Sparrow
Veteran
Well at least we will know the truth of the matter shortly, please report the outcome ...
I suspect if one film is irradiated then sadly all the lot will be spoiled, both exposed and not ...
X-Ray exposure - how bad is the damage?
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Well at least we will know the truth of the matter shortly, please report the outcome ...
I suspect if one film is irradiated then sadly all the lot will be spoiled, both exposed and not ...
rxmd
May contain traces of nut
Of course one can always put a dosimeter in the luggage, then you know for sure how much X-raying it got.
keatensaba
Member
There are signs at my local airport for film going through the xrays and it says if your film is under 800ISO yur safe.
j j
Well-known
I did the same with a whole 2-week trip's film in Senegal. I am pretty sure it was X-rayed as some films were slightly more grainy and lower contrast than normal. But, basically they were OK and some pics even looked better for it. They were far from being ruined. It is too easy to catastrophize such events.
In your position for peace of mind I either would try developing a roll and see or get some new film and save the suspect rolls for something less important than glorious weather in Oslo. If neither of those is an option, I would not worry and just see what happens when you use the film you have.
In your position for peace of mind I either would try developing a roll and see or get some new film and save the suspect rolls for something less important than glorious weather in Oslo. If neither of those is an option, I would not worry and just see what happens when you use the film you have.
Bingley
Veteran
I may have dodged a bullet...
I may have dodged a bullet...
I got two rolls I'd shot earlier in the trip developed at a minilab in Oslo. Both rolls had been in my checked bag y'day, and thus possibly exposed to higher strength x-rays used to scan checked luggage. The pics appear to be fine - no fogging or other artifacts attributable to x-ray exposure (see the link at ChrisN's post). I also shot one of the blank rolls today that may have been zapped, and will get it processed in Bergen in several days. If the pics are OK, then we will know one or two things: my bag wasn't x-rayed, even though I checked it, or the film is able to withstand a shot of x-rays better than we thought. I'll report. And I'm getting all of my film hand-checked for the remainder of the trip.
BTW, film is very expensive in Oslo. Four rolls of Portra 160NC and five rolls of TMax400 ran me around $110. Ouch! 😱 Be glad for Freestyle and B&H.
I may have dodged a bullet...
I got two rolls I'd shot earlier in the trip developed at a minilab in Oslo. Both rolls had been in my checked bag y'day, and thus possibly exposed to higher strength x-rays used to scan checked luggage. The pics appear to be fine - no fogging or other artifacts attributable to x-ray exposure (see the link at ChrisN's post). I also shot one of the blank rolls today that may have been zapped, and will get it processed in Bergen in several days. If the pics are OK, then we will know one or two things: my bag wasn't x-rayed, even though I checked it, or the film is able to withstand a shot of x-rays better than we thought. I'll report. And I'm getting all of my film hand-checked for the remainder of the trip.
BTW, film is very expensive in Oslo. Four rolls of Portra 160NC and five rolls of TMax400 ran me around $110. Ouch! 😱 Be glad for Freestyle and B&H.
Last edited:
Bingley
Veteran
Most airports have similar notices, but I think those apply to scans of carry-on bags, not to the higher powered x-rays used on checked luggage.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
It's astonishing how many people have failed to read the word CHECKING. Did their teachers at school never impress on them, READ THE QUESTION?
IF it's been X-rayed with the powerful checked baggage scanners, it will ALL be written off. That stuff can write off paper, never mind film.
If not, not, and they aren't always X-rayed. The rest of the stuff here uis pure piffle.
Cheers.
R
Leigh Youdale
Well-known
I'm with Roger. It's also astonishing how often this same topic comes up with much the same discussion. I'd really like it if only those people who have experienced this problem contributed and all the others who work on guesswork, homespun theorising and hearsay held their misinformation for bar-room sessions.
If you put any film, exposed or unexposed, through checked baggage scanners then you must assume it is ruined. You won't know until you test it whether it did get scanned or not, but you can't risk it if the shots you're going to take are important to you. I have negatives of part of a UK trip that I've never printed because of the damage. There was a security scare at Heathrow as I was departing and NOTHING could be taken on board. It was a case of "comply or don't fly". Everyone was made to repack at the airport.
In spite of the paranoia brought on by this event, in 20 years of international air travel on an almost monthly basis, I have never experienced problems with Xray damage to film packed in cabin luggage that was ISO400 or less, even with multiple trips carrying the same film. I can't say with certainty that ISO 1600 or 3200 would not eventually show some effects. I avoided taking those films with me on those trips.
Travelling in third world countries I do try to get a hand inspection as some of the machines look pretty second rate but I believe that due to their age they are much more likely to under-expose than overexpose because of their old technology and poor maintenance. Even when hand inspection was refused I never had a problem with my film. The biggest problem was explaining to someone in those situations what a film camera is and what film is. Most don't own a camera or if they do it's a digital P&S. Since they mostly carry guns I try to exercise judgement in making any requests!
If you put any film, exposed or unexposed, through checked baggage scanners then you must assume it is ruined. You won't know until you test it whether it did get scanned or not, but you can't risk it if the shots you're going to take are important to you. I have negatives of part of a UK trip that I've never printed because of the damage. There was a security scare at Heathrow as I was departing and NOTHING could be taken on board. It was a case of "comply or don't fly". Everyone was made to repack at the airport.
In spite of the paranoia brought on by this event, in 20 years of international air travel on an almost monthly basis, I have never experienced problems with Xray damage to film packed in cabin luggage that was ISO400 or less, even with multiple trips carrying the same film. I can't say with certainty that ISO 1600 or 3200 would not eventually show some effects. I avoided taking those films with me on those trips.
Travelling in third world countries I do try to get a hand inspection as some of the machines look pretty second rate but I believe that due to their age they are much more likely to under-expose than overexpose because of their old technology and poor maintenance. Even when hand inspection was refused I never had a problem with my film. The biggest problem was explaining to someone in those situations what a film camera is and what film is. Most don't own a camera or if they do it's a digital P&S. Since they mostly carry guns I try to exercise judgement in making any requests!
filmfan
Well-known
Don't check the film. The Xray machines give out less damage to film than just being at a high altitude for a period of time (aka, in the plane).
dfoo
Well-known
Nonsense. I accidently put 20 rolls of B&W ISO 100 film in my checked luggage. The film was fine, and yes, I do know what to look for.
dfoo
Well-known
See my prior post. Perhaps they didn't xray my film, but for sure I put it in the baggage and all of the film is fine. I'm not recommending putting the film in checked luggage by and means but to say the film will be written off is simply not the case.
Leigh Youdale
Well-known
Roger did say "IF" - in capitals!
And I concur. IF the films go through the checked baggage scanner they WILL be ruined.
The exposed films from the Heathrow incident are overall fogged, with stronger bands running through the frames and unable to be repaired to be printable.
The unexposed films were the same with the bands running diagonally across the film, obviously showing the orientation of the film cartridges to the scanning head as they went through.
Bingley
Veteran
Yes, to be clear, my predicament concerns exposed and unexposed film left in checked luggage, not hand-carried onboard.
That said, I'm cautiously optimistic (to use a hackneyed phrase) based on the two rolls I had developed y'day: no sign of banding or fogging in either, leaving me to think that, although the bag was checked between Stockhom and Oslo it escaped being x-rayed.
That said, I'm cautiously optimistic (to use a hackneyed phrase) based on the two rolls I had developed y'day: no sign of banding or fogging in either, leaving me to think that, although the bag was checked between Stockhom and Oslo it escaped being x-rayed.
Bingley
Veteran
Whew!
Whew!
The test roll I shot in Oslo turned out OK - no banding or fogging. This was one of the unexposed rolls that was in my checked luggage on a flight from Stockholm. All I can say is that my bag must not have been x-rayed, at least not w/ the high powered machines used to scan checked (as opposed to carry-on) luggage. I got lucky.
Thanks for the advice, everyone. The film all goes in carry-on from now on.😱🙂
Whew!
The test roll I shot in Oslo turned out OK - no banding or fogging. This was one of the unexposed rolls that was in my checked luggage on a flight from Stockholm. All I can say is that my bag must not have been x-rayed, at least not w/ the high powered machines used to scan checked (as opposed to carry-on) luggage. I got lucky.
Thanks for the advice, everyone. The film all goes in carry-on from now on.😱🙂
Roger Hicks
Veteran
As I said in an earlier post, I'm constantly surprised by people who don't actually read what was written. IF film (or even paper) is X-rayed by the high-powered machines, it will be ruined. If not, not. Yours wasn't X-rayed. Not 'perhaps'. It wasn't. Ask anyone who works for a film manufacturer, or at a airport.
Nor, thank God, was the OP's film X-rayed.
Cheers,
R.
Freakscene
Obscure member
The beam from the CTX-5000 and other check in scanners is very concentrated and narrow. Film that is scanned in this way doesn't display lower overall contrast; depending on the angle of the scan, you will see wavy lines of varying density and pattern over the film.
Luckily it sounds like the OPs bag was not scanned.
Marty
muser53
MUSER53
I suspect you're film will be fine now as for all those digital sensors...http://www.petapixel.com/20111/07/07/does-bringing-a-camera-onto-an-airplane-damage-its-sensor/
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