Choosing film and x-ray questions

[George Stoichev]

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Hi colleagues,

I’m planing a family trip to Vienna next week.Instead of taking my Leica M6 I’ll take my Contax G2, because it has 35mm lens and for the Lieca I have only 50mm Summicron, but I thing that is good idea to have wider lens which normally I dislike, but to shoot buildings they are great.

1. I’m hesitating what film to take. Provia 100 / Ektar 100 - amazing colors , but too slow, if the weather is cloudy…

As alternative Portra 800 could be great choice, it’s colors are amazing? What color film would you pick in my place?

2.I’m worried, because on 10.04 when I get back is a holiday in Austria and I couldn’t develop my films before the flight. In case the airport service don’t allow hand check I have a special Domke bag for films, but I never test it. Can somebody confirm wether this bag is useful and protect the films? Any suggestions?

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[LocalHero1953]

We can advise you better about specific airports (there is a thread about them) if you tell us where you are flying from.  

[stray cat]

I am planning on a holiday in Europe next month. In an attempt to avoid any x-ray issues I have had film sent to an address there. Before I leave to go home I intend sending a bunch of exposed film to Carmencita Lab in Spain, who will develop it and send the processed film to me in Australia. It is slightly more expensive to do it this way but I think it will be better for peace of mind, not having to think about x-ray issues. And yes, the Domke lead bags work, as long as it is an older type airport scanner, not the newer CAT scanners, in which case it's in the lap of the gods.

[LocalHero1953]

9 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

We can advise you better about specific airports (there is a thread about them) if you tell us where you are flying from.  

My apologies - I was reading your post on my phone, which didn't show your city. I now see it's Sofia.

You might find this thread helpful. Or this. A forum search for 'airport scanners' reveals a number of recent threads on the subject.

FWIW, I recently took a couple of unprotected rolls of Portra 160 to the Netherlands and back by train, with the film X-rayed in London and Paris. It had no ill effects, which is what the Eurostar website advises: no effects on film up to ISO 400, and effects only visible on ISO 800 after 32 scans.

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by LocalHero1953

[Anbaric]

14 hours ago, George Stoichev said:

Hi colleagues,

I’m planing a family trip to Vienna next week.Instead of taking my Leica M6 I’ll take my Contax G2, because it has 35mm lens and for the Lieca I have only 50mm Summicron, but I thing that is good idea to have wider lens which normally I dislike, but to shoot buildings they are great.

1. I’m hesitating what film to take. Provia 100 / Ektar 100 - amazing colors , but too slow, if the weather is cloudy…

As alternative Portra 800 could be great choice, it’s colors are amazing? What color film would you pick in my place?

2.I’m worried, because on 10.04 when I get back is a holiday in Austria and I couldn’t develop my films before the flight. In case the airport service don’t allow hand check I have a special Domke bag for films, but I never test it. Can somebody confirm wether this bag is useful and protect the films? Any suggestions?

If you like Kodak, how about Portra 400? Personally, I like Superia 400 a lot (when I can find it).

CT scanners are the big issue. They have been used with checked luggage for a while (so never put your film there), and are increasingly being used for carry-on. I don't worry about conventional carry-on scanners, but if you are refused a hand inspection and your film goes through a CT scanner then it will be damaged, even in a 'protective' bag. Reportedly, damage can vary from trashed film, to partially fogged negatives you may be able to recover usable images from, but really all bets are off:

https://emulsive.org/articles/experiments/testing-ct-scanners-heres-how-badly-they-can-damage-your-film

Edited March 27, 2023 by Anbaric

[George Stoichev]

What is CT scanner? The one that check the baggage or the one at the hand bags check?

[Anbaric]

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1 hour ago, George Stoichev said:

What is CT scanner? The one that check the baggage or the one at the hand bags check?

It's a particular type of scanner that uses powerful X-ray beams to give a detailed image of the contents of your bags, similar to medical CT (CAT) scanners. You can see some pictures of common models here:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ct+scanner+baggage&tbm=isch

Ilford mentions these models:

https://www.ilfordphoto.com/faqs/

    Smiths – CTIX
    L3 – Clearscan
    Rapiscan - 920CT / Connect CT
    IDSS - Detect 1000
    Nuctech - Kylin
    Analogic Cobra

In the past, CT scanners were only used for checked-in baggage. But recently, they have started to use them at some airports to scan hand baggage too, and their use will only increase over time. Most travellers will probably see them as an improvement, because they can scan things like laptops and liquids without separating them from the rest of your luggage. But for the minority of photographers still travelling with film, they are a new problem.

Edited March 27, 2023 by Anbaric