Most will now empty out your lead bag and run the film through the scanner -- the lead bag makes you look suspicious.
Carry your film out of the boxes and out of the plastic tubs, in a clear bag. Bring it as carry-on -- checked film WILL be ruined. Ask for hand inspection but don't press for it. If you don't get it, don't panic, just run it through the machine. It'll be fine. If you're really concerned, have it processed before you return. I did this in Prague with my higher ISO films and everything turned out fine. I did have to repeatedly explain to a security guard that 3200 was a higher number than 1000 (their 'safe' threshold for the carry-on scanner) on a trip to North Carolina, and even then they were reluctant to hand inspect it (HIM: It's only a little higher, it'll be okay. ME: Um, 3200 is more than triple 1000, not a small amount at all.) -Aaron -----Original Message----- From: Paul Stenquist <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subj: Re: Photographing Egypt Date: Sat May 13, 2006 6:03 pm Size: 1K To: pentax-discuss@pdml.net it It's the check-in luggage scanners that are powerful, not the carry-on. Carry-on seems to be okay for films below ISO 800. However, when I shot film, I almost always carried all of it in a lead bag. When it showed up as a shield on the scanner, the airport folks hand checked it. Always worked for me. Paul On May 13, 2006, at 5:54 PM, Adam McKenty wrote: > Hi Folks, > I'm going to Egypt in a few days, and -- since I haven't been quite > convinced to switch to digital -- I have some questions about film and > such. First, what is the current situation with airport x-rays? I had > heard that any film below about 800 would be fine, but a NG guide I > recently looked at said today's carry-on baggage zappers are so > powerful they'll cook film of any speed. Other options are to have the > film hand inspected, or buy it when I get there. Does anyone have > first hand experience of this? Are most airports willing to > hand-inspect film? Does anyone have a favourite Cairene photography > store that sells 100 asa slide film? > > Any other advice about film for a trip like this or general tips on > traveling with cameras would be welcome too. > > Thanks, > Adam >
