Don't pack that camera film in your trunk By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY Americans may be safer than ever taking a flight this summer, thanks to new= =20 anti-terrorism efforts. Alas, you can't say the same for the film they're=20 carrying. Quite simply: The X-rays are flying at airports like never before= =20 =97 and it's becoming harder for fliers to keep film out of harm's way.= "It's=20 been a mess since September's (terrorist) attacks," says Bob Krist, a=20 globe-trotting travel photographer who shoots for National Geographic=20 Traveler and other magazines. Precautions to protect film that "were=20 optional before now have become a necessity." What's a snap-happy,=20 camera-toting traveler to do? For starters: "Never, ever again put anything= =20 that is photosensitive in checked bags," warns James Blamphin of film giant= =20 Kodak. Even before last September's attacks, airports had begun installing= =20 new FAA-certified explosive-detection systems that scan checked bags with=20 super-powerful X-rays. And the pace of installations has quickened, with=20 more than 50 U.S. airports now using them. The machines will "ruin every picture, guaranteed," says Blamphin =97 even= =20 those in lead-lined bags. "The machines are so powerful that (the X-rays)=20 will go through the bags. Don't do it." The only safe way to transport film= =20 on planes is to put it in carry-on bags, and even that isn't fail-safe. The= =20 good news: Unlike the new equipment for checked bags, the X-ray equipment=20 used to inspect carry-on bags emits very low levels of radiation that=20 experts say won't noticeably damage film during a single pass. The not-so-good news: The machines aren't completely harmless, and while=20 the effects are small, they're also cumulative. "If you put film through (the machines) 16 times, you might start to see=20 something," says Krist, who writes the travel photography column for=20 Popular Photography magazine. "It's the people on the multi-city trips that= =20 have to worry." Most serious photographers request that inspectors=20 hand-search their film instead of subjecting it to X-rays. While many=20 countries in Europe do not allow that, travelers in the USA have that right. Unfortunately, "most of the people at security counters do not know the FAA= =20 rules," says Krist, who routinely finds himself pleading with inspectors to= =20 keep his film away from the X-rays. (The problem is so widespread that even= =20 Kodak's CEO recently sent a letter to the Transportation Department=20 reminding officials that not allowing hand inspections is a violation of=20 the FAA code.) Krist's advice: Make it easy for the inspectors. Before=20 leaving home, remove all packaging from film and place it in clear plastic= =20 bags to make it simple to examine. "I've found that if they can see the=20 film clearly, and they don't have to open any boxes or film canisters, then= =20 most of the time they will be cooperative," he says. Skeet McAuley, a=20 California photographer who creates 7-foot-wide cultural landscapes, packs= =20 the 200 or so rolls of film he normally carries on shoots in large, clear=20 Tupperware containers that inspectors can easily examine =97 a strategy he= =20 says usually works. But if that doesn't fly, there are even more creative=20 strategies. Krist sometimes laces his film bag with rolls of=20 1600-or-higher-speed film, even though he doesn't plan to use it. Because=20 many machines are labeled safe for film only up to 1600 speed, "if you show= =20 them enough 1600 in there, and it's too many for them to pick out, they'll= =20 just hand-inspect the whole bag." Krist also has stooped to printing up official-looking labels that say=20 "1600-speed film" to paste over the labels for the slower speed film he=20 carries so he has a better argument for a hand inspection. "That's even=20 worked in Europe," he says. Still, McAuley says, don't panic if the inspectors insist on sending your=20 vacation memories through the dreaded X-ray stream. "If it becomes a big=20 deal, I just let it go through the machine. And I've never seen any=20 damage." Indeed, Kodak recommends asking for hand inspections only when=20 film will pass through X-ray machines more than five times. Even after five= =20 passes, which no doubt causes some changes to the film, "your eye and my=20 eye cannot see a difference," Blamphin says. Of course, there's another=20 option, he notes: Buy a digital camera. "X-rays don't affect them." 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