> I am on holiday in Greece and have shot 2 Kodak T-MAX 400 (@800, if it > makes any difference). I would like to develop them in my favourite lab > (Ilfords in the UK) but I am worried about X-ray machines and > metal-detector arches etc. > > Do you see any problem? Would you fly with them back to your origin? > Where would you put them, in the x-ray machine for hand-luggage, in > your pocket through the arch, or in the luggage you kiss goodbye > (perhaps forever) at the check-in desk? Or would you post them home?
I always keep exposed film (and unexposed film, come to that) in my carry-on baggage, and request hand inspection. In the USA that's an entitlement (although explaining that to tired, underpaid inspectors at an airport can earn you a trip to the special inspection line). In the UK it's only done for film at 800 or faster. Your T-MAX counts, becuse it's being developed as if it were 800 speed, but you might not be able to convince the security folks of that). I don't know what the rules are in Greece. You won't be allowed to keep them in your pocket; the metal in the cassette is enough to trigger the walk-through detectors. The one place you do *not* want your film is in checked baggage. The latest generation of X-Ray machines have variable gain, and the operator can crank it way up if he sees a suspicious shape. I made the mistake, once, of leaving partially-exposed films in my cameras, and remembered just after the camera case was checked in (one drawback of a big lens; you can't take it as carry-on). Fortunately luck was smiling on me that day, and my Provia 400F came through the experience unscathed.
