Airport Security.. is it safe

chrisburke · May 11, 2008

i've heard different things about taking cameras on planes.. some people have said the xray scanner messes up the camera, others have said it doesnt.... I'm traveling in less than a month and would like to take my camera on the plane with me... is it safe to to go through the scanner...

Socrates · May 11, 2008

chrisburke said:
i've heard different things about taking cameras on planes.. some people have said the xray scanner messes up the camera, others have said it doesnt.... I'm traveling in less than a month and would like to take my camera on the plane with me... is it safe to to go through the scanner...

It will not affect digital cameras. It WILL mess up film, the only question being how much. One pass with ASA-100 film will probably not be noticeable. However, the effect on film is cumulative. Even with low-speed film, multiple X-ray scans will be a problem. In the U.S., federal law requires hand-inspection of any item upon request of the traveler. Good luck getting the inspectors to comply with the law. I was unable to get compliance at a time when I was employed as a TSA instructor!

By the way, checked baggage is MUCH worse. Those gigantic machines are actually Cat-scans, multiple X-rays produce 3-dimensional images! Film doesn't have a prayer in checked baggage.

Phazan · May 11, 2008

I doubt it. I've taken my P&S camera on planes and it's been alright.. I've even taken video on the takeoffs!

chrisburke · May 11, 2008

thanks... i figured it was for film, but wanted to make sure.

Antarctican · May 11, 2008

I would never ever ever check my camera!!! Take it on the plane with you. The theft-and-damage risk from putting your camera into checked baggage is just too high. And as Socrates said, the really high powered and multiple scans are done to checked bags anyways.

lockwood81 · May 11, 2008

I've taken my dSLR on many flights and as Antarctican mentioned, I've never checked it. It's been fine going through the scanner, only quetion I got once was about the monopod.

Antithesis · May 11, 2008

I lugged around about 30lbs of camera gear through several airports on my last trip, and everything was fine.

Overread · May 11, 2008

carefull if you are thinking of comming to the UK - there are new and tight restrictions on handluggage in place at the moment - they are better than they were a while ago, but still a pain for photographers (I am thinking of those oh so easy to damage lenses)

Atropine · May 12, 2008

Well the UK airports seems to be quite extreme. Lately I've been through swedish, portuguese and italian airport security checks and they have never showed any interest in my camera bag. But when I went to Birmingham earlier this year they went through every camera part and pocket in my bag. They even used an electronic sniffer. The only good thing was that they were very careful and polite.

But I've been told that the US controlls are far worse, and that the security people are rude and not very careful.

And no, I would never consider checking in my camera and my laptop (or anything else that is fragile and/or expensive). A friend of mine used to work at an airport...

Overread · May 12, 2008

I have a strong feeling that boats are going to become popular again for photographers - think about it a long cruise - you could not only take some scenic shots of sunsets/rises but also of the people on the boat - might make a nice little earner for the trip over (pay for the ticket back

)

Jon0807 · May 12, 2008

Took mine to Hawaii not to long ago and went thru several scans with no problems. And as said above, I'd never check my camera in or anything that valuable unless it was a piano or something.

Mav · May 12, 2008

I heard some hype about needing to have paperwork and proof of ownership for bringing camera gear back into the US to get past customs (if travelling internationally) but the only people getting stopped had pelican cases and tens of thousands of dollars worth of pro level equipment. Not something that's going to be an issue for your typical tourist/photog with a single backpack worth of gear and mainly amateur level equipment.

The biggest thing to watch out for are weight restrictions these days. They're getting pretty anal about it, even for carry on. The last time I travelled internationally they were actually screening carry-on baggage for weight and making people re-pack if they were over coming back to the US on the long-haul. Luckily I weighed all my gear ahead of time and made sure it was all within the lowest common denominator baggage weight restriction and didn't have any problems.

I would absolutely not check any photography gear. Take it all on with you. If you check it they can't lose it, nor can they toss it around carelessly.

Rhys · May 12, 2008

WHat's really scary is that the people that pinch things from bags behind the airport's closed doors could well know which bags to pinch things from and could assemble a bomb out of all those parts. It could be one plane from Heathrow to Gatwick, another from Paris to Gatwick and one from Beijing to Gatwick. They could easily sneak part-assembled bombs from one airport to another in unsuspecting passangers luggage and then put the whole thing together at another airport then have it blow up when the plane reached 30,000 feet or was an hour into its flight.

Judge Sharpe · May 12, 2008

The checkers at US airports for the most part are not bad. I would not check my camera unless I was taking a lot of equipment. A body, a couple of lens, a flash, a bunch of film in original packing, or packed in a clear bag so that it can be eyeballed, filters, that is not too much and can be packed in a carry on. If I were taking a lot of equipment, I would do as many hunters and fishermen do and ship the equipment to the hotel or guide at the final destination, and then ship it home.
Customs is no problem, fill out a form before you eave to prove that you bought the equipment hear, keep a copy with your passport, you are good to go. Honestly, I have had very little problem with security traveling anywhere because I use a little common sense about what to take with me.
Judge Sharpe

Snap Happy · May 12, 2008

No issues - I always travel with my cameras (and often full memory cards) on me. I wouldn't check a good camera in baggage to save my life. I mean that. They'd have to chase me down the terminal and pry the Nikon from my cold, dead hands. I've had hardside luggage get eaten up by baggage handling. I'm not letting them toss my Nikon around like it was a trash bag.