Film and Airports 2008

[clive]

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Film and Airports 2008

I will be traveling to England via Boston during September '08 and wanted to know if it is safe to take the following film in carry-on baggage:

FujiPro160S

Provia 100F

They always tell you at the airport that it is safe to put the above film through airport x-ray machines, but is this still the case?

[Agent M10]

For travel, I put all my film in a Ziploc bag, along with some Delta 3200 rolls. I ask them to hand check it and never had them refuse.

 

I put in the 3200 rolls because sometimes they ask if the film is over 1600 and that way I can say, "Yes it is."

[ndjambrose]

For travel, I put all my film in a Ziploc bag, along with some Delta 3200 rolls. I ask them to hand check it and never had them refuse.

 

I put in the 3200 rolls because sometimes they ask if the film is over 1600 and that way I can say, "Yes it is."

 

You can't possibly have done this in any UK airport within the last few years. You're talking about security procedures where you have to remove your shoes for special inspection; where you're not even allowed to take on board a bottle of water; where you need to carry important medication in a transparent plastic bag; where even children are hand-searched. There is no hand inspection of anything in any main UK airport any longer, and there hasn't been for quite a while.

 

You may be able to get film into the country via hand inspection, but it certainly won't be leaving that way...

 

But - in answer to the original question - yes, you can take film through a carry on scanner perfectly safely. I travel a lot, always with film, some even rated at 3200. Never had a single problem.

[andybarton]

Never had a single problem.

 

Me neither.

 

It would be interesting to try to put your film in a clear "liquids" bag, and see what they say. Let us know how you get on, and what a full body cavity search is like when you try to negotiate with them

 

Don't forget to remove your belt too, and your watch if it's a metal bracelet, and be prepared to show that your laptop (which gets x-rayed separately) and your camera (ditto) work. Twice now, I have had my M7 removed from hand baggage and scanned "nude". Both times it was also swabbed for swabbable residue (drugs? plastic explosives? Brakspears? Who knows).

 

Leave plenty of time at the airport to get through security.

[Guest darkstar2004]

It's not about "safety." It's about control.

 

It's about unquestioning obediance and submission to "The Authorities." Such is our world in the year 2008.

 

Name one passenger jet that has been blown out of the sky by a propack of Tri-X or Velvia that was hand inspected.

 

Just one...

[Guest Colt Seavers]

I left about 280 rolls of exposed film (professional nature work i shot in Asia) and three loaded Leica M cameras (2xMP, M7) at Heathrow Airport because they denied my request for a hand check.

Eight months later they sent me the undeveloped films put out of the cartridge for inspection to our office. Can´t say if they were happy with my shots:rolleyes: , but the cameras and lenses (Nocti, lux 35, lux 50, cron 28, cron 75) never came back.

 

You better follow their orders!

[andybarton]

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Two years ago, who'd have thought that someone would try to blow up a 747 with a bottle of squash?

 

I don't object to having my camera looked at when going through security, not my film being x-rayed.

 

I do object to a lot of the other stuff, discussed here at length on other threads, though.

[earleygallery]

Likewise I don't mind the very thorough checks at the airports. They have started to relax them a little, you can now carry on two pieces of hand luggage for example. They are frustrating but ultimately for everyones safety.

 

So far I've never had any problems with films going through the x ray machines.

[ndjambrose]

..Name one passenger jet that has been blown out of the sky by a propack of Tri-X or Velvia that was hand inspected. Just one...

 

Problem is you're talking about a world where people have tried to smuggle explosive devices inside shoes, tubes of toothpaste and drinking water. Against that kind of backdrop it's not a surprise that film no longer gets special treatment.

 

If you've had any exposure to the media at all over the past few years you'll be aware of multiple attempts - some regrettably successful - to explode passenger jets and trains using innocuous devices.

[dentso]

In London Stansted: not problem (<3200 ISO).

 

DENTSO

[Guest Colt Seavers]

Mmmmmh, no screams? It seems to me, that you would accept such a treatment as a standard security thing. Good night, i was kidding. No problems so far, i got my hand inspections.

 

 

I left about 280 rolls of exposed film (professional nature work i shot in Asia) and three loaded Leica M cameras (2xMP, M7) at Heathrow Airport because they denied my request for a hand check.

Eight months later they sent me the undeveloped films put out of the cartridge for inspection to our office. Can´t say if they were happy with my shots:rolleyes: , but the cameras and lenses (Nocti, lux 35, lux 50, cron 28, cron 75) never came back.

 

You better follow their orders!

[Leitzmac]

I travel with my films in my hand luggage - apparently the scanners used on checked luggage are much more severe in terms of the radiation emitted. I put my film into one or two HAMA 'film safe super' lead lined bags (rated safe to ISO 3200) and have never had any film fogged. Like pcsmythe I often travel with 1600 and 3200 emulsions and before I used the bags was often asked by security staff if any of the film is over ISO 1600 (supposedly the scanners are 100% safe up to 1600). The reason I recommend the bags is that you never know if you're going to shoot all your film on a trip so some may make multiple trips therefore being exposed to X-ray (albeit low levels) repeatedly. I'm not sure of the cumulative effect over time, I don't use 3200 as often as the slower films so some of them are well travelled by the time they are finally exposed and processed, but the lead bags seem to have looked after them. On occasion I have been asked to show the contents of the bag, I have explained it's film, some over 1600 and rather than make me run it through again sans Hama bag, they have visually inspected and swabbed it for traces of explosives. I have only had two bad experiences with security, one with a rather over zealous member of security at LAX who got all of my filters out individually and handled them with his greasy fingers, I was beside myself, but managed a smile as it wasn't long after 9/11 so any challenge would probably have resulted in my arrest (cleaning them took hours - grrr). The other was a power happy ignoramus at a UK airport who insisted I put all my film through the X-ray, I knew I had some of the best pictures I was ever likely to take on those rolls and was terrified they'd be damaged - I pleaded with him to hand check/swab them, tried to explain the importance, but he physically snatched them out of my hand and put them on the conveyor. Hopefully none of you have the misfortune of encountering the latter member of security. I hope that some of the information above may be of use.

[john_newell]

I left about 280 rolls of exposed film (professional nature work i shot in Asia) and three loaded Leica M cameras (2xMP, M7) at Heathrow Airport because they denied my request for a hand check.

Eight months later they sent me the undeveloped films put out of the cartridge for inspection to our office. Can´t say if they were happy with my shots:rolleyes: , but the cameras and lenses (Nocti, lux 35, lux 50, cron 28, cron 75) never came back.

 

You better follow their orders!

 

And you'd better have insurance....

[Leitzmac]

Surely the original quote from Colt Seavers was a joke?! Nobody would stand for that treatment. Ha ha!

[Leitzmac]

Surely the original post by Colt Seavers was a joke?! Nobody would stand for that treatment, I think it's fair to say that should security decide to confiscate any Ms from the members on this forum they would have to prise them from our cold, dead fingers!

[Riccis]

Clive:

 

I travel all over the world and never had an issue. I used to hand check the film but after a few test in different airports no longer do so. I shoot Fuji and Delta 3200. I usually bring more film than needed so they may get scanned up to four times without an issue so far.

 

Of course, if you want to be safe, arrive early and ask them to hand check your film. If you are doing this, you should make the security folks this job the easiest possible by having all your 35mm loose outside of the plastic canisters and all medium format outside of the individual wraps.

 

Cheers,

[Riccis]

BTW, a photographer I know that used to cover the White House once did a test by leaving a roll of film in one of the scanners used by the secret service for about a month. After that, he went and shot the roll which came back without problems.

[peter_n]

Film and Airports 2008

I will be traveling to England via Boston during September '08 and wanted to know if it is safe to take the following film in carry-on baggage:

FujiPro160S

Provia 100F

They always tell you at the airport that it is safe to put the above film through airport x-ray machines, but is this still the case?

I made the same trip a couple of months ago, from Logan to Heathrow then Stansted to Berlin, back to Heathrow and home. My film went through the x-ray machines everywhere and there were no problems. They will hand-check your film in the US if you ask, but not in the UK or Europe. Don't worry about it.

[zapp]

I made the same trip a couple of months ago, from Logan to Heathrow then Stansted to Berlin, back to Heathrow and home. My film went through the x-ray machines everywhere and there were no problems. They will hand-check your film in the US if you ask, but not in the UK or Europe. Don't worry about it.

 

I had my film hand checked in Europe and there is no reason for security to refuse that. If you have a bomb in the film canister, well they hand check for traces of explosives. Hiding a huge knife in a film canister is also tricky - anyways ISO 100 film should be save.

X-Rays in Beijing Metro stations caught me lately with XP2 film. ISO 100 film was fine. Buy film on the way and have it developed before boarding if possible.

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[andybarton]

The reason that security will refuse to hand check film, is that they are too busy to do so, and it is, in fact, unnecessary.

 

I don't worry about it at all. I have taken 400ASA film through four airport x-ray machines in one day and it's been absolutely fine. What you DO need to do is make it easy for them to see the film in the x-ray machine. IMHO, lead lined bags only make matters worse, as they are likely to see just a solid metal lump in the x-ray machine, and repass the bag at a higher dose. Even then, you will still be subject to a hand search and swab when they can't see what's in the bag. Leaving it in a plastic bag, either in your hand luggage or in the plastic tray with your belt, keys, watch and shoes, makes it obvious that you have film, and they can give the bag the minimum x-ray necessary.

 

Security hold all the cards, and if they refuse to check your film, there's not much you can do. Make it easy for them, and you make it easier for yourself. Cause a fuss, and miss your flight.