Anyone here have had problems with airport security (from other countries) when you brought film?

[MannyBello]

I know with TSA, you can ask for hand check for your film rolls, and off you go.


Let's say I plan to travel to Egypt and decided to use a film camera. I took alot of pictures and have few of film rolls to bring back home.


Egypt's airport security seems to be strict, and I have read that they've confiscate batteries.


So have anyone here got a hard time bringing back film rolls from other countries?
I'm thinking of diving into film photography but don't just want to use it locally. I'll be a travel photographer once this pandemic is over.

 

[Overrank]

Went to Paris from the U.K. a couple of years ago with film with no problems. I’d bagged the camera and film separately and put it on a tray on its own, separate from my main bag. It went through the X-Ray both ways with no issues.



I might be wary doing that with some of the new CT machines that have been installed though.

 

[Mike B USA]

The only problem I've had was with the TSA in the US. I was hand carrying about a dozen rolls of 120 film in a separate clear plastic bag. I asked for it to be hand checked and the TSA agent rolled her eyes and gave me the usual speech about 400 speed film and lower being safe in their scanner. I explained I was making multiple connections and asked for it to be hand inspected anyway.

You would have thought I asked for them to carry my bags for me. "Need a hand check," the lady yelled to her co-workers and told me to step aside. Someone finally came over and took me and my film to a separate table where he proceeded to open each of the dozen boxes of film (just the outer box, not the foil wrapper), swipe each foil wrapper and put the swipe into their "bomb detecting" machine. Each one took about almost a minute to perform so I patiently waited for 15 minutes or so while he "hand inspected" my film. When he was done, he left me with a tray of a dozen rolls of film and a dozen open boxes to reassemble and re-bag by myself. Nice guy.

As I was leaving the area, I observed out loud that he just did it this way because he can. He looked at me and nodded. I guess he made his point, though. After that, I started just running my film (I never carry anything faster than ISO 400 film) through their carry-on scanner. I've never had any film damaged that way. I wouldn't leave it in my checked bags because I think the scanner for those is quite a bit more powerful, but the carry-on scanner has been fine for my film.

As an aside, after that experience I asked in an analog photo forum if anyone had FIRST HAND knowledge of film being damaged by carry-on scanners. I received lots of responses, all of them reciting folklore or friend-of-a-friend or there-was-a-report-of horror stories. None of them could produce first hand accounts. My film has been fine, even after multiple carry-on scanner encounters.

 

[PerTulip]

The only problem I've had was with the TSA in the US. ...

I have traveled to dozens of countries and TSA is the worst.

My experience: asking for a hand scan is usually not a problem. .

As an aside, after that experience I asked in an analog photo forum if anyone had FIRST HAND knowledge of film being damaged by carry-on scanners. I received lots of responses, all of them reciting folklore or friend-of-a-friend or there-was-a-report-of horror stories. None of them could produce first hand accounts. My film has been fine, even after multiple carry-on scanner encounters.

Often enough I left film in the carry-on or even in the checked baggage and never had any issue. Ok, I never did it with 3200.

 

[Svein Eriksen]

I haven't travelled with film since film were fairly common, but never had a problem with getting a manual check. Except for on Heathrow.

I've never had film destroyed, but I've only travelled with ISO 100 and 200 and usually bought and had the film developed at the destination if possible.

You can also look into bags designed to protect the film from the low power X-ray machines used for carry on luggage.

Domke Film Guard Bag, Small - Holds 15 Rolls of 35mm Film (bhphotovideo.com)

 

[Alan GT]

Last time I went through Heathrow (T5) in the summer they appeared to be introducing what looked like the more powerful 3D CT scanners for hand baggage which are supposed to damage film. They asked me if I wanted to go through it as it was being trialled, but I said no and they allowed me to go through a lane with the old style 2D scanner.

Does anyone have experience of whether airports in the US with these 3D CT scanners will do manual checks of cameras with film in without opening the camera? Or will they only check film rolls manually and insist camera bodies go through the machine?

Alan