I need to carry three hundred rolls to europe (Romania) next week for a project I am doing. They are 400 asa and I am concerned about damage from x-rays. I know that previous to the attacks the law allowed for demanding hand inspection at u.s. airports. Now with this crazy anthrax stuff and everything else nobody I get on the phone at the airport can assure me one way or the other as to the rules. If anyone can enlighten me I would sure appreciate it.

-- shane solow (ssolow@mindspring.com), October 17, 2001

Answers

Forget about hand inspections. ALL items must go through the X-ray. With all that is going on in the world today, the last thing airlines, airport secruity and FBI worry about is the safety of your film, which can be interpreted as NO EXCEPTIONS. Buy the film were you are going or mail it there.

-- wdnagel (wdnagel@home.com), October 18, 2001.

Some airports are still hand checking. Arrive early, be polite & ask. The regulations still say hand checks of film when asked for. And, it is not too much to ask for either. Hand checking film or not hand checking film would not have saved anyone in any of the airline terrorist disasters. As for buying film when you reach your destination, many locations do not have pro films we use and have tested. Shipping is a great way to miss your film as you get in late due to a flight delay & can't make the connection to pick up the film before you have to get in a vehicle to get to the shooting location at 4am.

Hand checking is simple, even for the stupidist of the "highly trained" security types. You know, the ones who insist you make a call from your Stylus Epic camera?

-- Dan Smith (shooter@brigham.net), October 19, 2001.