Subject: Films and x-rays
Hello Paolo et al Not a professional by any means but I think the conventional wisdom is that you should take your film as carry on and ask for a hand inspection. You won't always get one but many passes through the carry on X- Ray should not noticeably damage your film. I try to get the security guards to oblige by always removing film from the original boxes, putting it in a clear plastic bag and having it readily accessible. They will tell you up to 800asa or 1600asa there is no danger, so I mix in a couple of 'fast' films, tell them I have it and they usually agree to the hand inspection. The lead bags can be counter productive because if they see a black blob in your luggage they will crank up the machine until they can see what is in there. I must have taken my film through 3 or 4 machines last summer with no ill effect. It is nerve racking though, wondering if your precious images are going to be ok. Also some museums and archaeological sites are now using X Ray at the turnstiles so there are even more X-Rays to try to avoid with your film. I wrote to Kodak about the problem following the events of last September and they just said, no problem 'ask for a hand inspection', not very helpful when so many places are now refusing. Never put film in your checked baggage they really zap that, and rightly so. Regards from Sue Wright Toronto On