Hey all,

Though it isn't confimed yet an old client may be sending me to Portugal for 5 days of shooting. Will most likely be color neg, B&W for me after hours.

I'll bring 2 M's and 4 lenses and I'll have to lug Nikons too.

I haven't flown since Sept 11th and I know some of you have. I've got questions you can answer better than the airlines.

What can I carry on? One bag? I hope it is cameras 'cause I have no Halibutons for stowing below..

The hand checking of film I know I can't expect but I figure it is best to have film in Ziplocs to at least try.

Bring film? Buy film there? Don't what city I'll be in yet.

What else can you think of?

Thanks

Neil

-- Neil Swanson (neilsphoto@yahoo.com), May 02, 2002

Answers

We flew from Dulles to Rome via Munich on United and returned from Milan to Dulles about three weeks ago and had NO problems with hand inspection of film or camera (2 cameras in carry-on)in Dulles or Milan. We carries 120 rolls of 400 and 800 ASA out of boxes and out of cans, and in clear plastic bags. Screeners at both cities were VERY accomodating and joked that we must like to take photos.

-- Mike (gotobeach@juno.com), May 02, 2002.

I've been travelling for years with hundreds of rolls of film at a time, always hand-carried it but have never asked for a hand inspection, and have never seen one iota of evidence of fogging even with 800-speed film having passed through as many as six x-ray machines on a single journey. The rule on most major US airlines permit one carry-on fitting the template and one "personal bag" such as a laptop case or briefcase or purse; and there are no weight restrictions. You can put all your camera gear in a rolling case or backpack (satisfying the larger carryon) and by taking the film out of boxes and taping the cannisters in rows of 6 (alternating "polarity" eg. one lid up, one lid down, so they fit closer together)then putting them in a gallon-size ziplock (so it's all fairly flat rather than a bagful of loose cannisters), you can fit at least a hundred rolls in a soft-sided briefcase like the Domke beauro-chief satchel.

I admire you bringing Nikons and Leicas. I've never travelled with more than one system or format...the weight is too oppressive. And that's my final point: if you will be travelling on foreign airlines at all, beware of their weight restrictions for carryon. A few years back I flew back from London on Virgin Atlantic and they had a strictly-enforced 6-kilo weight restriction, and my rucksack went well over 15 kilos. Luckily they allowed me to remove the Domke F5XB which had 5 kilos of Leicas in it, and carry it as my "purse".

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), May 02, 2002.

2 weeks ago I was asked the first time to open my cameras, so try not to have film in them. The security guards did not want to see my laptop working, though. Strage world, but maybe they just wanted to press the release button on my M2s ;-)

-- Kai Blanke (kai.blanke@iname.com), May 03, 2002.

Maybe they didnt recognise the M2s as being cameras, because they didnt have huge zoom lenses and massive plastic bodies with arrays of buttons and LCD panels! ;]

-- Karl Yik (karl.yik@dk.com), May 03, 2002.

And due to the heavy weight he thought they would contain explosive material, or smuggling goods or maybe would be massive enough to use them as weapons - who knows ?
But after inspection he made a remark: 'Nice stuff ...' and let me go. Good taste, I'd have to admit.

-- Kai Blanke (kai.blanke@iname.com), May 03, 2002.

It is impossible to generalise as each country has its own attitude to security checking, and this can also vary from day to day depending on security alert levels. Try to take slower films if possible in plastic bags and a positive attitude. In many years of flying I havee never yet had any film affected by xray.

-- Gabriel Shaw (gabriel@gabriel.homechoice.co.uk), May 06, 2002.

Since 9/11 I have only travelled domestically (in U.S.) and am still getting hand inspection at each airport I have visited. They still must give hand inspection when it is requested. The security fellow last friday at Denver International was doing the Beringer (sp?) test on each of my film rolls and told me that he had done it to 150 rolls -- to each of them -- for a traveller a few weeks back. I asked if it pissed him off, and he replied no, it didn't matter, since he is paid by the hour.

Only complaint was from a security person in Tulsa who hand-inspected my Leica, which was loaded with TMZ. She suggested that in the future I should take OUT the high-speed film and just send the camera through the x-ray machine. She spent more time complaining than actually inspecting the camera, naturally.

-- Douglas Kinnear (douglas.kinnear@colostate.edu), May 06, 2002.