Travelling with 120 film.

rhubarbcrumble · Jun 29, 2011

G'day

I'm going to Canada/America for a month in early July and am going to be taking my Pentax 645 and about 20 rolls of 120 film. I've had the film shipped (b&h) to my place in Western Australia and am going to be traveling throughout Canada, America and Hong Kong. Was wondering if anyone has any tips on storage or just traveling with 120 film in general?

Cheers,

Duncs

Thomas Bertilsson · Jun 29, 2011

If you'll be flying a lot, you should bring ISO 100 film if possible. A lot of X-ray exposure at the airport security points might damage your film if you have higher ISO films.
Do not put the film in your checked luggage, as their X-ray machines put out more powerful levels of radiation.

Sometimes it pays off to have the films in a clear Ziploc bag and ask for hand inspection. It will not always be accommodated, but in a series of X-ray exposures of your film, it could make a difference. With that said, I just recently traveled from the US to Europe and back again, with Kodak TMax 400 film, and it was fine in spite of a few X-ray exposures.

- Thomas

rhubarbcrumble · Jun 29, 2011

Cheers!

I've got
5x Tri-X 400
5x Velvia 50
5x Portra 400
3x e100G
1x Efke Black and White Reversal 50

I guess i'll just have to see how it goes!

Роберт · Jun 29, 2011

1x Efke Black and White Reversal 50

Efke R 50 stands for Roll Film, not reversal. Any B&W film on clear Polyester layer can be used for reverse processing. Their 35mm films are coded KB (Klein Bild) so in fact they are using the German language.

removed account4 · Jun 29, 2011

hi rhubarb

i haven't travelled recently overseas ( i am in the usa and travel to europe from time to time boston --> heathrow --> basel )
if you put your film in your carry on you won't have trouble, just ask the people to hand inspect and don't worry about it.
i travelled with iso 25 - 800 speed film, both 120 + 35mm + 4x5 the last time i went, ... and had a courier bag filled with film ...
through the carry on scanner - there was no problem, even the 800asa film was fine ... and when i was in heathrow
they were checkpoints every 20yards it seemed ... in that airport alone my bag was scanned 6 or 7 times each way ...

they say the scanners won't bother film unless it is 800iso or higher ...

enjoy your trip !
john

Mike Wilde · Jun 29, 2011

I pre cut little squares of aluminum foil to wrap exposed films in., and store then in a zip lock bag.

I carry all film in a soft sided insulated bag (repurposed kids school lunch bag) when I travel.

I leave the individual or 5 pack boxes behind and pack them in clear zip lock bags.

I sharpie mark them in bold characters when the foil labelling is at all cryptic, like some Fuji roll film foil marking can be.

I try to save clear 35mm film containers, and repack any black canisters so that each cassette can be seen without the need to open every container.

I carry this lunch bag separately and then ask for a hand inspection. I stuff it into a larger carry on bag once I am clear of the security check point.

matthewhoult · Jun 29, 2011

+1 for Mr. Wilde.

The only thing I'd add is to print out your airline's photography/film policy and put it in the bag. That way, you can pull it out if ever an agent gives you a hard time.

guitstik · Jun 29, 2011

Leave it all at home and buy it over here, that is a sure fire guarantee there won't be any problems. Then on the return trip, either develop it here or send it by FED-EX to yourself. If you are going to be in specific cities you could hook up with a member from here and possibly borrow some DR time. If you were to hit Memphis I could accommodate that need and I'm sure there are many of us between Canada and the US that could as well.

Sirius Glass · Jun 29, 2011

In the US I have had no problems with ISO 400 film in 35mm, 120 or 4"x5" [Ok, 5"x4" for you], as long as you hand carry the film. Do not pack the film in your checked luggage.

Steve

Tim Gray · Jun 29, 2011

The last couple times I've travelled internationally, I just pack my film in my carryon and don't bother with hand inspections. I usually take along a decent amount of P3200TMZ, which gets scanned ultimately about 4-6 times before I develop it. Never really had too much of a problem. This is in the US, Europe, and Japan.

I fly domestically in the US with film about 1-2 times per month. Same thing applies. Your mileage might vary.

ntenny · Jun 29, 2011

I used to do quite a lot of international travel, almost always had a mix of 35mm and 120 film in my carryon, and never asked for a hand inspection at the regular security scanner. (I did ask once at an entrance-to-the-building scanner, in Istanbul, but they didn't understand what I wanted and the film had to go through anyway. It was fine.) At one point a roll of HP5 was kicking around in the bottom of my backpack for about six months unnoticed, going through inspection after inspection after inspection, and when I finally got around to using it it was fine. I wouldn't worry about it even a little.

The *checked* baggage scanners, however, have been widely and reliably reported to fog film badly!

-NT

jeffreyg · Jun 29, 2011

I have also not had any problems asking for hand inspections or for that matter occasionally x-rayed with carry-on with 400 ISO b&w film. I suggest taking the film out of the boxes and wrapper and using a Ziploc bag. I also carry a nylon mesh (chum) bag. It's best to get to major airports with ample time to go through security because sometimes they also take your film and/or camera bag to be sniffed for explosives. If told that the x-ray is safe and you still want it to be hand checked, tell the agent you exposed it at 1600 and it has already been scanned a few times and you would really feel that the hard work that went into your photography could be ruined by the repetitive checking. I don't think that will be necessary though. Never put the film or cameras in checked luggage.

They claim that being in the overhead bin of the plane exposes the film to more radiation than the scanners. Have a great trip.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

Richard S. (rich815) · Jun 29, 2011

I've travled all thru US, Europe and Asia (China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand) and although I never put film in my checked baggage, keeping it in my carry-on it has been x-rayed and never been a problem that I could ever see. Exposed or not. I did it mostly with B&W film though, and never more than 400 speed. You can ask for hand inspections but I'd not worry too much about it. Maybe I'm being careless? I guess but with hundreds of rolls and thousands of miles through 27 countries I've never seen anything I'd attribute to carry-on xray exposure and can only share what I experienced.

JonPorter · Jun 29, 2011

Since 2001 I've had dozens of rolls of film go through airport and cruise line scanners in the U.S. and western Europe and never had a problem.

rhubarbcrumble · Jun 29, 2011

Thanks for all the great and helpul responses everyone!

I will definitely pack all my film in little sandwich bags in carry-on and print out the airlines camera guidelines!

Cheers

Ralph Javins · Jun 30, 2011

rhubarbcrumble said:
Thanks for all the great and helpul responses everyone!

I will definitely pack all my film in little sandwich bags in carry-on and print out the airlines camera guidelines!

Cheers

Good morning;

Please note that here in the United States, the actual scanning and inspection probably will be done not by the airlines people, but by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) guys. They may be much less accomodating than the airline people.

Also, you might go to their website, www.tsa.gov and print out what they say that they are going to do to your film.

jvo · Jun 30, 2011

once burned...

i usually insist on hand-inspection and never had a problem, here and overseas. two years ago, one time, here in the US - i absentmindedly sent some film through the carry-on x-ray machine. ruined!

my advice - when hell freezes over, you can xray film.

vpwphoto · Jun 30, 2011

Ziplock, hand inspection, early at gate... If I'm late I just say screw it and put it in the cary-on.
A roll or two can go undetected in your pockets 120 only!

guitstik · Jun 30, 2011

vpwphoto said:
Ziplock, hand inspection, early at gate... If I'm late I just say screw it and put it in the cary-on.
A roll or two can go undetected in your pockets 120 only!

TSA agent "Is that a roll of 120 in your pocket or are you just happy to see me."

PeterAM · Jun 30, 2011

As per an earlier post, security in the US is handled by the TSA, not the airlines (everywhere that I've been). Knowledge of and adherence to their guidelines is not consistent from airport to airport. I would print out the info from the TSA web site to show if necessary, and if you have a problem, request a supervisor. In my experience, you are more likely to have an issue at a major airport than a smaller one. Either way, allow some extra time to deal with this. Don't put any film (or any equipment that you want to keep) in a checked bag.

rjbuzzclick · Jun 30, 2011

I don't travel much by airline, but did fly from Minnesota to Arizona and back earlier this year. I carried six rolls of 120 through security in a clear plastic sandwich bag and handed them to a TSA agent, who did a hand inspection with no problems.

ntenny · Jul 1, 2011

JimO said:
i usually insist on hand-inspection and never had a problem, here and overseas. two years ago, one time, here in the US - i absentmindedly sent some film through the carry-on x-ray machine. ruined!

my advice - when hell freezes over, you can xray film.

Can you say some more about what happened? Was it just plain uniformly fogged, or did it have the banding pattern that sometimes comes from the checked-bag x-ray machines, or what?

I wonder if you ran into an incorrectly-calibrated machine or something like that.

-NT

olwick · Jul 1, 2011

I travel extensively with 120. Other than always having it in my carry on, I've never have a problem even going through multiple xrays across multiple countries.

I don't carry anything over 400 ISO though. Not because I'm worried about it but just because I don't shoot that way.

For what it's worth.

Mark

TareqPhoto · Jul 1, 2011

I have to checkout/test most of the films i carried from US back to my country, i carried some of them in my checked luggage, so i am not sure if they affected with stronger X-ray or not, and in all cases even if they are damaged a bit i don't care, once i got back home since that time and i ordered films more than what i purchased that time, and i was thinking if i will travel to US or Canada next time i hope then i will buy from there [i order all my film from USA anyway] and shoot there and process there, or i send by FEDEX so i can process here in my country.

k_jupiter · Jul 1, 2011

vpwphoto said:
Ziplock, hand inspection, early at gate... If I'm late I just say screw it and put it in the cary-on.
A roll or two can go undetected in your pockets 120 only!

Not any more. The imaging machines now in place in a number of airports (like SFO) will image all of you. Your little 120 films will earn you a trip to the increased inspection line where they might get a bit.... personal.

Either have it hand inspected (and expect them to take it over to the explosives residue machine) or run it through hand luggage. In 30 years of travel, never seen an instance of fogging. I usually carry a mix of 50, 100, and 400 film.

One idea is to carry a sacrificial roll of 3200 to justify your request for hand inspection.

tim (who has averaged 70,000 airline miles a year for the last three years)

Travelling with 120 film.

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