Although this is mildly off-topic, I do value the knowledgable opinion of my fellow Leica users. I am interested in getting a lead-lined bag to take through security checkpoints in airports for my film. Are there different types and quality of such bags? Thanks

-- Jack Belen (jbelen@aol.com), May 09, 2002

Answers

Jack,

Lead bags get mixed reviews. I stopped using them a few years ago because they only caused the security agents to open them, dump out the film, and insist the film be scanned anyhow. Putting a lead bag in your checked luggage will likely result in your film be toasted by the very high-end gear used to scan baggage.

Other the other hand, some folks claim they work just fine and have no trouble getting through security. Your mileage may vary.

-Nick

-- Nicholas Wybolt (nwybolt@earthlink.net), May 09, 2002.

The security people, not being able to scan inside the bag, will pull you aside and make you open it. Better to use clear ziploc bags, and film out of the canisters, and ask for a hand inspection. Such transparency up front avoids misunderstandings--which in the US these days can add hours to your travel delays.

My girlfriend had to take of her shoes after security found tweezers in her make-up bag. Apparently shoe-bombers always pluck their eyebrows . . . You get the idea.

-- Preston Merchant (merchant@speakeasy.org), May 09, 2002.

Jack save yourself alot of hassel and money. Put your film in a clear plastic baggie and hand it to the inspector with a request for a hand inspection. They should comply(depending on the inspector). Yes they are quite anal at times, but I feel much better that they do a through job. As far as the tweezers are concerned they are considered contraband. The shoe thing is SOP now. Unfortunatly the hoops Joe average citizen must jump through since Sept. 11 have constricted ten fold. Just a little cheer for you- what you have to go through as a traveler is no where near as bad as what we airline employees must go through.

-- Andy Wagner (awagner@midwest-express.com), May 09, 2002.

Jack: Avoid the lead bags but know your rights. In the good old USA the FAA rules state that hand inspection is mandatory when a passenger requests it. This HAS NOT changed since 9/11. OTOH, many European airports, especially CDG (Paris), take a certain sick pleasure in forcing you to put your film through the scanners. Don't bother fighting/reasoning with them...it is just banging your head against a bureacratic wall.

-- Albert Knapp MD (albertknappmd@mac.com), May 09, 2002.

Ditto to what everyone has said so far.

I always take the film out of the box AND the plastic canisters, so it is easily inspected by hand. You do have a right to hand inspection in the US, but as others mentioned, this is not always true overseas. Know the culture where you're travelling. I've been to certain places where a few $US facilitated a hand-inspection. In other places offering a bribe would get you in serious trouble.

I do, however, always carry enough of the Domke lead bags to hold my film on those occasions where the security agent's won't search by hand. (Happened to me in Milan, and in Havana they would only hand inspect film OVER 1200 ASA. And they didn't get the concept of pushing film.) The Domke bags are almost identical in size to gallon ziplocs, so they're really handy. I ran some TMZ shot at 3200 through in Havana and the film was fine.

Another trick I've mentioned before on this site is to put a small rubber band around each roll of film to hold the leader in place. That way, the leader won't get crimped or torn when the film is in the ziploc bag. This makes loading, especially an M-camera, easier.

-- NA (naddis@mindspring.com), May 09, 2002.

I've always used the lead bags (even though potential X-ray damage from carry-on scanners is pretty minimal even for ASA 3200 film) &, FWIW, have *never* had any problems w/security @ either airports or gov't buildings in the U.S. or abroad, even post 9/11. I guess the big blue blob on the CRT just doesn't register w/most security screeners.

-- Chris Chen (Wash., DC) (furcafe@NOSPAMcris.com), May 10, 2002.

Jack:

I use lead bags regularly, and prefer the newer type with Nylon outer shells rated safe for 3200 speed film. They are relatively expensive at about $60 for the 36 roll size, but I am very happy with the protection they provide and have not had fogging problems even with TMZ 3200.

Regarding clear plastic baggies and asking for hand inspections: On a recent trip to Europe a fellow photographer and I flew out of SFO to Paris then on to Marseille. We went through scanners once at SFO and twice in Paris getting to the proper gate; on the return trip once in Marseille and three times in Paris for a total of seven scans. I used my bags, he used clear plastc baggies planning to ask for hand- inspections. I sailed right through the security check at SFO, and got to watch the monitor as they scanned my bag. When the lead bag appeared solid gray on the screen, the technician cranked up the power untill she got a semi-clear gray in which you could see obvious film cannisters through. She immediately turned the power back to normal and passed my bag. My friend got his hand search, but... They took him over to a samll table, had him open EVERY cannister (yes, even the clear ones) and wiped a little cloth on each film can. They then asked for his hands and wiped the cloth on them up under his cuffs, then asked him to take his shoes off and wiped the inside of his shoes. They then scanned the patch for, I assume, signs of explosive compounds. It was all I could do to keep from laughing as I watched him get his shoes back on and re-cannister all of his film. This all took an extra 15 minutes or so. As you might imagine, he never bothered with the hand search for the rest of the trip. I have not seen his images yet, but I got mine back and have noticed no problems (mostly E100S and Tri-X, but two rolls of TMZ; I cannot wait to see how his unprotected film fares...

All FWIW!

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), May 10, 2002.

Jack, I fly at least once a week with film and have had very little hassle useing lead bags. In fact i just went through security here in Orlando and blew by a guy in the process of trying to get his film hand searched; his film was in a clear ziploc, lots of Velvia i think,my bag just got zipped open and fairly quickly looked at. I find that each week that more security know what the bags are. Use a bag! I recommend the Filmshield line, 20XPF leval of protection. Happy traveling! MfZ

-- Mf Zimicki (74023.1131@compuserve.com), May 10, 2002.