X-RAY Paranoia - Fact or Fiction

[tlitody]

Please now vote in the follow up poll and not this one - click this to goto follow up poll

This crops up so often and some people don't worry about and some do so lets find out what peoples actual experience is.

Have you ever had a film damaged by airport X-Ray ?

Was it recent or a long time ago. Yes of course x-ray is capable of fogging film but does it in the dose our film gets? The proof of the pudding is in the eating so the poll might give us a clue of whether it really is a problem today, right now, not 10 or more years ago.

And telll us if it was x-ray's one or many times. How many times? Are you a frequent flyer with film?

note: you can select more than one option.

And if you are one of the people that has had film fried, then please tell us about it below. Where and how long ago. Which film etc...

 

[saxshooter]

Years ago I've had some base fogging of TMAX 3200, but you're not supposed to xray that 😉

Last week I traveled from NYC to Jakarta with a box of Ilford HP5 4x5 film in my back pocket and walked through a few magnitometers. Didn't set off anything.

Xray is cumulative. I think if you keep it in your hand carry luggage you will be fine with up to ASA 800 film. I never noticed any problems.

Checked in luggage may be a different story. Since I never did check exposed or unexposed film, I have no experience with damage. But have read enough stories about CT Scan type devices that will damage film so I would avoid doing so.

 

[segedi]

I forgot 2 pro-packs (10 rolls) in my checked baggage leaving Heathrow... and was surprised that it was complete fine after shootign and dev!

 

[KenR]

No problems despite multiple flights with the film. In China I took several internal flights with lots of 100 and 400 speed film - no fogging despite each roll being X-rayed 6 times. Other trips required fewer passes through the scanners, also without incident.

 

[johannielscom]

We really should have a sticky on this somewhere, since it keeps creeping up every three months :bang:

Having a sticky to refer people too would be so nice.


Other than that: there's lots of posts on the forum to find out about this! Go fetch! 😉 😀

 

[scottwallick]

Definitively, a fact.

X-rays are, based on science, damaging to film, dogs, people, computers, chickens, etc. The damage is cumulative (as Saxshooter notes). X-ray dosage varies by machine, sensitivity to X-rays varies by film. Film speed (sensitively) plays an important role.

A sensible question would be, how much X-ray dosage for [insert type] film will cause visible damage? Instead of questioning if X-rays have the ability to affect film.

 

[tlitody]

Yes of course x-ray is capable of fogging film but does it in the dose our film gets? The proof of the pudding is in the eating so the poll might give us a clue of whether it really is a problem today, right now, not 20 or more years ago.

 

[bobby_novatron]

I traveled in Europe in July 2010 and had my hand luggage scanned 4 times (again, the bags were with me at passenger check-in, not checked into cargo) ... I was shooting C-41 ISO 100 film, some E-6, and HP5+. I got the film developed when I got home. Nothing. Nada. If there was any damage, I couldn't see it.

In April 2011 my mom came to visit me from Arizona. I asked her to bring some new Portra 400 with her (not easy to get here in Canada yet), explicitly telling her to put it in her handbag and take the film through security with her. She instead put it in her checked luggage. <gulp!>

After hearing about the high-intensity X-ray machines the TSA uses for checked baggage, I thought the Portra 400 would be cooked. I developed a test roll. Nothing. No issues. Again, if there was any damage, I couldn't see it.

I used to be very uptight about the film + x-ray machine issue, but I think unless you're carting around high-speed film and going through numerous airports, there will be no noticeable problems.

 

[bobby_novatron]

bmattock -- thanks for that info and the link. That's very informative.

Kodak also has a link about this issue. The info isn't that current but I think still relevant.

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/tib/tib5201.shtml

.

 

[Vics]

I traveled in Europe in July 2010 and had my hand luggage scanned 4 times (again, the bags were with me at passenger check-in, not checked into cargo) ... I was shooting C-41 ISO 100 film, some E-6, and HP5+. I got the film developed when I got home. Nothing. Nada. If there was any damage, I couldn't see it.

In April 2011 my mom came to visit me from Arizona. I asked her to bring some new Portra 400 with her (not easy to get here in Canada yet), explicitly telling her to put it in her handbag and take the film through security with her. She instead put it in her checked luggage. <gulp!>

After hearing about the high-intensity X-ray machines the TSA uses for checked baggage, I thought the Portra 400 would be cooked. I developed a test roll. Nothing. No issues. Again, if there was any damage, I couldn't see it.

I used to be very uptight about the film + x-ray machine issue, but I think unless you're carting around high-speed film and going through numerous airports, there will be no noticeable problems.

I had the impression that checked luggage was checked at random. Not every bag gets X-rayed. Is that true?

 

[tlitody]

I had the impression that checked luggage was checked at random. Not every bag gets X-rayed. Is that true?

The powers that be aren't going to give out that information. The official line will always be that it is all checked. Anything else is pure speculation.

 

[Photon42]

At least for me that's a more useful poll than querying black chrome / black paint preferences 😀

 

[thegman]

Never had any visible damage on up to 1600 ISO film. I've never checked film though, only ever carry-on.

 

[imush]

I had the impression that checked luggage was checked at random. Not every bag gets X-rayed. Is that true?

Used to be so; these days it is routinely scanned, at least when you depart from a major airport like JFK, SFO or BOS. If I forget film in the baggage, it does fog over. I have seen this with Tri-X and Neopan 1600 at least twice.

Never noticed any such damage from the carry-on scanners.

 

[Bingley]

I had the impression that checked luggage was checked at random. Not every bag gets X-rayed. Is that true?

See this thread: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108214

 

[Freakscene]

X-rays fog film. I have done quite a few controlled tests at Adelaide and Brisbane airports and found exactly what Kodak and Fuji tell us: if you check your film in and it gets scanned, it will be fogged irrespective of the speed. The hand-luggage scanners increase base fog, and after ~10 passes with 400 or slower film, or ~5 passes with 800-3200 speed film you notice it. Less than that, the difference is minimal but measureable.

Marty

 

[Gregowitz]

Hand baggage scanners are significantly lower intensity than checked baggage scanners, and my understanding is that every piece of checked baggage gets scanned. Its difficult to tell what dose your film would get exposed to in a checked baggage scan because while the TSA standards might be the same for the whole country, the machines that work to those standards are all different. Most are based on multi-shot CT systems, but others not, resolutions vary, etc. European standards are different all over again. Safest plan is to only take film in your hand luggage!

 

[Freakscene]

I had the impression that checked luggage was checked at random. Not every bag gets X-rayed. Is that true?

I put a short length of film in my check-in bag for each leg when I travel to assess this. In short, it depends on the country and airport. Some take an epidemiological approach where they scan a selection, some scan everything.

Marty

 

[Bob Michaels]

X-rays fog film. I have done quite a few controlled tests at Adelaide and Brisbane airports and found exactly what Kodak and Fuji tell us: if you check your film in and it gets scanned, it will be fogged irrespective of the speed. The hand-luggage scanners increase base fog, and after ~10 passes with 400 or slower film, or ~5 passes with 800-3200 speed film you notice it. Less than that, the difference is minimal but measureable.

Marty

Marty: thanks for some pertinent scientific information.

I assign much more significance to this that all the anecdotes (most in the concurrent thread) saying "I flew, they x-rayed my film, it looks OK to me"

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Years ago I've had some base fogging of TMAX 3200, but you're not supposed to xray that 😉

Hi,

Did you pass your P3200 just once or several times through the carry-on machines?


Cheers,

Juan