Air traveling with 8 x 10

[invisibleflash]

When you 8 x 10 users travel, how many film holders do you use in the field?

[vinny]

I own 27 and take as many as possible.

[Nicolasllasera]

I take as many as I can carry with me on a backpack. If I need more and i can take them I will take all. Also important if shooting from the car is taking a Harrison tent to reload in case you run out.

[pierre506]

5 holders- 3 for B & W, 2 for Color.

[karl french]

When I'm flying I take 5 in a book bag. (And the changing tent/more film.)
Short Drive: 6
Medium Drive with one overnight: 14
Road trip: 23

If it's more than a day trip I always bring my changing tent and another box of film.

[Drew Wiley]

I typically fly with 4x5 instead. But recent TSA policy changes have certainly made pro camera travel of any type a lot more convenient. No hassle at all this last trip. Straight thru all the lines. I'm a pretty conservative shooter, and might take only one or two shots on any given week. If I were packing the 8x10, I'd carry four holders at the most - two with b&w and two with color, then if needed, add the Harrison tent and change-out boxes to the carry-on. The biggest problem I contemplate when flying with 8x10 is the risk of losing anything checked in, like a big tripod. Theft from checked baggage still seems to be a major problem with many airports. If they'll steal golf clubs, they'd probably steal a pro tripod. With the 4x5, I can simply collapse a sufficient graphite tripod right into the carry-on, along with everything else.

[David A. Goldfarb]

When I was using conventional holders, I took 6 with my 8x10" Gowland. Since I acquired some Mido holders, now I can take up to 15 or so. I can fit the camera with three lenses and maybe 3 or 4 regular holders or maybe 10 Mido holders and small accessories in a knapsack made for a laptop computer, tripod on a strap over my shoulder. If I'm working from a car, I can keep a some in the car, and swap them out as I use them.

Generally when traveling by air, I pack my holders empty in my checked luggage and carry a box of film in the pocket of my knapsack where I would otherwise carry my holders, then I load when I get to the location.

[Richard Wasserman]

Drew,

What are the recent changes? I've never had a problem with the TSA and am curious—I'm flying to Las Vegas and Portland, Oregon in February.


I typically fly with 4x5 instead. But recent TSA policy changes have certainly made pro camera travel of any type a lot more convenient. No hassle at all this last trip. Straight thru all the lines.

[Drew Wiley]

Richard - I typically fly out of Oakland, which is a lot less hassle than SF. And airports can differ a bit. But it used to easily be a 50/50 chance of TSA pulling you
aside and opening up all your gear and checking everything - looking thru lenses, meters, swabbing filmholders, etc. - a significant delay, though in my case they
were always polite and very careful to repack everything exactly as they found it. Now they seem to experimenting with expediting things, keep the line moving
fluidly, and largely ignore folks whom they "profile" as low risk. This time they simply did a quick swab of the outside of my cordura carry-on, which seems to have
been routine with everyone in the line. No fuss about the unusual gear at all. But be careful with Portland - pilferage from checked-in luggage is very common there. Don't check in any kind of camera gear or electronics. They get into stuff at Oakland too. In fact, I don't think I'd trust any airport in that respect. But Portland is especially bad, and the TSA doesn't seem to give a damn about it. Getting a claim processed is slower than continental drift. If I were to air travel with
my 8x10 system instead of 4x5, I'd leave the big Ries tripod home and at least try to get my Feisol collapsing graphite tripod on board the passenger section. It's
a bit too long for a regulation carry-on, but you do see people sneaking analogous things like small but otherwise overlength golf bags or baby carriages on board ... I'd just check with the specific airline first.

[invisibleflash]

Drew, do you carry loaded film holders through the checkpoints? I am thinking they may want to pull the slide? Or will they accept film is in it?

[Drew Wiley]

I carry the holders already loaded, inside a plastic box conspicuously marked "film". Sometimes I will add a little piece of vinyl electrical tape, so the darkslides can't
be accidentally pulled without something removing the tape first, which would obviously make them think twice. But I never have had them open a filmholder. And now the TSA doesn't even open the pack, let alone the film holder box. I don't know about foreign travel risk, which is more of an extended topic. Same for X-rays. I just send it thru. Even with 400-speed film (TMY), I haven't seen any fbf effect whatsoever from multiple X-Ray passes, either TSA or Ag inspections; and I've checked this with a densitometer against a standard. Again, I'm referring to domestic flights. So if I were really paranoid, and substituted much slower film, like ACROS, the worries would seem to be nonexistent. Now I'm not suggesting that every airport in the country will be equally cooperative. SFO is a LOT more anal and paranoid than lots of other airports in the West. Or maybe I'm just starting to look like a senior citizen too senile to invent any trouble to begin with. But from
the way the security lines were moving lately, TSA does seem to be attempting to seriously streamlining things based on more probable risk factors than camera
gear or ordinary laptops, but that does place an awful lot of responsibility on the dude watching the X-ray screens.

[Luis-F-S]

Can you request hand search of the film so you don't have to run film through the X-ray or is that not a viable option. I've only flown with digital cameras for work since 2004 so don't know how stringent the current regulations are. I do have a trusted traveler # and TSA Precheck which hopefully may make it easier.

[Drew Wiley]

When I've asked for a hand-check, I'd separate the film box from my main gear pack, so they don't have to rifle thru the whole thing. Then they'd just swab the
filmholders - but basically, the procedure is going to delay you and make an inspection of your whole kit more likely. Traveling with high-speed film if a bad idea anyway, due to cosmic rays. And sheet film doesn't even come high-speed. So I really don't see the risk of simply sending the film thru the machines. A lot of these TSA people seem like new-hires, and probably have never seen view camera gear or filmholders in their entire life, but haven't hassled me at all. If I was traveling to third world countries, I might change my strategy, but the only third-world country I've ever visited is Texas, and they were extremely lax about airport security compared to what I'm used to. I could have probably led a longhorn steer on board and nobody would have noticed.

[Richard Wasserman]

This has been pretty much my experience also. I fly with a 4x5 camera about 3-4 times a year and have always found the TSA personnel to be polite and often friendly. They may not know what large format cameras are, but other than a very small contingent of users, who does these days? I was hoping there were some new rule changes that might make it simpler to carry on LF gear, but I would settle for a bit less scrutiny and swabbing. I allow plenty of time and let them do what they feel they must. I've had a number of interesting conversations with TSA employees while they've been emptying my camera bag looking for explosives. I travel with a Horseman 45FA and 3 lenses, along with 10 film holders and assorted bits and bobs, all packed in an REI daypack. The tripod and head go in my checked bag along with my dirty underwear—I've never had a problem anywhere with theft.

I have only flown within the US with a 4x5 camera. The last time I went to Europe I took a small digital camera and carried what's basically a purse. I think if I wanted to use 4x5 in Europe I'd take trains a lot. I can't imagine flying EasyJet with LF...



Richard - I typically fly out of Oakland, which is a lot less hassle than SF. And airports can differ a bit. But it used to easily be a 50/50 chance of TSA pulling you
aside and opening up all your gear and checking everything - looking thru lenses, meters, swabbing filmholders, etc. - a significant delay, though in my case they
were always polite and very careful to repack everything exactly as they found it. Now they seem to experimenting with expediting things, keep the line moving
fluidly, and largely ignore folks whom they "profile" as low risk. This time they simply did a quick swab of the outside of my cordura carry-on, which seems to have
been routine with everyone in the line. No fuss about the unusual gear at all. But be careful with Portland - pilferage from checked-in luggage is very common there. Don't check in any kind of camera gear or electronics. They get into stuff at Oakland too. In fact, I don't think I'd trust any airport in that respect. But Portland is especially bad, and the TSA doesn't seem to give a damn about it. Getting a claim processed is slower than continental drift. If I were to air travel with
my 8x10 system instead of 4x5, I'd leave the big Ries tripod home and at least try to get my Feisol collapsing graphite tripod on board the passenger section. It's
a bit too long for a regulation carry-on, but you do see people sneaking analogous things like small but otherwise overlength golf bags or baby carriages on board ... I'd just check with the specific airline first.

[Richard Wasserman]

I forgot—

I send all my film—currently TMY-2—through the scanners. I have never had a problem with up to 6 scans.

[richardman]

How about the current experience with sending 4x5 slide films (Provia 100) through the (carry on) X-Ray? Shouldn't be worse than the B&W?