I will be traveling all through India this summer doing a photography project. I have been advised to carry all my film with me on planes, and present it to airport officials separately so that it wont have to go through those harmful x-ray checks that ruin film (especially in areas with older x-rays security checks which are not film safe to begin with). Is it better to check all film in with checked baggage There is an x-ray check at this juncture too, I believe. I have heard that there are lead pouches which will protect film from these x-rays. Do you know anything at all about this? Please let me know. Thanks!

-- Uma Sanghvi (scuba@leland.stanford.edu), May 28, 1998

Answers

Do Airport X-Rays Harm Film?

Shutterbug Magazine april 98 issue test a T-Max 3200 film (TMZ). No difference between exposed to X-Rays Films and safes one. I Hope you can trip safed.

-- Mauricio M. Falcao (mmfalcao@convoy.com.br), May 28, 1998.

just make sure the same film doesn't go through a bunch of xray machines. the acculumative effect *may* affect your film (after passing thru i.e. 7-8 airports). place the film w/o plastic cans into big ziplock bags so you can hold up to the eye(s) of inspectors. hope this tidbit helps....

world traveler..... http://www.geocities.com/soho/gallery/5718/index.html

-- Tony (tonyl@theoffice.net), May 29, 1998.

Reply to Do airport x-rays harm film??

Most airport X-ray equipment will not significantly affect film - when working correctly - as reported BUT!!! one model, the InVision CTX5000 CAN all but melt your film. This is used to examine checked baggage at a number of larger airports around the world. It operates in two modes. A normal scan will not affect film, but if during the normal scan a suspicious object is detected, a special high intensity scan is used. It operates much like a medical Computerized Tomography (CT) scan, and can very definitely do in your film. Use of a lead bag to protect the film will greatly increase the risk of the high intensity scan being used, as it may block the normal scan, and be interpreted as a suspicious object. You are probably better off carrying the film with you unless you have very large amounts, in which case you will need to request special handling by the airline before checking baggage or going through the gates. If you can get properly cared for film in India, or once exposed get it reliably processed there, you can avoid the problem. To make matters more interesting, the FAA has apparently just approved a new model machine called the CTX5500. I don't know the differences, or where it will be installed, but I doubt that is benign where film is concerned. Richard Newman

-- richard newman (rnewman@snip.net), May 29, 1998.

With the increased security awareness at airports these days, many major ones have switched to more powerfull and more harmfull x-ray machinery. Unless you want to become an expert on each machine and which type is where, have your film hand checked and never(if at all possible) leave it in your checked bags

-- Tony Mastres (mastres@id.ucsb.edu), June 03, 1998.