International travel with film

[thomas_hardy1]

I'm tempted to use a film rangefinder camera on a trip to Barcelona, London, and Paris. I'lL be leaving

from and arriving to Atlanta GA in USA. Does anyone have any recent experience with film and travel to

these cities as far as xray damage of film in carryon baggage.

 

Thank you.

[mike kwan]

I brought some 400 ISO film through JFK and Heathrow quite recently and didn't have any problems with fogging at all.

 

What kind of film (speed-wise, I guess) are you planning to shoot?

[jonathan_walker]

All are fine and I can tlel you in London they will *not* hand inspect no matter what you say. But they use Rapiscan models which are fine for film.

[michael_huizenga]

I brought 40 rolls of Fuji 200 color through the London, Niarobi, and Dulles airports a year and a half ago. All of it went through the typical carry-on scanners with no problem at all. I was told by one guard that as long as it was no higher than 400, I wouldn't have any problems. That was just my experience, though. Have a good time.

[noreen]

This past January, I did Boston to Milan to Cairo; then Cairo (twice; they were suspicious of

something in my backpack) to Milan to Boston again. No damage. This was traditional

black and white (400) and slide (100; including one roll of Provia 100 pushed to 320 or

400). I've never had luck getting anything hand inspected.

[amorteguy]

I shoot Tri-X (I rate it a 200 ISO and dev accordingly). I took 20 rolls during last summer's trips and even though I request hand check at every security check, some agents will not do this (some airports where I could not get them to hand check: Milan, Buenos Aires, Kingston, and Lima.) The most unfriendly agents by far were in Argentina and Italy.

<p>

So, after many, many flights last summer my trusty Tri-X got zapped by carry-on baggage X-Ray devices about 7 different times (radiation damage is cumulative btw.) Even so, I noticed no effects what-so-ever. So, I was happy.</p>

[michaelging]

I shoot many rolls of film in Europe,and Asia(hundreds),even with asa 3200, going though as many as 11 x-rays, without ever having a problem of fogging.

[jonathan_walker]

Agree with the above but for a place like Cairo I woulkd never let them scan my film. They have this huge thing that looks like it's designed for checked baggage, and they're fairly lax about security so hand screening (more like peeking into the bag with 100 rolls) has never been a problem for me in more than 20 years of visits. This is Cairo only I'm talkign about. Frankfurt, Heathrow -- forget it. But their equipment is more cutting edge so no worries.

[ranong]

i am in SE Asia (from NY). i got hand inspections everywhere (NY, Thailand, most of vietnam, and burma) except for some guy in Da Nang! i am still pissed! i accidently left a 1600 B&W in my bag too. i have yet to shoot it. i hope it is okay. other than that i have had no problems with the films that were loaded in the cameras at the time of X ray. (this past summer i left a few sheets of B&W 4x5 loaded in myt holders in my checked bags and by some miracle they survived!)

 

enjoy your trip!

 

eddie

[victor_ho2]

There are lead photobags that hold twenty rolls in the canisters. Or there are also leaded film holders - Hama - that hold four rolls. I have used and carried both through airport security. Curiously they never seem perturbed by an x-ray opaque bag or film container.

[angkordave]

Lead bags are a total waste of money and give a false sense of security. The operators increase the x ray power to see inside; which is potentially far more damaging, than the very slight risk of affecting high speed film. The only time I have had film affected is when I used one; so never again.

[Monophoto]

Let's say this one more time - inspectors have no control over the strength of the x-ray field, and cannot increase its power!

 

The only thing the inspectors can adjust is the contrast of the image on their screen.

 

Lead bags can provide protection, and may be effective. However, recent scientific tests (widely documented on various boards) have shown that NORMALLY, a modest number of passes through airport carryon screening will not result in any perceptable effect on film.

 

The exceptions to this rule generally would be in developing countries where the equipment being used is older (often recycled from countries that have gone on to more modern equipment).

[jeffpolaski]

I had 10 rolls of 400 ISO 120 film hand checked back and forth from Italy two years ago. The agents were very accomodating. The people in line behind me were less so. Some very much less so. My wife wasn't pleased, either.

[chris_willson]

I flew out of Heathrow last summer and they wouldn't hand check film. Happily, no noticeable damage.

In Japan, on all my flights, both international and domestic they are willing to hand check my film.

 

Chris

 

www.travel67.com

[lheusinkveld]

Since it can be difficult or impossible to get hand checking of film in many places, the lead bag can make it happen. Put your film in the lead bag and send it through the x-ray, if they want to see inside, they will ask you to open it and you then get the hand check of the films. My experience has always been that they see the bag contains films when they open it, and no further inspection is done.

[JDMvW]

These days when they hand check, they open every single film cannister. Unlike the other folks here, I had every single roll of color negative film just slightly fogged by X-rays of carryons a couple of years ago, and at the worst one (coming back into the USA) I got hand inspection. Slow Kodachrome didn't show any obvious effect, but the fogging clearly was present when I scanned in the negative film (ISO 200-800). It was simple enough to fix in Photoshop, but that was what decided me to go digital. Never put film in checked luggage. Even with VAT, you might want to consider buying film and processing in the places you're visiting, then you won't have to worry unless there's a germ-warfare scare and they sterilize your processed slides or negatives ;(