Taking film / cameras to Peru

apkujeong · Sep 26, 2015

Flavio, I thought I had sent you a PM a while back but looking in my APUG outbox can't find one...:confused: My loss, anyway. Thank you again for trying to help.

Maybe you could post details of a couple of shop names or links in this thread for reference of anyone else going to Lima in future?

The shop I found (which was not open at the time) is:
D'Arte Productos Fotográficos
Camera Store and Photography Lab · Miraflores
Calle Bolivar 221 Tda. 08, Miraflores, Lima, Peru
+51 984 306 148

When I got to Lima unfortunately my checked luggage from the flight from New York didn't arrive, so the priority of my search for slide film lessened quite drastically (my luggage did finally turn up a day and a half late).

chrisz26 · Apr 5, 2023

flavio81 said:
Well, you did not write me. Otherwise you could have had slide film and color film in 35mm and 120 directly from my freezer. Or tell you which stores to go.

This is a long shot (and so sorry for replying to older posts).

Hi Flavio, do you know if there are any lab around Lima that can develop color films? I'll be volunteering in Huaráz, Ancash this summer and bringing students there some disposable cameras. It'd be really helpful if I could send the films to develop locally (at least in Peru) instead of bring them all back to the U.S. It'd be super helpful if you could direct me to some film shops in Lima, but that's a minor concern that I don't need to worry about for now.

I'd love to dm but since this is a new account, I don't yet have the ability to do so...

chennn · Apr 22, 2023

flavio81 said:
我是秘密鲁人，住在秘密鲁。喜欢的话可以PM我。

基础上，如果您愿意，可以在这里购买Provia 100F，有一家专业店出售35米、120英寸，我想也许也是4x5"格式。

至于支票，意思就是如果带了10卷以上，就需要报关，所以要交相应的入口关扣。他们查这个吗？游客都有一个信号灯（红灯与绿灯），它随机打开。

太棒了，我七月要去秘鲁

Sirius Glass · Apr 22, 2023

chennn said:
太棒了，我七月要去秘鲁

Would you also post the translation in English please, so that most of us can more easily read your posts?

chennn · Apr 22, 2023

Sirius Glass said:
Would you also post the translation in English please, so that most of us can more easily read your posts?

I'm so sorry. I made a mistake.

chennn · Apr 22, 2023

I want to say that in July I will be going to Peru.

eli griggs · Apr 22, 2023

Ian Grant said:
I went to Chile and then Peru about 7 years ago, I carried about 20 rolls of film and a 617 camera as well as a digital camera, I think I also had my wife's 35mm films.

The issue is to prevent illegal imports for re-sale to evading tax rather than preventing serious photographers making images. I had serious problems in Chile getting 120 Tmax 100 in Santiago the capital, there just wasn't nay plenty of Ilford & Foma though and some Fuji.

If I went again I'd ask Flavio to check what is available in Lima and make decisions based on that. I went to Chile expecting to be able to get more Tmax film and found Kodak had abandoned the market except for consumer C41 through minilabs.

Ian

I wonder how 70mm rolls and backs, for Hasselblad, in example, would be treated by customs?

With HP5 Plus, and older films being out there, perhaps an acceptable solution would be carrying pre-loaded PAIRS and of 70 cassettes, one filled, the other empty but already setup to receive the exposed film as it is being used.

A few extra empty 70mm cassettes and a dark bag or tent and exposed film holders would allow someone with only one or more A70 backs to switch out rolls, mid shoot.

What do you think?

GregY · Apr 23, 2023

eli griggs said:
I wonder how 70mm rolls and backs, for Hasselblad, in example, would be treated by customs?

With HP5 Plus, and older films being out there, perhaps an acceptable solution would be carrying pre-loaded PAIRS and of 70 cassettes, one filled, the other empty but already setup to receive the exposed film as it is being used.

A few extra empty 70mm cassettes and a dark bag or tent and exposed film holders would allow someone with only one or more A70 backs to switch out rolls, mid shoot.

What do you think?

Eli, it would most certainly be X-rayed. BTW here's an article from a few years back about a new scanner at Lima airport.... a gift of the US Embassy... https://santiagotimes.cl/2017/07/21/peru-starts-using-new-3-5m-scanner-at-lima-airport/

chrisz26 · Apr 26, 2023

GregY said:
Eli, it would most certainly be X-rayed. BTW here's an article from a few years back about a new scanner at Lima airport.... a gift of the US Embassy... https://santiagotimes.cl/2017/07/21/peru-starts-using-new-3-5m-scanner-at-lima-airport/

Welp. Seems like I either need to insist on hand checks or have them in my lead bag the whole time... How to explain to the customs is another issue...

GregY · Apr 26, 2023

chrisz26 said:
Welp. Seems like I either need to insist on hand checks or have them in my lead bag the whole time... How to explain to the customs is another issue...

There's no "insisting" with security officers. In N America hand checking is an assumed privilege. in other places that is just not the case.....& lead bags in my experience get seen on x-rays and then get opened and the contents get xrayed again. There was a time 25+ years ago when they were the in thing but then entirely dropped out of sight.

Travelling with loaded cameras, film backs, or sheet film holders is a bad idea. Hand checking commercial roll film (35 or 120) is easy for a security agent, but asking someone to 'hand inspect' cameras or backs or holders is pretty much asking them to take your word for it....
At Austin airport, I was once asked to open my bag. My Rolleiflex, was an odd unidentifiable metal object. We both had a laugh over that one. You can imagine how a lead bag shows up on the screen....

Sirius Glass · Apr 26, 2023

chrisz26 said:
Welp. Seems like I either need to insist on hand checks or have them in my lead bag the whole time... How to explain to the customs is another issue...

In some countries even asking nicely and politely gets a strong negative reaction.

TheFlyingCamera · Apr 26, 2023

Worth a try when arriving to ask politely "Puede usted inspeccionar esa bolsa a mano? Tengo pelicula fotografica de alta sensitividad". Worked for me in Mexico City this last trip, but I was also arriving at a relatively slow time of day for the inspectors. It's always up to the good graces of anyone doing the security screening, even here in the US (where you can pitch enough of a fit that a supervisor will ok it, but don't try that in a lot of other places).

BradS · Apr 26, 2023

Even if polite and in perfect Spanish, asking in Madrid will evoke a very strong negative response. It's just a step below joking about bombs at the security check point.

The situation in South America is, in my experience quite the opposite. If you ask politely and are willing to wait and risk them damaging your film, they're quite happy to do a hand check.

GregY · Apr 26, 2023

BradS said:
Even if polite and in perfect Spanish, asking in Madrid will evoke a very strong negative response. It's just a step below joking about bombs at the security check point.

The situation in South America is, in my experience quite the opposite. If you ask politely and are willing to wait and risk them damaging your film, they're quite happy to do a hand check.

"risk them damaging your film".......
Brad, I think you've hit the nail on the head. Since the introduction of CT scanners, I know i can fly out of Calgary (so far....old school X ray machines & courteous hand-inspection). An easy choice if I have a direct flight to Europe. Otherwise i've adopted the same stress-free approach as my pro photog friends. I buy film in Europe. I have it processed there. I fly home stress free.
Next Euro trip i'm going to send some film home.... (I just prefer using staining developers).

Saus · Apr 3, 2024

flavio81 said:
Well, you did not write me. Otherwise you could have had slide film and color film in 35mm and 120 directly from my freezer. Or tell you which stores to go.

What stores can I go to? Do they ship within Peru? I might go to Cuzco/Urubamba area in the coming months.

Taking film / cameras to Peru

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