XRAY: What is the truth? Does it affect the films?

LeicaFoReVer

LeicaFoReVer

Addicted to Rangefinders
Local time
12:31 AM
Joined
Jul 10, 2008
Messages
1,372
I have read many threads and posts with contradicting comments and opinions but I am right now really pissed of as I have my 100 iso color negative films with the photos I took during my triip to Cuba gave bad results...

They are not terrible but I am pretty sure that the quality overall is decreased with weak colors and increase in granularity....They dont look like they are from my leica M6 but from a cheap SLR.

So what is the truth? I heard people saying films below 800iso are safe..they what is that??

I will post some examples later on...
 
I have traveled all around the world with 400 ASA C41 film, including Russia, Africa, main-land China, through some very small airports - never had a problem. I never check my film though, always have it in my carry-ons; never have it hand-checked. How did you carry your film ?

100 ASA is too low to be affected, IMO. More likely a problem with the film (like getting really hot on the dashboard of a car), or the development process.

Roland.
 
Last edited:
I don't have any hard data for you -- just personal experience. I'm sure you know this, but there are two different sorts of scans (and mileage is going to vary depending on the age, condition and operation of equipment). One is the scanner for in-cabin luggage. Airlines have been saying for years that it will have no effect on ASA 400 or lower speed films. I have taken this with a grain of salt and asked for hand inspection, when possible. Trips to Italy, Japan, Russia, Taiwan and England over the last decade: no problem that I have been able to discern. I shoot only ASA 400 B&W films, so factor that into your evaluation of this.

The other scan (and a big no-no for film) is for checked luggage. Sounds like the power levels are high enough to fry McNuggets in your bags. Airlines advise against checking any film. Never done it. Never will.

Ben Marks
 
Carry on is fine up to iso 800. Anyfilm in check in will be screwed one way or the other, xray is applied to check in multiple time and is stronger as well. That's what BA told me
 
I’ve taken 400 all over the place without problems, and up to 1600 in one of those lead-bag things, without issue, always 135 however.

My hypothesis is that the steel case helps protect 135, I’d be more careful with 120
 
I had FP4 affected once in Las Vegas airport when I mistakenly left it loaded in a Leica M4P. So much for metal shielding. I've used lead bags ever since and had no trouble. Southwest Airlines in Kansas City is a stop I try to avoid. In the past, they have taken every roll out of the lead bag and swipe tested each one. It has taken as much as 45 minutes. Traveling east to west or visa versa, you have to leave the secure part of the terminal to make you connection and have to go through the process of checking in. The airport checkers I encountered two years in a row seemed to relish going through my camera bag and removing the caps from each leans as well. I've never had this problem anywhere else in the world.
 
I have scanned my own films but it is not the first time I scan those films. Ektar and Reala...I did not get nice lovely colors and clarity I usually get...It can be developing then maybe...I had it developed in WalMart :) Well they were absolutely ok till now...Was it a mistake?

The films were in my hand luggage...
 
I wont let xrays near my film, I have had them damage 100 and 200 speed films before so I am extra cautious because most of my film nowaday is 400. Its not worth the trouble to have that one critical frame screwed up.
 
X-Ray is harmful for film that is for sure. Somebody posted a vidoe recently on "how the film is made" by Kodak factory. Look up for it. I'd say your grain and low contrast is more likely to be caused by a hot temperature in Cuba and even more likely smth was wrong during the process, soup temperature or timing or freshness of the chemical... You'd never know, now :-(
 
I don't think it's x-rays provided you were careful, i.e you didn't pack your film in your checked luggage. I had NP1600 x-ray'd at Barajas in Madrid - no problems; Agfa 100, Reala 100, & Tri-X 400 baggage x-ray'd going into Nadi in Fiji - no problems. Sounds like it was the processing. Walmart? If I have color from travel halfway around the world I take it to a pro lab I trust.
 
I request a hand check for 800+ films, never put the films in the checked bagged. That being said, I did accidently pack 20 rolls of 100 in my checked baggage when returning from China, and I can't see any issues on those rolls despite that.
 
I agree with what everyone else has said, really. Over the past 20 years or so, I've carried an awful lot of film though all sorts of airports, and I've never had a single film affected - they claim that the hand-baggage XRay machines don't damage film, and my experience seems to support that.

I'd avoid putting film in checked-in baggage though, as there is no guarantee there. However, last year I had a bit of a mental blank and carried a load of films in my checked-in baggage from Manchester Airport, UK. And they were unaffected - my ISO 100 slide film and ISO 400 b&w were all fine.

Best,
 
Yes it will ruin your film. I use in x-rays in my work and have a great deal of experience. X-ray damage is cumylative in film as in living tissue. It depends on dosage and film speed. I've traveled a great deal with film and never had a problem until this spring when my camera bag was x-rayed in the carry on scanner in Paris. I had 400 B&W film ruined showing a distinct pattern indicating a heavy dose from a single exposure. My 100 showed no damage but all of the 400 was ruined. Your description sounds like x-ray fog.
 
At least a bit of research seems to have been conducted on this. I chased a few results down the last time the subject came up here. In short, the scanners used to check carry-on luggage produced no visible damage in film below 800. The machines that scan checked luggage use a different technology and are much more powerful. No film was found to escape damage from their scans.

There are a couple of variables in all this. One is how well a given machine has been maintained and how well it is calibrated. Another is the fact that the impact of the scans is cumulative. I.e., chances of visible damage increase as you put the film through multiple scans.

In my own experience, with 100, 400 and 800 film, I've seen no damage from carry-on scans on trips that included up to six scans.

I've never used a lead-lined bag, figuring that obviously hiding something from security crews is a bit pointless. They might pull the film out and hand check it. Or, they might pull it out and send it through the machine again.

Going by anecdotal reports here and elsewhere, requests for a hand check of film may or may not be successful. I've seen a number of posts that say requests for hand checks will not be entertained at any major UK airport.

Finally, for folks flying international routes into Washington Dulles: After recently flying into Dulles on an international flight, I was tagged for a secondary customs inspection. This entailed putting every bag I was carrying -- including the bag with the exposed film -- through a scanner of some sort. I saw no damage when the film was processed and scanned.

[ADD: The trouble with research on this (which ought to be dead simple to do) is that different airports use different machines, and the condition of any given machine must be a factor. How often are carryon machines calibrated? If a machine starts to emit abnormally high levels, can the operator detect that, or will it only come to someone's attention during periodic maintenance? Do operator skills have any impact? Are older faulty machines scrapped or sold to other airports?]
 
Last edited:
Well my father is retired photographer for 30years and he was sayig exposed film is never an issue under Xrays.

As you see we still get different experiences and ideas here...:(

We need to call mythbusters to solve that problem :)
 
Bill;
I've never used a lead-lined bag, figuring that obviously hiding something from security crews is a bit pointless. They might pull the film out and hand check it. Or, they might pull it out and send it through the machine again.
Click to expand...

I’ve used a lead bag for 2 or 3 years now, I put it through in the tray with my watch and small change.
so far no one has even opened it, a couple of times the operators have picked it up read the text then just passed it back to me.
 
Stewart, have you asked anyone if the machine can or cannot see inside the bag? I'm not doubting your experience, but I'm not happy with the notion that security staff allow bags with unknown contents onto aircraft.
 
Even with my cheap SLR I have not had trouble with carry on film that was x-rayed. I have had trouble by somehow under exposing C41 film when taking the photo and/or when the developing was off.

Bob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom