security and film

[A&R]

I know it is important to have film hand-checked at airport security, but what about when getting aboard the ship? Can my extra film be packed or should I carry it on? Thanks!

 

[DrCavin]

I would carry it on to be safe

 

[scrapperjill]

I had all my film hand checked at the airports...but when it came time to go through at the DCL terminal...I must have had a huge brain fart...because I sent ALL of my extra film with my luggage that was checked in at the curb side. I quickly remembered...but it was to late the porter had already left with it. At the time i was just thinking of how nice it would be not to be lugging it around all day (I packed ALOT of film..and underwater cameras)....But luckly nothing happened to them. I'm not sure if when they take the baggage at the curb side if they go through some sort of x-ray machines or not. I just assumed they would.

I think if your going to carry it on...you shouldn't put it through the machine...have them hand checked. ALOT of the screener will tell you it's okay and nothing will happen to the film if it's ran through...but I wouldn't take that chance...It's something you won't know until it toooo late. I even printed off and packed along the statement from the TSA that states any film 800 or lower needs to be hand checked and we have the right to have it done....just to be safe. At MCO I almost had to get it out and show them...they were NOT going to hand check it. But I stood my ground and it was done. There for a while I thought security would have been called on me...I kept waiting for them to show up..and ask me to step aside ...but I stood my ground and all was well.

 

[UMTerp]

Remember that DCL will insist on putting your film through the x-ray when you get back on the ship in port. Just take the film you think you will need so you don't get too many exposures per roll.

I wasn't able to get my film hand-checked by DCL.

 

[A&R]

Remember that DCL will insist on putting your film through the x-ray when you get back on the ship in port. Just take the film you think you will need so you don't get too many exposures per roll.

I wasn't able to get my film hand-checked by DCL.

...So you can't get film hand-checked before boarding? What do you do? Digital media is safe, right?

 

[DIS NURSE]

I guess this is leading me to truly believe that I can't go wrong buying a digital camera before we leave! I just needed to justify it further....so thanks!

DIS NURSE from Oregon

 

[jwhaley]

We were on the 4/10 Wonder and DCL insisted that we put our film on the conveyer - they said it was safe up to 1500 speed. It was 800 speed and it was fine. At the airport (MCO) we asked to have our film handchecked (we have always done this) and the man said no. "this machine is safe up to 1000 speed" and he grabbed the bag from my wife and put in on the conveyer. We went to his supervisor (they sit just beyond the machines) and he was very upset that we were treated that way. He assured us that our film would be fine, but he said that for our peace of mind, the TSA agent should have hand checked the film. The supervisor immediately went to the man and chewed him out. (Little satisfaction if our film was ruined...but it was fun to watch him squirm) We worried all day about our pictures and had them developed that night when we returned home. They were beautiful!!! So, the lesson here is, you can request to have your film checked and they will do it...even if you have to make a scene. If your film does go through the x-ray and it is under 1000 speed, it will most likely be fine.

 

[MrsMork]

We too were refused hand checking our film at the airport recently. Absolutely insisted it go on the belt. We did find some protective carriers though that should help. Many articles in Photo magazines say that multiple screenings can damage your film. So, get the protective carriers, buy film after flying if possible and we get ours developed on the ship.

 

[scrapperjill]

I found this information on the TSA site...If you click the link on thier page it will give you even more information. To speed things up we packed all our our film in ziplocks..in groups of 10 (Again I packed ALOT of film)...out of the canisters. You have the right to have it hand checked and you shouldn't take no from anyone...Like I mentioned before I printed out the page stateing the TSA information on how the machines CAN harm film...and that I CAN have it hand checked...and that it should NOT go through the machines. From what I gather...after 9/11 they have changed machines...so they are more powerful..and can cause more damage to film.

I found it intresting that you can carry-on one bag of camera equiptment along with your carry-on and personal item...I don't think it was like that back in Sept 04...we were worried on how we were going to cram our cameras and the film in our already stuffed carryons.

Photographic Equipment

You may carry one (1) bag of photographic equipment in addition to one (1) carry-on and one (1) personal item through the screening checkpoint. The additional bag must conform to your air carrier's carry-on restrictions for size and weight. Please confirm your air carrier's restrictions prior to arriving at the airport.

Air carriers may or may not allow the additional carry-on item on their aircraft. Please check with your air carrier prior to arriving at the airport.

Film

The equipment used to screen checked baggage will damage undeveloped film. Pack your undeveloped film in your carry-on bag. High speed and specialty film should be hand inspected at the security checkpoint. To facilitate hand-inspection, remove your undeveloped film from the canister and pack in a clear plastic bag.

Learn more about transporting film. (This is the link on the TSA sight)

The screening equipment will not affect digital cameras and electronic image storage cards.


I went to TSA and typed in "film" in the search area....

To make things as easy as possable I not only had the film out of the canisters in ziplocks...but also had all the film baggies in one gift bag....so it was easy to pull out of my carryon and easy to hand over to them to hand check...in the gift bag was a copy of the TSA rules...just in case.

 

[Jrsy Boy]

The info about film up to 1000 speed being safe makes me feel better, but what stood out for me was that supposedly film was safe for up to 5 trips through security x-ray machine. If you are flying and cruising, that ends up being four times minimum (plane, boat, boat, plane), so you can really end up pushing it.

Do the same criteria apply to single-use cameras?