X-rays, 1600 film, Gatwick... eeek

[sam_gheiace]

Hello all. Does anyone have any experiences of getting film hand inspected at Gatwick, rather than going

through the x-ray machine. I'm carrying some HP5, Tri-X, but most worryingly Neopan 1600 (!) which is

bound to be affected.

 

Apparently this won't be a problem in the US, on the connecting flight or the return flight:

 

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1035.shtm

 

but specifically the flight out. It would be awful to come back and realise that my films are fogged. And

i'm probably pushing the HP5 to 800 too.

 

So, any experiences with the Gatwick people?

[alex_lofquist]

Ship your film by DHL or Fed Ex to your final destination.

[Spearhead]

UK airports are very strict, it is unlikely that you will be able to get anything hand-checked at Gatwick or Heathrow. The security standards are the same at both of them.

 

Also, regardless of what you hear before you leave, things can change quickly. This is true in the US also, but I have been at Heathrow when the rules posted the night before on the website were changed before my departure the next morning. In that case, due to a sudden security potential issue, the size of carry-ons was reduced to slightly larger than a woman's purse. Many people, including me, had to check bags they had planned on carrying onto the plane. I don't think you will find anyone in airport security that cares if your film is ruined in that situation.

[lilly_w]

If you don't mind a white-lie...I suggest telling the folks that all your film has already been subjected to a few x-ray machines and you fear irreparable damage due to cumulative effect and '...would you be so kind as to hand-inspect?' Make it absolutely dead-easy for them: put film and only film (no boxes, no plastic vials, etc.) in clear plastic bag and hand it over as you pose the question. Their primary objective is 'hassle-factor' as it relates to time. They prefer not to be bothered with replacing film back into vials and then boxes, having to keep all organized. When I travel I do not take 'no' and will ask to speak with a supervisor as this request is very reasonable and needs to be honored. Be assertive and courteous.

[Spearhead]

Have you ever tried this in the UK? I've never seen any flexibility at all in trips out of the UK, even in the 90s before terrorism was driving all of airport security regulations. In my experience, they really could care less how many times it's been through the x-ray machines. I've had to open my bags in a closed room with security guards with guns in the UK, all for a tiny folding umbrella. They are very tough in the UK.

[matthew_newton]

They won't hand inspect your film in the UK period, no excuses (maybe if you could prove it is delicate medical film and it is being carried on board for a good reason they would at least think about hand inspecting it).

 

My advice is if you are flying into the UK and that is where you are staying plan on exposing the film there and then getting it processed before returning home, at least then iso1600 stuff and you might want to think about doing it with the iso800 stuff as well (never had problems even with 5 or 6 xrays on iso400 and iso100 film). If you are only connecting through Gatwick I wouldn't consider taking iso1600 film with me. I haven't flown through gatwick or connected through Heathrow (flew in there, but not connected), but a lot of European airports will have you pass through xray machines again with your carry on with connecting flights...not all of them, but I have had it happen before (connecting through Milan to Genoa).

[michaelging]

I fly through Gatwick and Heathrow all the time with dozens of rolls of ASA 800 color neg,tri-x pushed and Tmx-3200 and Never have I noticed any fogging of the film.On many of these trips, I have gone though as many as 8 xray stations and never had a problem.I second that you will not get a hand inspection at any major British Airport, they do not have the time or the will to do so.

[neilambrose]

<p>As you've no doubt gathered by now, getting a hand-inspection is out the question.

</p>

 

<p>Security at Heathrow and Gatwick is so strict that it's quite common for people to

miss their flights because they can't get through security in time due to the tailbacks. It's

only recently that they've relaxed restrictions preventing people from carrying bottles of

water onto the aircraft.</p>

 

<p>But the good news is you can safely run 1600TX through the carry-on scanner with

no problems. Last year I took 30 rolls through with no problems (transit flight with 2 scans

in each direction), and some rolls were push processed to 3200. All came out fine.</p>

[neilambrose]

<p><em>When I travel I do not take 'no' and will ask to speak with a supervisor as this

request is very reasonable and needs to be honored. Be assertive and courteous.</em></p>

 

<p>Brave advice, but I can guarantee that if you try this at Heathrow or Gatwick you will be

removed from security and prevented from boarding your flight. No matter how courteous

you are. And if you're not courteous you will be arrested. Please - don't give advice about

stuff you don't know about. UK airports are in constant terrorist alert and the rules have all

changed.</p>

[lilly_w]

Admittedly my experience is a bit dated...and it did take some sweet-talking. (Aside: with talk of extending the detention period for *uncharged* terror suspects from 28 to 56 days...scan away.)

[colin carron]

I agree with Michael. I have never seen any problems with any film that has been through x-ray scanners.

[Jerry_]

You could just buy film at your destination, as most types are available in the U.S.?

[thomas_hardy1]

I had film on my trip to Europe. It was probably x-rayed 10 times without ill effects. I only

had ISO 100 and 400 though.

[bob_flood1]

If you are looking for a bullet-proof process, there isn't one. Lowest risk, IMHO, is to buy the film there (the exchange rate works against you, but film has to be a minor cost for such a trip) and ship it back DHL. Schedule the return shipment so that the film will NOT NOT NOT arrive on a weekend. The biggest risk of radiation exposure in shipment comes from the package sitting next to who-knows-what for a weekend in a shipper's warehouse. DHL doesn't accept radioactive shipments, but they don't serve all cities, and farm out deliveries to non-DHL cities to other carriers that do. Still, they are the best bet, if you take care to avoid weekends.

[sam_gheiace]

Thanks for all the answers. I think it'll just be much easier to buy my film when I'm in the States (going from the UK, not the other way round). I don't like the sound of Gatwick security - from past experience, travelling without film, they were rude and officious. Being of middle eastern origin hardly helps.

 

Plus, buying film in New York is hardly the hardest thing. I'll print off the TSA's advice for when I'm flying from the US.

[ken munn]

Several years back Amateur Photographer carried out XRay/fogging tests in response to the

perceived problem. As far as I recall, no problems were caused until an improbable number

of passes through the examination tunnel had been made. One pass, boarding at LGW, and

another for the return trip, won't have any detectable effects whatsoever.

[matthew_newton]

Just remember, all of this only applies to carry on baggage scans in first and most second world countries. Some third world countries use old scanners that do put out a lot more energy in their Xray scanners and are continuous beam ('modern' ones are pulsed beam). A couple of passes in an old xray scanner isn't likely to fry slower film, but it might do it to very high speed film.

 

Also checked luggage gets the royal treatment with xray scanning. I guess the logic is that if there is a stoway in the luggage they want to make sure they don't survive the flight. Film will be destroyed in checked luggage.

[norman_x]

This summer I travelled from Frankfurt to Hong Kong, HK to Singapore, Singapore back to

Hong Kong, Hong Kong to Shanghai and back via Hong Kong to Frankfurt... So some of my

film rolls were x-rayed 6 times. And I also had Ilford Delta 3200 film with me. I used some

rolls after I got back to Germany: absolutely no x-ray effects visible!

So... just.. don't worry.

 

I also had Delta 3200 film with me on my flights from FRA to HKG and then HKG to NRT

(tokyo) and then Fukuoka to Okinawa, Okinawa to Ishigaki, Miyakojima to Okinawa and

Okinawa back to Tokyo/Haneda. Again: no effects on the Delta 3200.

 

so now I really dont worry anymore about x-ray-controls & film.

I even put 2 film rolls in my check-in luggage to test the actual effects of check-in-

luggage-xrays (as virtually everybody says it damages the film). One roll was Provia 100F

and the other one was Provia 400X. Neither was affected by the x-ray. Maybe that was

just luck. But from now on I always put 1-2 rolls of film in my check-in luggage to test on

what routes I can put my film into the check-in luggage and when I should have it as

carry-on. I still transport all my film as carry-on. But as soon as I have tested more

airports and they are all safe, I will start putting the film into the check-in-luggage.

With my 120 and 4x5 (sheet + quickloads) film it get quite a lot for carry-on already....

[dan_mcclain]

...but I won't bother asking again. The Gatwick screener had a friend who was into medium format fashion photography, so he recognized my 120 rolls of Delta 3200 as "professional" film. Nice guy, hand inspected about 15 rolls. That was 2005, and I doubt that even if I found the same guy today he would grant such an inspection after last year's further racheting. The reason I wouldn't bother asking is that aside from that Gatwick departure, my Delta 3200 was x-rayed in Toronto, Rome, Edinburgh, and twice at London Heathrow, with no ill effects whatsoever.

[Richard Williams]

I think it's very dangerous to assume that film in checked baggage will be safe on a given route just because it's survived one (or even several) trips. Probably not every bag gets the full treatment every time, but it might do the next time, and then this sort of thing can happen:

 

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/tib/tib5201.shtml

 

Unless you can make special arrangements, carry-on is the only (relatively) safe way to go.

[trevor_maxted]

Does anybody know if the new X-ray inspection machines at hand luggage check in the UK are film safe? I believe these machines were installed prior to the lifting of baggage restrictions. Trevor Maxted