film and airport XRAYS ?

[proenca]

Hi there,

Being new to film again ( after 5 years of digital ) , I forgot about films and xrays... I have quite a few rolls to take on a trip, should I take them on my hand lugagge or put them in the cargo hold ? Since both lugagge will be xray screen ( i belive that lugagge that goes to the cargo hold has to be screened ), which one is better or no difference ? I've head that xrays fog film ?

I intend to take :

Kodak BW400CN
Fuji Velvia 100F
Fuji NPH 400 PRO

And my M7 has a roll inside of it, half used, Ilford Xp2 400

Ideas ?

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

No film in the camera, they may want you to open it.

Kodak and Fuji you mention are manufactured outside of Britain, so any films you have got will have been x rayed already as cargo when imported.

 

[proenca]

well actually i bought them from Hong Kong, they came shipped via postal. That means I have no problems with them screenning them in a XRAY ?

 

[sunsworth]

Take them as hand luggage. Don't put them in the hold, the two use different sytems of X-rays. The one used for hold luggage is stronger

I'm not convinced that everything that is imported will have been X-rayed. Do they really unpack all those containers at the docks and X-ray the contents?

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

At British ports they xray 40 foot containers. They are looking for people smuggling but everyting gets roasted by the same xrays, even Kodak and Fuji.

 

[Dr E]

At British ports they xray 40 foot containers. They are looking for people smuggling but everyting gets roasted by the same xrays, even Kodak and Fuji.

My wife has been involved in shipping for over 20 years, and they do not xray containers that arrive at British ports.

They might open it to check the contents but do not xray them. Wouldn't be feasable.

This is a great thread as I'm off to Malta next year and am also planingto take film.

Mick

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Look for the xrays of migrant workers inside trucks at Dover.

 

[sunsworth]

At British ports they xray 40 foot containers. They are looking for people smuggling but everyting gets roasted by the same xrays, even Kodak and Fuji.

Really? I though metal was impervious to X-Rays?

 

[Finder]

Film should alway be carry on. The x-ray machine for luggage for the hold is far stronger and will fog your film. You can check the Kodak site about this.

 

[gareth]

Are you sure Jon? I think there might be a health and safety issue with x-raying people . You need a pretty powerful machine to x-ray right through a shipping container.

More likely they use sniffer dogs and infra red heat sensing equipment.

Anyway getting film and gear on planes in some countries can be a problem now and again. And right now it's a problem in the uk.

During the recent high alert film was not allowed on board. Official advice from the airports authority in the UK has been not to check film into the hold. But neither would they allow it on board for over a week on flights out of the UK. They stated that film would be checked into the hold at the passengers own risk. In other words there was point in flying if you were taking film.

At the moment you can get it onboard the plane I understand, but hand baggage allowance is restricted, though it has been stated that this will be relaxed any day now.

Getting round the hand baggage scanner is not always easy. If you are just doing one or two passes there is no need to worry, just make sure the scanner is marked film safe. If you are doing work for a client or you have many flights you may still wish to get the film on board without getting it scanned. Multiple scans or one faulty scanner can effect your film.

Best advice is download and print the x-ray advice from the Kodak web site. Read it, understand it, and mark the relevant areas http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/tib/tib5201.shtml#SEC43

Phone the airport and airline and seek advice, refer to your Kodak document, or at least arrive at the airport in plenty of time. Raise the issue at check in, and again proceed to passport control with plenty of time to spare.

I recently (April) flew from Glasgow, via London and Vienna on the way to Tirana. I only got scanned once and that was at Glasgow (two planes had been diverted to nearby Prestwick with onboard bomb scares that week). Everywhere else, armed with the Kodak advice, a good few rolls of Delta 3200, and stating that I often 'push process' I managed to get hand searches. The easiest place to get a hand search was Heathrow to my surprise. They just said no problem, and then swabbed my film canisters for explosives. Nobody else swabbed my film. If you have business cards or paper work stating that you are a professional shooter that can help too.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Really? I though metal was impervious to X-Rays?

So, an aluminum case cannot be xrayed?

 

[gareth]

X-rays can go through anything, X-rays and their more powerful sibling gamma can travel huge distances.
In fact you get a good dose of gamma and x-ray everytime you fly.

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[gareth]

Gareth, what makes you think these people are concerned about illegal immigrants' health?? Detecting them successfully seems to be more the issue. Not that I'm aware of X-Rays actually being used in such circumstances...

I really don't know if cargo containers are x-rayed or not, and if they are checked for people first before x-raying.

But nor do I think health and safety legislation discriminates against anybody, not as far as I am aware anyway here in the UK.

Me thinks we are going off track a bit anyway.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Back on topic: No your film wil be fine. i've been in photography for forty odd years and seen this same discussion a hundred times.

Off topic: Economic migrants make the world go round.

 

[billbarber]

My b&W and 400 and slower color film has not been harmed by the carry on scanners. Last year in Providence, I shot a lot of 800 speed that went through the scanner. It was discolored and fogged. All of it.
I was recently on a cruise with my 400 speed color film that was scanned previously and each time I returned to the ship (through port customs and the ship security). It came out just fine. There must have been some rolls that were scanned a dozen times.

 

[peter_n]

Off topic: Economic migrants make the world go round.

This is unfortunately correct. proenca welcome to the forum! 🙂 You got some good advice above: film never goes in the hold, always be polite, and try to make their job as easy as possible. One thing I do is take the film out of the canisters and place film and canisters (with the tops off) in separate clear plastic bags. That way they can examine and/or swab whatever they want very easily and quickly.

I had my film x-rayed in Madrid last year (including NP1600) - no problems...

 

[gareth]

You got some good advice above: film never goes in the hold, always be polite, and try to make their job as easy as possible. One thing I do is take the film out of the canisters and place film and canisters (with the tops off) in separate clear plastic bags. That way they can examine and/or swab whatever they want very easily and quickly.

Yeah forgot to mention that. I removed all the film from it's packaging, so it was down to just the bare cannisters in clear food bags.

I generally agree with Jon, your film will be fine going through the carry on scanner. But if you have multiple passes, very high speed film or you like to push process, you may wish to try and avoid that scanner.

Basically avoid the darn scanner if you can, but if they get stroppy, don't go missing your flight for something which is pretty small risk.

And if they loose the plot like they did a few weeks ago in the UK, and insist you put your film in the hold (which is what they did), then either get your film toasted or find another way home.

 

[sirius]

I read on the NG Web site about a photographer who checks his cameras (protected in hard foam-inside cases) and carried on his film to avoid the stronger x-rays that they blast the luggage with.

This was also interesting. From the National Geo photography FAQ site:

How do photographers ship their film?
Mostly by air express. The film is put into the original film can and packed securely to prevent damage from impact and moisture. The rolls are numbered in sequence as they were shot. When a fairly large amount of film is shipped, a photographer will often divide the film into two shipments—even-numbered rolls in one shipment, odd in another. This way if one shipment is lost or damaged at least every other roll will survive. A photographer usually notifies headquarters when a shipment is made and provides the air bill number: If the shipment does not arrive when expected, it’s easier to trace it successfully if the process is initiated immediately.

 

[peter_n]

Thanks for that post sirius. Very interesting! 🙂