Has air travel hurt film photography?

[DF]

Primarily speaking:Security. We all know you can't bring film on planes, and unless there's a local "camera" store stocking film near your destination, forget it - it then has to be digital.
How has anyone gotten around this? Has anyone ever had a film order shipped, to say, a hotel, where it'll be there when you get there? Where do you put/send them after they're exposed?

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

You CAN bring film on 'planes. You can request a manual inspection of film at the X-ray scanners which scan your carry-on items. Allow a little extra time, as they will sometimes do the individual test on each roll. Last November I travelled from Australia to Newark via Hong Kong, and had no problems at all with requests for manual inspections.

 

[Hatchetman]

I send film through the X-ray machine all the time. Never had a problem.

 

[gzinsel]

Is this something recent? Last spring ( 2014) I flew to N.Y. and didn't have a problem. I had a manual inspection. The guy who did it was quite professional and put everything back perfect! I had lots of film with me and 2 film cameras. Is there a new law in effect? that i do not know about???

 

[Carriage]

On my recent trip from Melbourne to Kununurra via Darwin I was successfully able to convince the security people to do a manual inspection. Melbourne they were pretty cruisy, Darwin took some convincing (talk to manager), Kununurra took a little bit but were okay. Most said it's fine to put it through the machine. Kodak's site led me to believe that once would be fine (I had 400 speed film), but multiple times could fog it. The biggest issue was when my camera was already loaded. They were mostly pretty good with just inspecting the film, but they wanted to put the camera through, and I obviously couldn't open it to show inside with a half finished roll.

So it was possible but it was a bit of a pain so I'm not sure I'd bother again, though I am probably more on the fence than most of you between film and digital.

 

[Sirius Glass]

You can and should bring film onto an airplane. You can request a hand inspection, but I have not had a problem with film being x-rayed.

 

[heespharm]

Will using those lead lined bags made for film be ok , or will it cause red flags to go off


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dave Swinnard]

I recently traveled from Canada to Hawaii and back with my film stuffed into a (brand new!) lead bag (found at a thrift store for $2 - good as my old one is showing it's age ~36yrs). I had it stuffed into my carry-on bag and another backpack stuffed with my Hasselblad bits.

Each time it went into an x-ray machine I kept a watch on the operator (as best I could). Not one of them seemed to bat and eye at the lead bag mass. Though last year a young woman at YVR asked me if it was a lead film bag and when I answered in the affirmative, she replied "cool".

No comment when traveling through Heathrow and Dublin a couple of times last year either.

In all the years I've traveled by air, with film, I've never had a hassle or noticed any issues with my film upon processing. Some of the film made many trips through the x-ray machines (but always as carry-on!)

 

[Patrick Robert James]

The best thing to do is put your cameras through first and send your film right after it inside a clear ziplock bag (or two) in it's own bin so the screener has some context for the film. You shouldn't have any problems.

Remember that when dealing with the TSA the nail that sticks out gets the hammer. So don't stick out with the whole "I'm special" hand check thing. Sad, but that is the way it is now.

 

[Carriage]

I may be misunderstanding your point, but I think the concern is avoiding the xrays rather than not being allowed to take them.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Keep your film speeds less than ISO 800.

 

[RattyMouse]

Sigh....here we go again with the FUD. I send my film through the X Ray scanners time after time after time, without ANY issues.

10 times through an X Ray scanner= NO PROBLEM.

 

[Carriage]

What speed films have you done that with?

 

[bvy]

I made five round trips (US domestic) last year, and each time, asked to have my film hand scanned. I was accommodated each time. In one case, they even hand scanned a small camera I had loaded with film. Occasionally they'll ask me what speed the film is and remind me that anything under 800 will be just fine going through X-ray (and I've always been prepared to allow that as a last resort) -- but on asking a second time, they oblige.

So unless something has changed...

 

[mooseontheloose]

Primarily speaking:Security. We all know you can't bring film on planes, and unless there's a local "camera" store stocking film near your destination, forget it - it then has to be digital.
How has anyone gotten around this? Has anyone ever had a film order shipped, to say, a hotel, where it'll be there when you get there? Where do you put/send them after they're exposed?

1. Yes, you can bring film on planes. No problem. In most (not all) places in the US/Canada and parts of Asia they will hand check your film if asked. In Europe - don't hold your breath. However, don't worry about scans - just make sure your film is going through a carry-on scanner and NOT a checked bag scanner (sometimes these are the first scanners you come across, before even checking in). Unless it's obvious I always ask to make sure what kind of scanner it is and if it's safe for film.
2. With the internet, and forums like APUG, it's easy enough to source local shops that carry film (if there are any) and possibly those that will develop film well and in a timely manner.
3. I have had film shipped to my hotel (Japan to Thailand) without a problem. I just let the hotel know it was coming. I did this because I was burning through film faster than I had anticipated on the trip.
4. If I brought the film with me, then it's easy enough to take back. Like RattyMouse, I've had no problems with extensive scans - up to 14 in some cases - and that's through some some questionable scanners in SE Asia.
5. On the few occasions where I've spent a longer time in one place, I've brought my own film developing tanks and reels (and printfile sheets for storage), bought chemicals locally, and developed the film in my room.

Normally I don't travel more than 2-3 weeks at a time, so I can take as much film as I need in my carry-on bag (along with camera gear of course). I usually bring about 40-50 rolls of film, a mix of 35mm and 120, colour slide and black and white. However, if you are travelling for long periods of time, then yes, you will need to plan ahead about where you will get your film and what you will do with it after it's exposed.

 

[Vaughn]

AIR TRAVEL KILLS MOVIE MAKING AT REMOTE LOCATIONS

High end digital movie cameras are shipped by land/sea if possible -- at high altitudes there is an increased chance of cosmic rays ruining the sensors (taking out individual pixels). Not a common occurance but happens enough!

 

[Sirius Glass]

AIR TRAVEL KILLS MOVIE MAKING AT REMOTE LOCATIONS

High end digital movie cameras are shipped by land/sea if possible -- at high altitudes there is an increased chance of cosmic rays ruining the sensors (taking out individual pixels). Not a common occurance but happens enough!

What are these pixels of which you speak. Are pixels a type of film? Paper?

 

[BradleyK]

No issue here with taking film on the plane (and I travel constantly): I simply ask for the film to be inspected by hand; I have yet to have had the request refused anywhere. On several occasions when the film was still in its original boxes, all I witnessed was a cursory look-over; unboxed (canister only) or loose film has tended to be looked at a little closer. Twice, on recent (late pm) flights out of YVR (Home), the inspector was more interested in having a closer look looking at my M6s and their lenses than in checking my film (It turned out he was "still shooting 35mm - just an old Minolta SRT" - an apparently had never seen a Leica up close...well, ok then...lol).

 

[ozphoto]

Spent 3 months travelling for work all over Asia/China/Japan, with more flights than you can count on both hands; I took both 35mm and re-spooled 120 with me, and saw no adverse effects on any of these despite multiple scans.

As others have said, you can request hand inspection, and if you tell them it has been rated at 6400, they don't even bother starting the "The machine is safe for film up to 400ASA." spiel, if you're worried about scanning. I did this when I first started travelling for work, but after umpteen flights, the lounge for chilling out was so much more enticing - so I tested on one trip (hand check/scans as a 50/50 split) and couldn't see any difference when I processed. Decided to give the "hand inspection" the flick and have still yet to see any problems.

Do not, however, pack it in your checked luggage - guaranteed to be destroyed in one fell swoop!!! Had a customer return from their "once-in-a-lifetime" OS trip when I worked at a semi-pro lab, and their films were definitely harmed; could see the dark shadows of power cables and curling-wand tongs, on many of the rolls that were packed next to it.

 

[munz6869]

I don't think air travel has hurt film photography at all! I've been travelling from Melbourne to Europe or Asia at least once a year for the last decade, with a variety of 5x4" sheet film and 120 roll film stocks, and despite making sure I put them in my carry on luggage, I've never noticed any problems whatsoever, even with multiple transfers. I'm almost tempted to take some 3200ISO test film next time just to see if I can recreate some of the issues that other folks have had?

Marc!

 

[Carriage]

I've never had an issue to make me want to have hand inspections but Kodak's site makes a point about all this. However there's probably a good chance that given Kodak and the xray people say 400 is okay a few times that they're both being conservative and so why many people haven't seen a problem with the carry on scanners.

 

[railwayman3]

Never had a problem with up to, probably, about 5-6 consecutive scans in European airports. I carry my photo gear as hand luggage, with the film in a plastic bag, so that it can be quickly taken out of the camera bag for inspection if necessary.

The only time I have had a film fogged by Xrays was in the mail, an exposed film sent from the UK to Germany for specialist processing (one of the obsolete-process Orwocolor films).

 

[Ian Grant]

Air travel makes film photography easier in countries were film's harder to find. I travel regularly with films - up to 20 airport scans sometimes.

The only HP5 LF film I could get in Turkey was out of date, the Ilford importer had none, so I always buy in the UK and fly to Turkey with my fresh film.

Ian

 

[removed account4]

i have never had a problem flying within the us or to england, germany, or switzerland.
had things handscanned in the us, and the scanners they have in switzerland ( for example )
which are said to be safe for ALL film ( high and low iso ) are just that. i put 1600 + 800 speed film
through it last summer ( asking for hand inspect which they didn't offer ) and the film came out just fine.
i also travel with 50+ rolls of film in a bag with my camera .. never a problem, even when i was
with a 4x5 graflex .. well, i did have a slight problem with the graflex .. it came up
as something weird on the scanner so i had to remove it from the camera bag and show them what it was,
they had never seen something like that and were happy i showed them ..

of course you get what you pay for sometimes, if you are nice and pleasant to the TSA employees they
won't give you trouble, but if you are a nasty in your face hell-raiser, well they will not be happy ...
they have a very hard job and it stinks when people make it harder ( yes i know and have spoken with TSA people )
because it makes the TSA folks look harsh ( because people only broadcast 1 side of the story, they don't say
" i got up all in this guy's face and screamed at him to go to hell when he asked to see what ws in my camera bag"
instead they say " i was singled out and treated badly" also they give film photographers a bad name because
people with film forget since there are not many of us, they are the poster child for people who use film ..
if people see some guy ripping the head off of a TSA or other airline employee because he or she doesn't want their
iso 25 efke film scanned or whatever other nonsense they want to cause trouble about .. that is exactly what people
see film photographers like ...

YMMV

 

[RattyMouse]

Asking for hand inspection is ridiculous for me, since when I travel for pleasure, I carry up to 60 rolls of film. No one is going to go through that kind of stash roll by roll. Thankfully it does not matters since airport scanners have NO effect on the film at all, as long as it is carried on the plane.