Travelling With Film

JAPhotography

JAPhotography

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Jack
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Hello All,
I am going on a foreign holiday for the first time (Sad that I had to wait 16 years for it!) and I am hoping to take my trusty FE with me. However, I knw that the x-rays can corrupt the film. What procedures/actions do I need to use to get through without having to expose my equipment to danger? Any help regarding travelling with film also redily requested!
Thanks!
 
You don't, it's been years since xray machines damaged film.

If you are worried just put them in your hand luggage and take them out at security, chances are though they'll make you put them through anyway. DON'T wrap them in foil as you'll definitely get your bags searched.
 
I asked this a few months ago and the consensus of opinion here - and also from the xray operator in the airport - was that anything slower than iso800 would be fine and even above that you'd need repeated scanning to see any fogging.

My mate took iso800 Fuji Instax film on the trip that was the reason I was asking and another one - so 4 scans at least - and didn't experience any fogging.
 
Nawty said:
You don't, it's been years since xray machines damaged film.

If you are worried just put them in your hand luggage and take them out at security, chances are though they'll make you put them through anyway.
Click to expand...
They will, despite being told it'd be fine I asked if they could be examined by hand rather than scanned, it was a no both going out and coming back.

Nawty said:
DON'T wrap them in foil as you'll definitely get your bags searched.
Click to expand...

The foilish packaging that my mates Instax film was in certainly aroused suspicion, he got taken aside and had his bag swabbed and searched each time he went through the airport.
 
The general opinion on previous threads like this was that its fine to take film up to ISO 800 through hand luggage scanners but not in hold luggage as the scanners there are powerful enough to fog any sort of film. Hold luggage scanners have gotten much more powerful in recent years for security reasons and now unlike the older ones, they do fog film.
Above 800 needs about 25 scans before any damage should be visible according to Stansted airport

http://www.stanstedairport.com/portal/controller/dispatcher.jsp?CiID=ef7c6e1c95c8d110VgnVCM10000036821c0a____&ChID=00ef57d5c017d110VgnVCM10000036821c0a____&Ct=B2C_CT_GENERAL&CtID=448c6a4c7f1b0010VgnVCM200000357e120a____&ChPath=Home%5EStansted%5EGeneral%5EPlan+and+book+your+trip%5ETips+and+advice%5EAdvice+for+photographers&search=true

Also don't bother using a lead lined bag as all that does is make the operator increase the power to see through it, increasing the exposure to the film anyway. I took 160, 200 and 400 speed film to and from Turkey last year with 3 scans and it was fine (They X-Ray your luggage just to let you in the airport at Bodrum).
 
Back in 1998 I took some film to Australia (brought it back unused) and then to New York.

I counted some of the film had been through 13 airport security checks and I could see nothing wrong with the images.

This was 100asa Fuji slide film

HTH

David
 
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