Film and airports

[richard_nunamaker]

Hi--

 

I just returned from three weeks in Spain (with brief side trips to Denmark and Sweden).

It's been three years since I've travelled internationally, but I must say that getting film

past the security check was less than pleasant. I wasn't concerned about the slower

speed film, but I had some 1600 ASA sstuff that I knew shouldn't be x-rayed. Germany

was not problem. In Frankfurt they wiped each film container with a heavyweight paper

of some sort that was then put into a machine designed to detect residue from

explosives. They were very accomodating and happy to do that...and it only took a

couple of minutes. Madrid was another story. They absolutely refused to "hand check"

the film (which was in plastic baggies and removed from the plastic containers). They

would not consider any alternatives besides x-ray...and visiting with a supervisor was out

of the question. I had a similar experience in Copenhagen, but I had no fast film on that

leg of the trip so it didn't matter. The fast film that I used at our former foreign exchange

student's wedding in Cordoba (film which I purchased there) I had mailed to me by our

friend after we returned...and it turned out fine. Are others having similar experiences? I

have flown since 9-11, but have not had nearly as much difficulty as I did this time. And,

of course, liquids are another nightmare. In the EC it's possible to carry on bottles of

wine, olive oil, etc. that are "specially packaged" in heat sealed bags at the airport-- but

when one lands at the first international airport in the U.S. these items have to be

checked with regular baggage. I guess with high speed B&W film it's best to purchase it

there and have it developed prior to returning.

[furcafe]

I've had no problems w/film of ISO up to 3200 surviving a few passes through carry-on scanners.

[vics]

I haven't been able to get either British or French security folks to hand-inspect. My new strategy is to carry only ISO 125 film and buy faster film at my destination. Sometimes I even ship film ahead of me and carry none.

Vic

[michaelging]

I travel all the time with film up to asa 3200, which passed though as many as 11 x-ray machines without ever having any fog. I am talking a hundred rolls of color and B&W film at a time. This is just not the problem that people think it is.

[amorteguy]

The best you can do is try. I always ask for hand check, it depends on the country and somewhat on the person you ask. About 50% of the time I will get an initial refusal, and then I ask again and explain my concerns. They either reluctantly agree or say, "If you don't put your film through the x-ray, you don't get on the plane."

 

I usually have multiple exits on every trip which makes for many opportunities to zap my film. The most my film has actually had to endure is about seven scans.

 

I shoot Tri-X pulled to 200 and have never noticed any problems. I am not convinced that B&W film is as much at-risk as color film.

[jay sturdevant]

I have had hit and miss experiences getting film hand inspected, the best you can do is

put it in tranparent film containers or none at all and then in a transparent plastic bag. It

certainly helps if you are polite and EARLY so they can't threaten you with delay. In most

developing countries this has worked fine but the US was another matter. I've never

noticed any fogging of slow film but who knows if all those scanning machines are set to

the same level?

 

I will say this, and I don't mean to sound flippant at all, but when it comes to travelling I've

converted to digital and never looked back. I have found that my loads are consistently

lighter without all that film and i no longer have to worry about over-zealous security

people or the fragility of my exposed film to heat etc. A real bonus for me is i can plug my

SLR into a television at the end of the day and see what went right and what to keep.

Peviously I had to wait a couple of months to get feedback and the intant editing has made

me better I think. For a long time I thought digital was out of my league pricewise, but i

was spending more money on film and developing. I like film , but It has been a positive

change