Problems at airport with sheet film!

[bill_huegerich]

Has anyone had this happen to them before? I was traveling half way across the

country and decided to take my large format camera to shoot Muir Woods in CA.

In the airport at security, just to be sure, I asked them if the X-ray would

damage sheet film. It didn't sound like they knew what large format film was.

They asked what speed, I said 125 (FP4+). They said they better just hand

check it, and walked away with my box of film and loaded film holders. I ran

everything else through the scanner and walked through. On the other side, the

security person walked toward me and was putting the lid back on my film box!

They opened the box! I don't know if they opened the bag, or if the bag alone

would have kept the film safe or not. Is there any chance my film is any good

yet?

[rich815]

Should have let it go through the Xray. It would not have damaged 125 film.

[mike dixon]

<i>I don't know if they opened the bag, or if the bag alone would have kept the film safe or not. Is there any chance my film is any good yet?</i><P>

I don't know whether they opened the bag or not, either. Any answer you get here will just be a guess. Developing a sheet of the film should give you the correct answer to your question.

[peterblaise]

.

 

It's VERY hard to stay with our stuff as we go through supposed "sucurity" - funny that they ask us if we've been in constant contact with your baggage since we left home. Yes, except when going through security where ANYBODY else can mess with it while we're taking off our shoes and waiting on the wrong side of the pass-through, separated from our stuff!

 

They opened every 35mm film canister for me - hundreds! I'm glad I was carrying Konica infrared film as it's not subject to exposure through the tab like Kodak infrared is, otherwise they would have ruined my infrared film. I say, and have cards in my film cases that say, "High speed film, please hand inspect!" but in Eurpoe, they said, "Pass it through, this gear doesn't use x-rays." ARGH! I was prepared for hand inspection, and I didn't have it in my lead bags! Dang! Foiled again! http://www.neatimage.com/ to the rescue.

 

In the future, we have to be well prepared, and calling first means nothing as it's up the whims of the people at the inspection station that moment, and they all have different attitudes. One group let me through with a pen knife, the next group confiscated it! The post office could make a pretty penny with mailers at airport inspection stations so we can just send the unacceptable stuff back to our home for pickup at the trips's end!

 

Anyway, from now on, put the film in a black bag and seal it, then in a clear baggie and seal it, then in the box and let them open the box. They can feel that it's paper and move on, safe.

 

Just use your cell phone for photography in the future - much easier than large format gear! ;-)

 

Let us know how the sheets come out.

 

Click!

 

Love and hugs,

 

Peter Blaise peterblaise@yahoo.com Minolta Photographer http://www.peterblaisephotography.com/

[ShunCheung]

Unfortunately, this is yet another case that a non-problem was turned into a problem. At one point I had several rolls of ISO 400 film that went through at least 15 airport X-ray scans, and there wasn't any trace of X-ray damage after I had them developed.

 

Muir Woods is very close to San Francisco. Since you flew there to shoot, I would get some new film in San Francisco just in case and also test shoot one sheet from the box that was opened to see whether there is any damage.

[peterblaise]

.

 

Although gamma rays may be to blame, even sitting in my refrigerator, since I shoot ISO 1600 and ISO 3200 frequently, I doubt they are immune to single, let alone frequent re-x-ray inspection. As I say, http://www.neatimage.com/ may be the only way to deal with fogged images due to x-rays or gamma rays.

 

Digital has become my answer ... though they want me to take it out and x-ray it separately since they believe it's a "video camera" and THAT is supposedly a higher risk than a mere "digital camera"!

 

What airport inspection versus photography experiences do others have?

 

Click!

 

Love and hugs,

 

Peter Blaise peterblaise@yahoo.com Minolta Alpha Film to Digital Photographer http://www.peterblaisephotography.com/

[bruce_watson1]

Yes. I had "security" destroy a box of Tri-X. I explicitly told them that it was light sensitive and to open it in room light would destroy it. I then offered them the use of my changing bag if they really wanted to open it. They said they didn't think that was necessary and walked off. I lost them in the confusion of the check point. When they handed me the box back the seals were broken so I knew they opened it.

 

Luckily that was my "insurance box" as I shipped the rest ahead via FedEx or UPS. I routinely ship film outside the airline system, and pretty much have since 9/11. I've never had a problem with film damage with either FedEx or UPS.

 

I just wish all the pain and suffering were making us safer, but that doesn't seem to be the case. All it seems to be doing is making flying uncomfortable and inconvienient. These days, if it's within a two day drive, I drive instead of fly.

[kelly_flanigan1]

The security chaps at the local courthouse hand checked each full box of Kodak pro copy film, the last several boxes we had. We were doing a shoot of their old frail courthouse maps. The security dept had read our bid requirements on handling film for the week long + job, but just went ahead and did what they wanted to. There will always be jackass experts, Beavis an Butthead types who will try or exceed exposing your film. You shouldnt asssume they security chaps have brains. 9/11 quickened the decline of film. <BR><BR>If you didnt see them open the box, you dont know what light hit your film. It is worth it to experiment to see it all is now garbage. I our case the copy film was no longer available, we were using new old stock we had squireled away. We later did this job using our 4x5 scan back, anc avoided the film hassles.

[sergio_ortega7]

The bigger problem with sheet film holders and airport security people is that they have no idea what these things are. I had one guy pull the darkslide out of a loaded holder as he was poking through my camera bag, all the while asking questions about all the suspicious-looking equipment; the Pentax V really got him confused, I guess he thought it was a handgun.

 

Now I just carry unloaded holders, or none at all...I use the Fuji holder for Quickloads. They're less apt to break open the package seal on a fresh box of Fuji film. And then I ship the film home just before returning.

[nbg90455]

Has _anybody_ actually had problems with having _normal_ sheet film (e.g. TMax100 or Ektachrome 100VS) go through the scanners at security for a couple of times?

 

I am not looking for the extreme cases (800+ speed film or having it go through for 20 times), but just "normal" cases -- i.e. a couple of boxes of low-speed sheet film in one's carry-on photogear, going through a couple of times for a round-trip by plane...

 

Also, a related question -- wouldn't the metal inside of a regular film holder protect the film when it goes through the x-ray machine?

 

Thanks,

Mike

[john_shriver]

Yeah, you notice nobody EVER reports real problems with just letting the film go through the X-ray machine. All the problems come when you don't trust them saying "it's not going to damage the film".

 

I've had zip problems with ISO 400 film through airport carry-on X-ray machines.

[brian_ellis16]

I don't know whether the bag alone would keep light out or not. I know it isn't necessary to use it for that purpose. When I travel I take the unexposed film out of the bag so that I can carry more film in a single box. The box alone works fine. It's my understanding (from where I don't know) that the bags are there primarily to keep humidity out but they may provide some incidental light protection even though that isn't their main purpose.

 

I'm with all the others who have said that the carry-on xray won't create any problems at least with 400 and lower film. After years of worrying about it, sending film ahead of time by fed ex, ordering film to be delivered at my destination, getting hand checks, etc. etc. I finally just decided to let it go through. Since doing that several years ago I haven't had a problem with T Max 100 or HP5+ and some boxes have gone through many times.

[ted_chambers]

Just be thankful we don't use flashbulbs any more.

 

Our helpful security folks would likely fire them all off to make sure they weren't dangerous.

[Monophoto]

Before I retired, my job entailed extensive travel. I have a 35mm rangefinder that lived in my briefcase and went with me on every trip. I kept it, and at least one spare roll of film, in a lead bag, and put the briefcase through the carry-on x-ray machine without any concerns. Initially, the inspectors would want to open the lead bag to see what was inside, but I noted that over time, the frequency of visual inspections declined to less than 20%. Because most of those trips were work, the film often was x-rayed many times - easily a dozen or more - without any signs of fogging.

 

Last year, my wife and I made a couple of trips - one to California and one to China. In each instance, I just threw the film into the bag and let it go through the x-ray with no protection at all. On the west coast trip, the film went through x-ray twice - once outbound and once on return. On the China trip there were six inpsections - once at our local airport, once at JFK, and again when we left Hong Kong for Beijing, and then repeated on the journey home. I can't detect any evidence of fogging on the film from thoze trips.

 

That leads me to surmise that, if you can limit the number of exposures to x-ray, there may be more risk of damage to film from improper handling by the inspectors if you call attention to its presence and request that it not be x-rayed.

[rich815]

I would concur with all that Louis says. I lived in China (Kunming and Beijing) from 1996 to 2001, and have been back twice since. In that time I've been in and out of China at least 12 times, flew both internationally from China to SE Asia, Europe and the US, and domestically within China about 5-6 times. Every time I carried at least one camera (35mm and MF) and anywhere from 5-20 rolls of exposed and unexposed films in my carry-ons and let whatever x-ray device they used scan my carry-ons with the cameras and film. Never had any evidence that any film was ever compromised or effected (I did ask for hand-inspection the couple times I had Ilford 3200 though, just to be safe). Film and equipment is way more likely to be damaged by moron inspectors than it ever will be by the carry-on baggage x-ray machine.

[rich815]

Sorry, not Louis, but Louie.