and B&W 120 film when I travelled around Australia in 2011. It covered everything of worth and value and nothing that I could not see somewhere else, or again in a couple of years (which will be this year, commencing in June). And every roll was printed.

Yeah, I'm not bringing 48 rolls. Not remotely, and I'm probably not buying that particular bag, its more of an example of the types of bag I was looking for.

I'm mostly splitting half 100 and half 400 speed film. I don't know how happy I'll be with 400 or 100 speed. I'm not used to cities, as I spend 99% of my life in rural areas, and the only cities I visit are desert cities like Albuquerque where the sun still penetrates everything. I'm not used to green, cloudy, humid places that get dar during the day. I live in the high desert so I'm used to bright piercing sun with barely a cloud in the sky.

Last year I spent 10 days on a motorcycle and went through 15 rolls of 120. On one hand I was shooting 6x4.5 so thats 225 shots, but on the other hand, since you're riding a motorcycle and every photo means finding somewhere to pull over, removing gloves, jacket, and helmet, pulling the camera out of the saddlebags, you only stop when the shot tops the last shot you stopped for.

The point is there are a number of unknowns, and I'd rather have unshot film, at the end than run out of the film I want before the end of the trip. That said, I'll probably bring 25-30 rolls. Ektar, 400h and Provia for my Pentax MZ-S, and TMAX100 and TriX for my Kodak Retina IIIC. A couple rolls of Superia 1600 if I want to try any night shots.

Ixtl · Apr 4, 2019

As a film photographer and a former TSA officer, I can assure you of a few things: there is no standardized procedure for screening film. They told us 800 and below goes in the X-ray and 1600 and up goes to the ETD (Explosive Trace Detector). If someone really doesn’t want their lower-speed film X-rayed, it goes to the ETD. And... that was the extent of our official guidance on the subject of film. I can also tell you that you can’t “crank up the strength” on checkpoint X-ray machines, although if we had trouble making something out, but didn’t think it required a bag search, we might just run it through the X-ray a second time, which is just as bad. However, I can also say that I never had any trouble discerning the contents of a lead-lined film bag on an X-ray screen, Domke or otherwise. I’m not quite sure what that means. It certainly presented a darker image, so perhaps your film is at least receiving a reduced “dose” of radiation?

For now at least, the official policy is that they will hand check your film if you want them to—but my actual experiences as far as this is concerned have been all over the map.

I guess this should all be taken with a heaping helping of salt since I haven’t worked for TSA in quite a while now.

abruzzi · Apr 4, 2019

Thanks for the first hand inside experience. “Cranking up the X-ray machine” is something I found on several articles on flying with film, I suspect it’s one of those urban legends that get repeated until people believe its true.

Two of the 4 airports where I will go through security are pretty small and low volume (El Paso and Scranton/Wilkes Barre) and I suspect will not have any issue with a requested hand check. JFK? I have no idea what to expect, but I’m guardedly optimistic. Moscow? I’m not even sure how to,ask for a hand check, let alone if it’s an option. (Interestingly, according to google translate, they’re called rotengen rays, which is an alternate term in English that almost no one uses.)

mooseontheloose · Apr 4, 2019

FWIW, I traveled to Moscow a couple years ago and the major train stations (not subways) had x-ray scanners that every bag had to go through. No exceptions. Asking about film safety or hand checks resulted in blank stares. It either goes through the scanner or it doesn't go through. Don't know if anything has changed since then, but that was my experience and all my film turned out fine. Your (4) airports will actually be 8 right? (return trip?). Some museums also have scanners but may be more amenable to hand checks.

Like many others, I use the smaller ziplock freezer bags (M size here in Japan) for film. It's easy to separate out the 100 from 400 speed film, or the colour from the black and white. With 120 I can get 14 rolls in one bag (rolls still in foil packaging), and 15 35mm rolls out of canisters. Also, they're useful when you just want to bring a small amount of film and not your whole stash on a day out. They weigh next to nothing and can be used for other purposes in a pinch. I mostly shoot 120 and will budget around 20 rolls per week - a split might be something like 8-100, 8-400, 2-colour/other, 2-infrared. Depending on where I go I might shoot it all in a day, or come back back home with less than half shot. It's hard to know what will inspire you when you are there, and a lot depends on weather/light conditions as well.

abruzzi · Apr 5, 2019

It’s just 4 security passes since I don’t get scanned at the arrival end (at least not in the US). I’m only counting times where I’ll have to go through security. Being that as you say, I’ll probably have no luck in Moscow, plus the train to St. Petersburg and the train back, the film will inevitably pass through some xray scanners, I just want to minimize the number.

Poisson Du Jour · Apr 5, 2019

abruzzi said:
It’s just 4 security passes since I don’t get scanned at the arrival end (at least not in the US). I’m only counting times where I’ll have to go through security. Being that as you say, I’ll probably have no luck in Moscow, plus the train to St. Petersburg and the train back, the film will inevitably pass through some xray scanners, I just want to minimize the number.

Expect some very close attention in Moscow / St Petersburg. My brother can attest to that. Not only are they extremely thorough and regimented at inspection, they are unmoved by any demands made to change their routine e.g. hand inspection over pulling stuff apart. My brother found the Security "unnerving and rattling", made worse by being gruffly questioned, "Do you speak Russian!?". No, he does not. Nevertheless, he's heading back there on one part of an around-the-world cruise/tour leaving next month. Now he's more interested in the availability of (free) wi-fi to keep the rest of us up to date on his dramas...

Ixtl · Apr 6, 2019

I’ve never been anywhere outside of the US where hand-checking film even seemed to be an option. We Americans should enjoy it while lasts!

AgX · Apr 6, 2019

abruzzi said:
(Interestingly, according to google translate, they’re called rotengen rays, which is an alternate term in English that almost no one uses.)

Röntgen-rays

Röntgen become a designation for those rays and the respective photography in quite some languages.

After physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen who discovered these rays and their use.

Film bag

Moderator

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency