Travel abroad with film. Please advise ?

[Rungroj Suppagarn]

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Hello all,

 I would like to ask about preparing gear for the airport and flying abroad. 
  Should I separate my camera and lens when I am on the airplane ? Also Do I need to change my F to 16 ?

I only have Leica MP+28 f2 ii

please help.

 

thanks  

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[Al Brown]

All you need to do is preferably have your film hand inspected, not scanned.

[otto.f]

55 minutes ago, Rungroj Suppagarn said:

Do I need to change my F to 16 ?

Why?

[lmans]

24 minutes ago, otto.f said:

Why?

Ditto… f16? Why?

Carry n film… I put in plastic bags so easy to take out if needed. My camera on a carry on as well. Pretty easy 

[Anbaric]

5 hours ago, Rungroj Suppagarn said:

 I would like to ask about preparing gear for the airport and flying abroad. 
  Should I separate my camera and lens when I am on the airplane ? Also Do I need to change my F to 16 ?

You don't need to do anything special to your camera.

For film (and cameras containing film) you need to watch out for CT scanners, which are much more harmful to film than older X-ray scanners. Never put film in your checked luggage, which is commonly scanned this way. Smaller CT scanners are now also being used for carry-on luggage at some airports. In this case, you will need to ask for a hand inspection or there is a serious risk your film will be trashed:

 

[Rungroj Suppagarn]

7 hours ago, otto.f said:

Why?

Sorry my mistake its F2 because I have seen some youtuber said I should wide my aperture to protect the blade while on the airplane. 

[Rungroj Suppagarn]

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3 hours ago, Anbaric said:

You don't need to do anything special to your camera.

For film (and cameras containing film) you need to watch out for CT scanners, which are much more harmful to film than older X-ray scanners. Never put film in your checked luggage, which is commonly scanned this way. Smaller CT scanners are now also being used for carry-on luggage at some airports. In this case, you will need to ask for a hand inspection or there is a serious risk your film will be trashed:

 

Thank you so much !

[oldwino]

More advice - don’t have film in the camera when you board. They may possibly want to see inside it. 
Have all of your film in a separate plastic baggie to hand to the agent if they will hand inspect. You can go to Kodak’s website and download warning stickers about film and x-rays and CT scanners. Put one of those on the baggie. Don’t assume any of the agents know anything about film, how it works, etc.
Be polite. That goes a long way, too! 

[Aryel]

3 hours ago, Rungroj Suppagarn said:

Sorry my mistake its F2 because I have seen some youtuber said I should wide my aperture to protect the blade while on the airplane. 

I suggest to click on the ‘unsubscribe’ button 😊. 

When travelling I use a transparent sandwich bag to put all my film, I make sure to be security ready before reaching them and gently ask for the  film to be checked manually. 

Have a nice trip and enjoy shooting!

[stray cat]

Important to note that film in the plastic baggie should be just the rolls of film - remove the box and canister so they can see they are rolls of film with leaders (the first bit of film visible emerging from the cassette).

I tried printing the Kodak warning sheets but the agents who actually looked at them seemed to take those warnings as a sort of personal slight and became more determined to go ahead with the "it's safe for film to go through here" routine. I would, however, recommend investing in a Domke lead-lined film bag and if all else fails insist that, if the rolls are to go through the x-ray machine, then they must be inside the lead-lined bag. It's ridiculous, because the machines can't see inside those bags, but it somehow seems to work.

Otherwise, buy your film and preferably have it developed at your destination.

Edited December 11, 2022 by stray cat

[otto.f]

6 hours ago, Rungroj Suppagarn said:

to protect the blade

Against what? Turbulence?

[Stuart Richardson]

I don't think the aperture blade thing is something you need to worry about. Regarding film, it is true that a lot of the newer scanners can fog the film immediately. I have found pretty good luck these days with asking for a hand check. In the absence of that, I use the Domke lead lined bags. They are not too heavy and are good storage for the film anyway. I am not sure if they will stand up to the super strong newer machines, but I have not had any troubles using them. I find that if you send the film in these bags, most of the time they just let them through. Sometimes they will stop them because they cannot see through them, and then they do a hand check, which is what you wanted in the first place anyway. It is also not a bad idea to have a fast film or a film that you say you push to 3200 or 6400, because sometimes the agents will say "It is safe to 800 or 1600" etc. Rather than arguing with them, just say that you shoot your film pushed to 3200 or 6400. It is easier than trying to explain that each x-ray that the film goes through doubles the exposure, so one pass would be safe to 800, two to 400, 3 to 200 etc.

[frame-it]

21 hours ago, Rungroj Suppagarn said:

Do I need to change my F to 16 ?

if there is no spring controlling the blades then it doesn't matter, but people used to and some still say when storing a lens for a "long" time,  keep the lens stopped down [f16++] so there's less chance of oil drifting onto the aperture blades.

Edited December 11, 2022 by frame-it

[Doc Henry]

 I wrote these two posts about airport and film .

Have a good trip . Bon voyage 😀

 

[nitroplait]

Link to the Kodak Labels.

Slap one on a ziplock bag. If they don't accept/respect it, put the ziplock in a Domke lead bag and let it go through the X-ray.

If possible, buy the film at your location and process at the location.

If your livelihood depends on it; shoot digital.

[Rungroj Suppagarn]

Thank you so much all. I will try ask them for hand check first but if they refuse so I will just accept to scanners.

🙂

[stray cat]

As a matter of interest, how many airports will you pass through over the course of your entire journey?

[Rungroj Suppagarn]

8 hours ago, stray cat said:

As a matter of interest, how many airports will you pass through over the course of your entire journey?

I live in Thailabd so it would be Suvarnabhumi airport to Haneda airport. I will spend about 4-5 days then I will back from Narita airport to Suvarnabhumi airport. 

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[stray cat]

Just two scans then. Just take the precautions mentioned - take the rolls out of their packaging, put them in a clear plastic bag, and politely ask that you films be inspected by hand when you get to security. If they refuse (and they shouldn't) you should politely insist, as both Suvarnabhumi and Haneda are now equipped with CT scanners. The camera won't require any special treatment at all, just don't load it with film while you're flying.

Have a great trip and perhaps consider posting some pictures in the "I Like Film" thread or one of the others here when you return.

[nitroplait]

I had film going through Haneda and Narita in May/June. No CT scanner. Maybe it is possible to choose a line with a conventional X-ray scanner? 

This post from Largeformat Forum has pictures of what a CT scanner looks like. Easy to ID and maybe choose a different line if not all are equipped with CT.

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by nitroplait