Taking film through airports

[Typhon]

I hope this hasn't been done too often before.

I'm flying to Australia via PEK, and plan on taking some ISO50 Velvia film with me. Everyone on the internet says something different about this. I understand there are several options:

+ Put it in checked baggage, which everyone so far agrees is the worst option
+ Put it in hand luggage in a lead lined bag, however many say they will just turn up the x-ray making the lead-lined bag pointless
+ Put it in hand luggage normally, risking damage yet again

The last thing I thought of was just keeping it in my pocket, it'll just be a pack of 5 rolls. I've not heard of people doing this, however I can't imagine it would set off the metal scanner? Would the dose of radiation be less if done this way?

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

Carrying Velvia through an airport - that takes me back.

Never put any kind of film in checked luggage. 50 ASA should be fine for a couple of passes through the hand baggage scanner, but you're right that in your pocket is (was?) the best way.

When I was doing this it was always rolls of 120 film, so no metal content. These days they might have turned up the detectors enough for multiple 35mm canisters to set them off.

Could you buy the film when you get there?

[Typhon]

S. Gonzales Esq. said:

Could you buy the film when you get there?

I've always had great difficulty finding 120 Velvia in Sydney. Not sure why in such a big city, but it's like trying to find a unicorn. That and it costs double over there, it's not worth it for a short trip.

China also feels the need to scan their transit passengers' hand luggage, doubling the amount of x-rays that will pass through anything packed in there

[K12beano]

I always wondered when film was SENT to another country whether it would get X-rayed on its journey. (Both individually in the post and wholesale.)

[Gemm]

I used to have this special bag for films to protect them from x-rays, but I didn't use it all the time and I never had any problem with any of my films during my travels.

[Nick Grant]

K12beano said:

I always wondered when film was SENT to another country whether it would get X-rayed on its journey. (Both individually in the post and wholesale.)

Yes. I worked on the testing of a mail sorting plant at Heathrow and all mail was xrayed before going out to the planes.

[Super Slo Mo]

I've been through airport security with film in a lead bag, and they made me unpack it all and re-xray it.

The x-ray scanners at security aren't powerful enough to do any damage, I think this has been proven a few times now.

[Raoul Duke]

When i've tried to take film abroad i always ask the scanner operator if they would hand check the film canistors. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Hadn't thought of trying to put i in my pockets, will give that a go next time. The most recent time i must have been carrying between 20-30 rolls of the stuff though and my pockets simply aren't that deep!

[markmullen]

You'll be fine with ISO50. It was really fast films which were at risk.

Domke still make a lead lined bag for films to travel in, there is however a suggestion that the xray operators turn the power up to see through anything that appears opaque on their monitor negating the value of such a bag.

[Ali Chappussy]

Blimey, I thought I'd entered a retro thread.

These were the kinds of questions being asked 25 years ago when I was using K64. It was safe then and I'm guessing it will be equally as safe now, given the technilogical advancement of these XRay machines. If it aint, I'm a monkeys uncle.