Re: Packing Film

[a1moty]

With the new security everywhere, is it safe to pack film in the checked luggage--or should you still put it in your carry on? (I know if I went digital I wouldn't have to worry about this--)
Thanks for your help.

[Orcrone]

I read an article in a photography magazine that essentially said that anything below 800 ASA should be fine. However, I've heard of people complain of lower speed films still getting affected by X-Ray machines. I always keep my film in my camera bag which I take seperately as carry-on, so I don't have any first hand experience with it going through the scanners used on checked luggage.

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

At Pittsburgh International there are big signs stating: do not pack any film in checked luggage because damage may result.

:)

[Orcrone]

:)

At Pittsburgh International there are big signs stating: do not pack any film in checked luggage because damage may result.

:)

Who am I to argue with Pittsburgh International?;) I will make sure I carry on all film in the future.

[Bill S]

My daughter-in-law forgot to remove her unused rolls of film from her checked suitcase when she flew recently, and they were all ruined by the xray unit at the airport. She learned the hard way. :mad:

[a1moty]

Thanks for your input---it will be much easier to put it in my carry-on today
instead of riffling through my luggage tomorrow trying to save it from the xrays!
This board is a fountain of information---thanks to all of you!!;)

[ger_77]

I don't care what the experts say, I'm speaking from experience. We were recently in Europe on HAL's Black Sea & Beyond cruise and I carried 8 rolls of 400ASA film in my carry-on. Well, by the time the bag went through airport scanners at:
1) home airport
2) Toronto connection
3) Frankfurt
4)various times reboarding the cruise ship
5) Rome
6) Munich
7) Montreal
8) Toronto
the colour was really fouled up. Much of the Mediterranean looks almost purplish compared to the gorgeous blue it actually was, and the Black Sea certainly looked nothing like my photos show it to be.

Thankfully we had our digital camera with us as well and my DH took a number of really good photos with it. The next time I travel with film, it will be in a lead lined bag in my carry-on. The screeners can remove each roll if they want to, but they're not going to ruin my vacation photos!

Just my 2 cents worth!

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[Globaliser]

I read an article in a photography magazine that essentially said that anything below 800 ASA should be fine. However, I've heard of people complain of lower speed films still getting affected by X-Ray machines. I always keep my film in my camera bag which I take seperately as carry-on, so I don't have any first hand experience with it going through the scanners used on checked luggage.No undeveloped film is ever fine going through checked baggage scanners - never, ever, pack undeveloped film in checked baggage.

Up to ISO 800 is fine if it goes through cabin baggage X-ray machines a few times. In general, the lower the film speed, the more times it can go through within its usual tolerance. But damage is cumulative, and if you are going to be putting any particular film through dozens of X-ray machines, then a lead-lined film bag is a good idea - but still in your cabin baggage, not in checked baggage.

I have just got into the habit of using a lead-lined bag for carrying film in anyway because I need a bag of some sort. But I started doing this when on one trip I worked out that my film was going to go through over a dozen X-ray machines before I got home - and I've now done many similar trips since.

[Aussie Gal]

We have always been fine with our rolls of film after being in Europe but we were warned on the Princess Board about bringing home film from Tahiti. I went out and bought a leadlined bag before we left and our film was fine. According to the photographer in the photo shop it has something to do with how old the X Ray machines are. Apparently the ones in Tahiti airport are the old sort and the rays are very strong.

Now I have the bag, our films will always go in that and of course we have always put the films in our cabin baggage not in our suitcases.

Jennie

[temple10]

HHi all, Could you please tell me where I would find a bag for my film, I have never heard of these. R they small I appreciate any info about them and where to find them thank you bunches :)

[Aussie Gal]

Here in Australia I went to a camera shop and they had them. The bag is about 12 inches square I think. It is packed away in my carry on case under the stairs so I cannot get to it. I know I could put my camera into it as well. I hope this helps.

Jennie

[tejmar]

What do the screeners do when your lead bag goes through? I would assume that they take the film out of the bag and then check it. If that's the case, couldn't you put the film in one of the plastic containers that you put your wallent, etc. in and have them check it out. I would think that would get you through the line faster than having them x-ray your carry-on and then take the bag out and check the film.

[temple10]

Aussie Gal- Thank you so much for your reply.:) Now since I have never heard of them I wonder if we have them in the states?? Or anything that would be close. Anyone know where to find something like this in Calif. Would it be a camera shop or a department store?? any help??? thank you bunches:D :D Christine

[Aussie Gal]

Temple 10,
You must have them in the States because the posters who told us to use them were all from the U.S. I wondered if I could find them here and luckily I could.

Tejmar,

I didn't have to take the films out of the bag. I think they might have felt the outside of them and just put them through the machine. We certainly weren't held up because of the lead bag. In Tahiti, everyone had to undo their carry on bags and they went through everything thoroughly, includining our toilet bags and cosmetic purses. It took hours!! We were warned to get to the airport very early, like 3am for a 5.45am flight and our flight was the only one leaving at that time. The airport was empty.

Jennie

[Cracker Ken]

The new x-ray machines being used behind the scenes at most of the airports now are very strong. Also, it isn't like when one of us have an x-ray of a bone or something (a quick shot of x-ray), they are bombarding the luggage with x-rays as it's being examined. Some pro's at a Nikon School I attended strongly encourgaged people to not even think of putting film in checked baggage.

One of the best recommedations I've heard (and I haven't needed to try it yet - I went digital last year), is to put all of your film, be it exposed or unexposed, in a clear plastic bag, such as a zip lock bag. The film should be out of the box if unexposed, so it's easily examined, and even out of the capsule. When you get near the place where they x-ray your carry-ons (which isn't as strong as the machines for checked bags), just take your plastic bag full of film out and hand it to the TSA person and ask for a hand/eye examination of the film, while requesting it not go through the scanner. They are supposed to honor this request. I've seen some signage (by TSA) on the rope polls approaching the security check points, asking about film in carry-ons.

Regaring lead lined bags, I suppose they would even work in checked bags, but I would expect TSA to open the suitcase or bag and inspect the content of the bag before letting it pass (I would be extremely upset if they didn't, considering the destructive items that could be secreted in such a bag).

Ken

[tejmar]

Aussie Gal:

I agree with Cracker Ken. I am surprised that no one checked the contents of the lead bag. You could easily have replaced the film in the cannisters with a weapon of some sort and gotten through the check point. That was not very good security. I think that I will try Cracker Ken's idea and just hand it to them in a bag and let them check it out.

[Globaliser]

What do the screeners do when your lead bag goes through? I would assume that they take the film out of the bag and then check it. If that's the case, couldn't you put the film in one of the plastic containers that you put your wallent, etc. in and have them check it out. I would think that would get you through the line faster than having them x-ray your carry-on and then take the bag out and check the film.In some places (eg, the UK has had this rule for very many years now), all cabin baggage items must first be X-rayed. There are no exceptions - unless, I suppose, you have made some serious prior arrangement for things like very high speed film. Nobody will do that for you if you just have ordinary holiday photos. So the lead bag must go through the X-ray machine first.

They are not totally X-ray proof - what they do is protect your film by attenuating the X-rays so they do less damage. (If you put the film in the bag and gave it several hundred X-ray passes, I suspect that you would start to damage it despite the added protection.) The bag shows up as a denser mass, not as a completely black object. Most of the time, the screeners who look at my film bag are content with it. About one scan in five, they want to have a closer look. I get more hand searches as a result of the other electronic equipment in my cabin baggage - cameras, flash guns, CD player, headphones, etc.Regaring lead lined bags, I suppose they would even work in checked bags, but I would expect TSA to open the suitcase or bag and inspect the content of the bag before letting it pass (I would be extremely upset if they didn't, considering the destructive items that could be secreted in such a bag).Unfortunately, they won't. They are designed to attenuate to a safe level the sort of X-ray dose the film would get in a cabin baggage scanner. A checked baggage scanner will still be dangerous to undeveloped film even if it's in one of these bags, and the instructions that come with them say so.I am surprised that no one checked the contents of the lead bag. You could easily have replaced the film in the cannisters with a weapon of some sort and gotten through the check point.No, you couldn't use a film bag to hide a weapon - the scanners should still be able to see what's inside the film bag, just less clearly. If they don't like what they see, they should pull the whole bag for hand searching.

[Aussie Gal]

Tejmar,

I think you misunderstood what I was saying. We went through the X-ray machine first with our cabin bags, handbags etc. and then they made us undo our cabin bags, and made all of us pull eveything out. They made us undo our toilet bags and they felt the outside of the lead bag. It only held a couple of films (we had the rest developed on board the Tahitian) and they would have seen that on the X Ray.

They did this same procedure to everyone on our flight.

Jennie

[jhannah]

Here's one place to get the film bags:

http://www.travelsmith.com/ts/ts_search_result.jsp?Description=film+bag&x=8&y=10

[tejmar]

I guess I didn't really understand what the bags did. As you said, I thought they totally obscured the X-rays. As always, there is always good information to be had by inquiring minds on this forum. Looks like I'll have to get one of those film bags. We plan on taking a lot of pictures in Hawaii and we don't want to take a chance on having them ruined.

[jhannah]

This would be a great time to go digital. Prices are reasonable these days for both cameras and storage media, and most experts agree that a 3-4 megapixel camera is sufficient for us amateurs to use. When I see the number of pictures we've taken on our cruises the past several years, we've more than paid for our cameras in saved film processing.

[Randyk47]

I went off to do a web search for a protection bag for my film when I found www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/editorial/editorial_1035.xml (http://www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/editorial/editorial_1035.xml) which made me rethink the bag stuff. Will probably now just look for an easier carrying bag that I can pull out and let the TSA folks look at instead of a lead lined bag. We still do both digital and standard film as I like to do my "art" type photography with my 35mm SLR. I am looking at a digital camera that would allow me to use my existing collection of lenses from my 35MM but it's a bit expensive.

[Globaliser]

Will probably now just look for an easier carrying bag that I can pull out and let the TSA folks look at instead of a lead lined bag.This will be fine until someone is caught smuggling a weapon (or ammunition) on disguised in film canisters. Then the TSA will move to mandatory X-rays of film, just like so many other places have been doing. (And just like the TSA is finally moving to screen people who work in the airside shops restaurants and bars - unbelievable!)

Also, if you fly outside the US you will want to be prepared for mandatory X-ray screening of everything.

[Randyk47]

Globaliser - Absolutely true. And it's why I've decided to ditch the lead lined bag approach....they're just going to open it anyhow so why bother? Sounds like, from reading the TSA site, that if it's in your checked baggage it'll just cause them to pull your bags and look. If they can't see it's film then they've not got much choice. I saw one bag on the web that was designed so you took the film cartridge out of the black plastic container but still protected the film (though not from x-rays). Figure that's the way I'll go for the time being.

[Ziggy7]

All our cameras are digital but we are taking 2 disposeable underwater cameras, will the film still being in the camera offer any protection ?????

[Randyk47]

We took two of those on our Oosterdam cruise last March and just stuffed them in our checked baggage. Doesn't appear to me that there was any x-ray damage but since those cameras aren't exactly high quality it's not like you could tell. The plastic case itself is of little to no use as far a x-ray are concerned. They're really handy for wet conditions so we'll probably continue to use them but I'm starting to think I'll just buy them on the ship rather than lug them through airports, etc. A little more expensive but not so much as to make it a financial burden.

[Globaliser]

Globaliser - Absolutely true. And it's why I've decided to ditch the lead lined bag approach....they're just going to open it anyhow so why bother? Sounds like, from reading the TSA site, that if it's in your checked baggage it'll just cause them to pull your bags and look. If they can't see it's film then they've not got much choice.I'm not sure I agree about this. If the film's in a lead-lined bag, at least it's got some protection from the X-rays on the first pass, before they hand search the bag. That's why I bother.

Although my experience is that this only causes about 20% of the hand searches of my bag - the majority are caused by the electronics lying on top of each other in a way which makes them difficult to identify. FWIW, I expect to get my bag hand searched at about one check in three.

If the film's in your checked baggage, it's going to fry whatever you put it in. Don't do it.

[grammi]

I find it easiest and less expensive to put all my undeveloped film in a zip lock bag. Any time we get to an xray security point I walk the zip lok bag through the metal detector. I've even put my disposable underwater cameras in the zip lok bag and walked it through. Never had any problems with security personell or damaged film.

[Randyk47]

My point was to just simply take the film out and hand it to them for hand check. They will not pass it through the machine and therefore the lead bag is not needed.

[Globaliser]

My point was to just simply take the film out and hand it to them for hand check. They will not pass it through the machine and therefore the lead bag is not needed.But my point is that this is no use in the many places where film must pass through the machine before there is any question of hand checking - which, I predict will include the US before too long.

[sail7seas]

There are times when the security personnel insist the film must go through the scanner. It is actually very common for them to refuse hand search prior to it going through x-ray.

[Randyk47]

:confused: Hmm.....having not carried my regular film camera on a trip recently I'll admit I don't have much experience with this since the increased security after 9/11. Oh well....seems strange to ask for hand checking so that the film isn't exposed to x-rays only to have them put it through the machine anyhow. Guess I'll rethink my rethinking and get a protection bag. :) Even if I bought film on the cruise I'd still have to get it home and I'm not inclined to use the ship processing. Next cruise won't be as much a problem though as I'm driving to the port and will only have the terminal security to deal with at boarding. Of course, I'm really interested in going to a digital SLR with which I can use my existing collection lenses. Now just have to convince wife that it's worth the several hundred dollars for the camera body. That might be a hard sell. :D

[tejmar]

From the TSA article it appears that going through the carry on Xray machine is not a problem (less than 5 times) and if you want them to hand inspect film they will. It would seem that if you had requested a hand inspection and they insisted that the film go through the machine they would not allow you to put it into a lead lined bag. That I would think would defeat the purpose of putting it through the X-ray machine since they already know it's a film cartridge from the hand inspection. I understand that the bag doesn't totally obscure whats in it, but I would think that it would obscure what was in the film cartridge itself. If it didn't obscure what was in the cartridges then what ever was in the cartridge (film) would be exposed to the xrays. If they already know it's a film cannister from the hand inspection and then are concerned about what is in the cartridge, I would think they would insist that you put the film through the machine not in a lead lined bag.

So, all the lead lined bag would do for you is save you the trouble of taking your film out of your luggage some of the time. I think that if you don't mind taking the film out for a hand inspection, the the best thing would be to put the film in a clear container as others have suggested. If you are in a hurry and want to reduce the likelihood of having to be searched, the lead lined bag is the way to go.