Film fogged going through airport security.

[Marvin]

I will just drive my pickup truck, no Xrays required.

 

[benjiboy]

Last January I went through security at Seattle/Tacoma airport. I planned to purchase my film at my destination, expose it, then mail it back home, thus skipping the whole x-ray thing entirely. (This worked fine.)

So I allowed my camera bag to run through the carry-on system. Well, the inspector saw something he didn't like so they took me aside and hand-checked the entire bag. Nothing was found, so they ran it through a second time.

It again came up positive. So I unpacked everything, was of course able to open the camera, and showed them everything. Nothing was found. So they ran it through a third time.

Finally it came up clean and I was allowed to continue. I don't know if they increased the power. But I do know I had just added at least the equivalent of another round trip to the cumulative exposure given to the bag. Maybe more.

So from now on it will always be either shipping new film ahead or buying it there, then shipping it directly to a processor before returning (for color), or back home (for b&w).

Ken

Sorry to disappoint you, but airmail packages are X rayed too Ken.

 

[DWThomas]

I will just drive my pickup truck, no Xrays required.

The trip from Philadelphia to Rome is awfully wet! (Not to mention tiresome driving.)

 

[Chris Lange]

I just flew roundtrip NYC -> LA -> NYC and all my film went through the carry-on security scanners at JFK, LAX, and EWR. Everything from Agfa 100 to pushed HP5+ (no Delta 3200 this time around). No sign of damage of any kind on the negatives.

 

[Marvin]

You may have me on that one Dave but I haven't been off the ground since 1999 so not to up on these things. Going to Boston and Maine later this year but not getting off the ground.

 

[Marvin]

The trip from Philadelphia to Rome is awfully wet! (Not to mention tiresome driving.)

I was looking at this boat to go behind my pickup truck but not sure it would make it to Europe.

 

[DCB12]

Would something like this work as far as the TSA is concerned?
http://www.japancamerahunter.com/shop/japancamerahunter-film-cases/

Peace

 

[removed account4]

whilst in switzerland i had to open my camera bags show my cameras and film
and send them through the scanners. those film cases wouldn't do much good where i was ...
the TSA here in the states has no problem hand checking. in boston when we left, they took the film
out of the box and "sniffed it" i'm not really sure what all the trouble is ...
typically if you are nice to them they are nice to you and according to people i know who work for the TSA
and have worked for them for the past 10+ years it is the people who are hectic who think they are special
and should be treated differently than everyone else that cause trouble and still they will hand check their film.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

Sorry to disappoint you, but airmail packages are X rayed too Ken.

Then I'm curious. How do you know this?

Ken

 

[removed account4]

one just has to call mail + parcel carriers and ask if they xray
rather than make blanket statements that might not be true more than 50% of the time

 

[BradS]

whilst in switzerland i had to open my camera bags show my cameras and film
and send them through the scanners. those film cases wouldn't do much good where i was ...
the TSA here in the states has no problem hand checking. in boston when we left, they took the film
out of the box and "sniffed it" i'm not really sure what all the trouble is ...
typically if you are nice to them they are nice to you and according to people i know who work for the TSA
and have worked for them for the past 10+ years it is the people who are hectic who think they are special
and should be treated differently than everyone else that cause trouble and still they will hand check their film.

indeed. here in the US, simply asking politely...saying please, smiling and being patient (in short, not being an ass) will get you a long way with the TSA....even so, I quit asking many years ago and just put all my film through the machines with my carry on items. On one extended trip around europe, my film went through so many machines, I thought it would surely be ruined...but, have never, ever had any noticeble effects from the machines in the airports anywhere in the world. Not even with delta 3200.

 

[benjiboy]

Then I'm curious. How do you know this?

Ken

I like to watch a documentary series on T.V. called Airline U.S.A.

 

[BradS]

Even some cargo containers coming into sea ports in the USA get x-rayed.

(how do I know this you ask? I did some work for a company that was engaged in developing the linear accelerators for the cargo container scanners).

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

I like to watch a documentary series on T.V. called Airline U.S.A.

Did you find their assertion to be credible with regard to commercial cargo carriers such as UPS and FedEx? Southwest Airlines is a commercial passenger airline. I would expect everything on their aircraft to be scanned at some level since it shares space with passengers.

Ken

"When possible, send your film via a cargo carrier that will certify that the film won't be x-rayed."

Is there any danger to bringing my film through an airport x-ray machine?
Fujifilm USA Support and Contact Center

 

[davedm]

Would something like this work as far as the TSA is concerned?
http://www.japancamerahunter.com/shop/japancamerahunter-film-cases/

Peace

No, these are meant only for storage and ease of handling.


For mild protection against x-rays one could use one of these : http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/185375-REG/Domke_711_15B_Film_Guard_Bag_Large.html

However, most of the time it is better not to use them.

 

[winger]

No, these are meant only for storage and ease of handling.


For mild protection against x-rays one could use one of these : http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/185375-REG/Domke_711_15B_Film_Guard_Bag_Large.html

However, most of the time it is better not to use them.

When bags go through with things that block Xrays, the operator sees a blank space. Then they run it back through and scan it again. Then they ask you to take everything out of your bag and go through it all. It's faster to just ask for a handcheck or let it go through because those will be the end result anyway. The Xray blocking bags were good before 9-11, not so much now.

 

[benjiboy]

Did you find their assertion to be credible with regard to commercial cargo carriers such as UPS and FedEx? Southwest Airlines is a commercial passenger airline. I would expect everything on their aircraft to be scanned at some level since it shares space with passengers.

Ken

"When possible, send your film via a cargo carrier that will certify that the film won't be x-rayed."

Is there any danger to bringing my film through an airport x-ray machine?
Fujifilm USA Support and Contact Center

I've seen on U.S airline documentaries the mail on conveyer belts been scanned by X-ray machines and several operators sitting at monitor screens checking it, and it also stands to reason that small freight and postal packages whatever the documentation says could contain anything from diamonds to drugs, to anthrax.

 

[AgX]

As benjiboy indicated:

Air freight is not only checked for the safety of the flight, but to keep banned items from entering the country of destination.

 

[BradS]

This is just an FYI for everyone. I had ASA 100 in an Argus C3, went through the TSA security (on the 1.Aug), & asked that my camera & film be hand checked. They said that their X-ray didn't affect film slower than ASA 800, so I let it go through. I just today finished up that roll of film, & (wait for it) the whole roll was fogged. I seriously doubt that it was mishandled at the Walgreen's where I take it for processing. I'd be willing to bet a steak dinner that it happened at the airport.

Maybe mine was a fluke, but maybe not. Be forewarned.

Uniform fogging is not characteristic of airort secuity scanners ==> you film was almost certainly NOT fogged by the machines at the airport.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

Air freight is not only checked for the safety of the flight, but to keep banned items from entering the country of destination.

Then I'm curious. How do you know this?

Ken

 

[removed account4]

one just needs to call a freight company and they will tell you what is what.
it really isn't difficult to call airlines or carriers, instead of making suggestions and spreading misinformation.
i find it rather strange that in this post 911 world we live in that one would think for 10 seconds that cargo isn't checked.

 

[Dinesh]

i find it rather strange that in this post 911 world we live in that one would think for 10 seconds that cargo isn't checked.

I found it strange that in a post 911 world we could have lost MH370!

 

[removed account4]

I found it strange that in a post 911 world we could have lost MH370!

same here

 

[r.reeder]

Uniform fogging is not characteristic of airort secuity scanners ==> you film was almost certainly NOT fogged by the machines at the airport.

Thanks. The more I look at the negatives, the more I'm inclined to agree with you. The reason I suspected the airport x-ray scanner, was that this particular roll of film was the only roll of film to go through an x-ray scanner, & the only one that was fogged. But then I noticed that the last 6 inches of the roll had evidence of folding, like it was in some machine & was forced to advance when the end was being blocked in some way, then retracted, & then (perhaps at this point the processor person opened the machine, fogging the film, to clear the blockage) restarted. A coincidence? Perhaps I'll never know for sure. But thanks again.

 

[AgX]

Then I'm curious. How do you know this?

Ken

This has been shown in many documentaries.

And beside this, checking luggage and freight for content is a standard task of custom authorities as long as they exist.
As you live in the US, border controls may not be as common to you as to us Europeans.