Airport Xray

[rob_x2004]

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Old chestnut I know.

 

I got to chatting with customs departures in New Zealand. In training, the manufacturer of the machine used in all KZ airports and probably a majority about the world, advises the carry on Xray machine will not damage 1800iso in under 24 or 28 passes.

 

Bit nebulous I know but it is the closest anyone has come to quantifying answer to that hoary old chestnut is my film safe, and I guess you could research and write to the mnfr. Gives you a bit of an idea of the worry factor though. Zilchish.

 

Regards.

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[icura 0-)]

I travel extensively with both film & digital cameras. Ironically enough, I just returned from Aotearoa (the proper indigenous name for New Zealand) where I brought a Leica C-Lux and a 35mm film camera loaded with Fujichrome Astia, rated at ISO 100. It is a very fine grained film with neutral colors, and therefore is one of the better films for scanning.

 

I shoot a lot of digital with high end digital cameras, but wanted to shoot with film because I knew I'd want larger than normal prints upon my return, and wanted to ensure the detail and nuances of the scenes. What was pleasantly surprising was that it was so much easier to whip out the little Leica and shoot off a number of images quite quickly. Whenever I encountered a situation where I found an amazing scene, or one with lots of people, I would shoot with the Astia too. The film has amazing detail that is a wonderful coupling to high end 35mm lenses.

 

At any rate, after going through a grueling trip throughout the entire country, there was no way in hell that I was going to jeopordize the quality of the film. It is one thing to shoot for a hobby and it is quite another to rely on your film for your livelihood, one gets extremely protective of it. I hand checked as many security points as possible, but what inevitably happens is you get in a rush with certain flights and have to whisk your camera bag through the Xray machine. I winced every time it happened.

 

The security people were almost universally very condescending towards hand-checking your film and did it grudgingly, like you were a stupid spoiled child. I tried to put them at ease by being non-confrontational and chatting about all of the beautiful things I'd photographed in their country as they hand checked the film.

 

At the end of the trip I counted 5 Xrays, and the film came out clean. The film was handchecked 6 times, and am curious as to whether the film would have remained safe with 11 Xrays. Not likely.

 

Here are a couple of helpful links for film & Xrays:

Danger - Airport X-rays can damage your film

Avoid the X-rays

 

Cheers, and here is to clean, un-Xrayed film!

[rob_x2004]

Yes it would have. And you would have subjected it to more radiation flying at 33 thousand feet than it gets through the xray machine, so I guess you have to add a few more passes:D .

 

Um...both the links are five years old, and on checked baggage, not hand held.

[icura 0-)]

Fulji film suggests hand checking their film through airport security Xray machines, and this is good enough for me. Especially if it is a scientific fact that Xrays can damage film, especially something as innocuous as a slight fogging and loss of contrast. This could be like buying horribly outdated film and using it for a trip to the other side of the world. No thanks. I trust Fuji more than I trust an Xray technician, that's for sure.

 

I read that a coast to coast flight in the US = 5 to 12 millirems. If you fly 3x that distance do you get 3x the radiation? Could someone provide accurate data about this, because my information is only what I remember reading quite some time ago. Furthermore, it has been made clear that the radiation from jet travel is certainly not harmless because the cumulative effect of radiation is quite detrimental to living tissue.

 

Anyway a lot of this is just opinionated patter, which I find rather useless. I would propose that someone do a scientific test wherin the effects are scientifically measured. It would be fairly easy to do:

 

1. One could expose a number of rolls of fresh transparency film precisely the same (because the positive film lacks the orange mask that color negatives have; one less variable to eliminate). The film should be exposed under controlled lighting with a number of control patches that can be measured later.

 

2. The film could be run through a standard Xray machine using various power settings that would be noted with the film. I would run the film through the Xray machine five times per test (each roll would have respective 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, etc. runs through the machine).

 

3. Each roll of of film would be optimally processed and measured via a densitometer with the control patches to precisely read the unique density that also has the ability to measure fog as a density in the film. We're talking precision instumentation and measurements here. Leave nothing to chance. A roll with 5 runs though the Xray machine will be likely to have a distinct difference in density than one run 30 times through the Xray machine and so on.

 

4. The entire point of this test is to measure the precise differences in each batch of film that was run through the Xray machine.

 

With the above, we could take opinon out of the dialog and just talk about scientific fact. I would bet my most treasured Leica that there will be a measurable difference between the films in this test. By the way, one of the reasons we pay more for a an impeccably sharp and contrasty lens is to get an impeccably sharp and contrasty film exposure. If the film has even a minor fog from the Xray it has the potential to instantly negate the use of fine optics. Think about that when you run your film through an Xray machine.

 

As I mentioned at the top, an easy way to navigate this debate is to just follow the film manufacturer's advice and don't Xray your film. No problem right?

 

Cheers.

[rob_x2004]

Maybe you know better than Fuji.

Maybe the machines have been turned up recently and there is a conspiracy?

Anyway, good luck with your tests.

Regards

 

 

Fujifilm Service & Support

 

Airport Security and X-Ray Fogging of Photographic Materials

29/10/2001

Following the terrorist atrocities on September 11th 2001, security precautions at British airports have inevitably been stepped-up. The transportation of films, with the inevitable x-ray exposure that they will receive, has always been a point of concern for a number of people and with the increased security measures now being implemented, travellers must ensure that they take the necessary precautions to prevent x-ray fogging of their films.

The BAA, who have worked with a number of leading photographic manufacturers in the past, have carried out extensive tests on the safety of the scanning equipment used for carry-on luggage (hand luggage) and have found it is safe for all but the highest speed films.

However, the range of machines in use for the scanning of hold or checked-in baggage operate at much higher intensities and will inevitably result in fogging of all unprocessed film or single-use cameras placed in the plane's baggage compartment.

Therefore, it is essential that all films to be transported by plane be carried as part of the carry-on luggage. Ideally these should be placed in a clear plastic or see-through mesh container to allow easy checking, should the security staff require further inspection. On no account would Fujifilm UK recommend the use of lead-lined transportation cases, as these will inevitably lead to suspicion by the baggage inspectors and may lead to the film being subjected to higher doses of x-ray radiation.

This information pertains to the current security inspection systems being operated in the UK. For x-ray scanning equipment outside of the UK, travellers are recommended to continue to transport the film within their hand luggage or to ascertain if hand inspection of films and cameras is permissible.

 

Fuji Photo Film (UK) Ltd

 

Technical Department

 

Unit 10A St Martins Way

 

Bedford

 

MK42 0LF

 

 

 

[icura 0-)]

You cannot characterize my post as knowing better than Fuji, so please refrain from misrepresnting my posts, and just stick to the facts. They are the ones that come right out and suggest that photographers should hand check their film at Xray security points,especially if the film is going to be Xrayed multiple times:

 

http://www.fujifilm.com/support/tips_for_better_photos/film-digital/film.html

 

Here is their quote:

Avoiding airport x-rays.

Luggage checked with airlines is subject to powerful x-ray inspection that can damage film. So be sure to bring your film with you in your carry-on luggage. While most security checkpoint x-ray machines are filmsafe, if you expect a number of repeated x-rays or if you are carrying high speed film, we suggest that you ask for hand inspection.

 

Why do you think there is a conspiracy? I don't get that at all anywhere in any documents. Lets talk science and not opinion, I'm much more comfortable with facts.

[Guest stnami]

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Lets talk science and not opinion, I'm much more comfortable with facts.

... it is too easy to be selective in the facts used and end up with a pre-conceived result to suit oneself, thus misrepresnting those facts:D

[gylee]

I really don't know what the science is on this so I can only tell you my own experience. I travel very frequently (I took 8 flights last week) and I always travel with a Leica CM usually loaded with ISO400 film, and a spare film, and depending on what I am doing and where I am going, it can sometimes take me several weeks to use those films, during which time they sit in my bag and are x-rayed not only at airports but at hotels all over the third world. Never had a visibly affected film. Obviously not terribly scientific and who knows whether the output would have been different if they had not been x-rayed, but I can't see any defects and I guess that is good enough for me. Of course, I don't make my living shooting film - i might have a different view if I did. Then again, if I made my living taking pictures, I probably would not be using film...

[ron110n]

I also do a lot of traveling and never had a problem with the Fuji Neopan 400 I have loaded in my M body. Before I used to secure them in an ISO 3200 rated lead bag. Of course the x-ray inspector (Homeland Security) roll the conveyor back and fourth several times scanning my camera bag. Then let it go and ask. "Who is the owner of this bag". I present myself and "hell went loose". I missed my flight with all the inspection and interogation I had. Later the Homeland Security person ask me not to bring a lead bag anymore since my films are ISO 400 and lower and all they see is a black rectangle. They said all the x-ray machines at US Airports are calibrated to be film safe through ISO 400. I asked how accurate is that. He said it is an FAA requirement that all x-ray machines meet that spec and calibrated at a regular basis, or no carrier will be allowed to land or fly in the particular airport. From then I just pack everything in my bag with no x-ray protection. No problem what so ever.

 

When I went to Spain. here is a series of hand-carry x-ray I went through.

LAX, Miami Intl, Madrid Intl. Barcelona Intl, Malaga Airport, Madrid Intl, Miami Intl.

All my films survived. Ektachrome 100G, Ilford FP4+ 125, Tri-X 400. One Ektachrome 100G was loaded at the M body. No problem at all.

 

I cannot guarantee any small airport / small engine carrier outside North America or the UK. They may not be compliant to the International Airport Security Protocol.

 

Also I would'nt dare check-in my films.

 

-Ron

 

Creature of Habbits or the Caveman within

[Ted W]

Having thirty-odd rolls hand-checked multiple times is a substantial pain, as I did on my Europe trip last year. Substantial. So much so that the airport screener-guy (TSA) in Washington, D.C. actually tried to convince me to buy an M8 as we waited for the film to pass.

 

What I forgot to do, and what somebody should do, is on their next major trip, simply test the theory. Buy a couple of rolls at different speeds and put them through the x-ray at every stop. Shoot the film, lab it, and then see if there's any damage. Much more conclusive than scouring the Internet for secondhand information.