ANSWERS: 6
  • No, not at all. Fly to your heart's content.
  • An X-ray machine, however, will fog regular film, especially if it has a high ASA rating (more sensitive to light and other radiation). ASA 100 film might not be affected by the X-ray machine, but ASA 1000 would likely be ruined. Fortunately, they make lead-lined film boxes for travelers that uou can get at many camera stores. With a digital camera (or computer, etc.), you should avoid magnetic scanning devices, like those wands that they use. You're better off sending digital equipment through the X-ray machine than having it hand scanned with the magnetic wand. [Silent Serenity: The wand emits a stong magnetic field. Ferrous (magetically reactive) metals disturb the magnetic field and that's how the wand detects metal. In theory, a wand may erase magnetic media like floppy disks and casettes; in practice, you'd need to hold the wand right up to the media for several seconds for it to have any harmful effect. On the other hand, X-rays are rays of "light" of an energy level and frequency WAY above the wavelengths that we can see, which allows them to pass through "solid" objects (objects aren't really solid, but that's a whole 'nother physics lesson :-). But being "light," they WILL cloud photographic film, even from a distance. The conclusion from this is that you want to have your film camera scanned with the wand, but you want to send your digital camera, laptop, iPod, and diskettes through the X-ray machine.]
  • In response to the comments concerning film fogging (off topic, but provided for clarification)... X-rays can fog film and films with higher ISO ratings are more liable to damage. Cumulative exposure increases the risk of fogging, i.e., if your film has to pass through several x-ray stations during your trip. Lead pouches are no longer recommended, since the operators of x-ray equipment simply turn up the juice and stop the belt to identify the contents of the pouch. This can cause more severe fogging. It is far better to hand-carry film separately and hand it to the security personnel for hand inspection. I use a plastic food bag and take my 35mm film out of the plastic canisters. In Canada, for example, they are required to hand inspect film if you demand it. Hand inspection will slow you down and you will not win any friends - security really does not like these requests, particularly since they have been taught that x-rays don't damage film.
  • Yes they will and while no one seems to stick their neck out with anything useful to say about this misconception that Airport X-ray machines won't damage your digital camera, I have first hand real life experience that it does happen. I have three digital cameras ranging from 2 mega pixels to 6.1 mega pixels and all three have red burned in pixel blips. All three cameras (2 Canons and one Nikon) when they have shown a new red blip on the outputted pictures have done so immediately after going through an Airport X-ray machine screening point. At first with one Canon I thought it was a factory defect that just happen to show up after the warranty had expired. When the second Canon did the same thing I though it was Canon with a bad batch of CCD's. Now with my less than one year old AND still under warranty Nikon D70s I find a red blip and started thinking. I tracked back through all my pictures on each camera and found that each of the red blips started right after a pass through an Airport X-ray screening point. So three cameras, many different airports around the world and each time the red blip(s) appears after a X-ray screen point, all coincident... I don't think so. One Canon has 6 red blips, the second Canon has 1 and the Nikon now has 2. I also have a 3 CCD Sony video camera that I have taken on 2 trips but so far I haven't had the chance to go looking for red blips. I cross my fingers that it has been spared. From now my CCD based cameras WILL be hand searched and if they want demo to make sure it really works I will only be too happy to demonstrate as "Photoshopping" those red blips out is really getting tedious. As for doing that with video...
  • I have a video production company with cameras ranging from BETACAM SP, DVCAM to All new HDD (tapeless) High Definition 3ccd camera's a total of 10 cameras. All of these at one stage or another has gone through airport x-ray machines with no problems. X-ray’s will not damage a CCD or any other electronic component in fact CCD’s are in use in x-ray machines themselves, capturing the video from the x-ray waves and these are more sensitive devices than those employed in consumer or pro cameras.
  • I have brought my digital camera through the infamously notorious Port-Au-Prince airport X ray machine more than once with no problems. However, print film will fog - even if it is 100 ASA -there. Everywhere else I've been - which includes large swathes of Asia, Europe and North America - there has never been a problem. HOWEVER - if you put your print film in LEAD "PROTECTIVE" BAG all bets are off because the operator will simply boost the strenght of the X Rays to ascertain what is REALLY inside and then the film certainly can be fogged.

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