Digital BW, The Print

At 02:59 PM 7/23/2002, TL wrote:
>Put the films in hand-carry on bags and for extra protection, put
>them in lead bags called FilmShield that are sold in most camera
>stores.
>If you must put them in checked-in bags, double or tripple up the
>FilmShield bags. Unprotected films in checked-in bags might be
>severely damaged as they are scanned by high powered machines.
>TL

See http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/tib/tib5201.shtml for more 
definitive information.

My experience has been that the lead bags are not worth the cost. It's 
better to remove the film from the box, put it in ziploc-type bags and ask 
for a hand check, particularly if you have film faster than 800. Passing 
slow speed film through the carry-on scanners a few times should not harm 
it; but if I was on an assignment or a once-in-a-lifetime trip, I wouldn't 
take any chances. I once got a hand check in Paris--notoriously difficult 
to do--by adding in a few rolls of 3200 speed film.

What you should NEVER, EVER, do is to put unprocessed film (single-use 
cameras, cameras with film in them, etc.) in checked baggage. The new CTX 
scanners WILL ruin your film. If you are told that your carry-on baggage 
must be checked, remove all film and stuff it in your pockets and try to 
get a hand check. (By the way, post-9/11, I am told that too much 
insistence or agitation may get you detained.

If buying and/or processing your film at your destination is a viable 
option, that is an excellent way to avoid film damage. Another possibility 
is to ship the film to your destination via a courier that will not either 
X-Ray or anthrax scan the packages (even processed film can be ruined by an 
anthrax scan).

If you are a professional taking several hundred rolls of film to a distant 
location, the last two alternatives may be superior to the option of 
carrying it with you.

Stan

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Photography by Stan McQueen
http://www.smcqueen.com