RE: [Leica] Airport X-RAY report

["Khoffberg" <khoffberg@email.msn.com>]

I just spent a weekend with Galen Rowell at his workshop.  Even though he
uses Nikon gear, he takes terrific pictures and is a wonderful host and
teacher.  He has his own stories to tell about security check points
involving guns and more, made all the more astounding as the worst one
occurred in Norway which you might otherwise fantasize as being, well,
different.  In that particular case he jumped on the belt after his film.
The locals held him against a wall at gun point at which point he went gonzo
on them yelling something about being a guest of their government (true
statement) and demanding names, badge numbers, and supervisors.  Everyone
got real friendly in a hurry.

His practical advice is to wait until the bags ahead of you have gone
through and then put the film through (in clear bags etc.) so that the
operator won't have any reason to stop the conveyor because they don't
recognize some metal blob in your kit.

FWIW, I've managed hand inspection lately at SFO and throughout Australia
without difficulty.

Cheers
Kevin Hoffberg
(925) 942-2772
Visit our website at www.inseon.com

- -----Original Message-----
From:	owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us] On Behalf Of Ted Grant
Sent:	Saturday, October 24, 1998 2:39 PM
To:	leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject:	Re: [Leica] Airport X-RAY report

Francois wrote:

>Do you know if a film has gone through a couple of times in the hand
luggage
>X-Ray machine it would bother the emulsion?  ie. You go once through the
>security as you leave (film unexposed) and once again on your way back
(film
>exposed.>>>>>


Francois,
I've had film go through hand baggage scanner's three or four times before
I've reached my final destination and never seen any fogging etc. I'm not
going to say it isn't possible, however, it has been my good fortune to
escape any fogging from carry-on bag scanners.

Sometimes if I'm really dragging my butt with patients as a tight wire, I
don't even blink when arriving at the scanner, I just place the bag on the
belt, say a couple of Hail Mary's and send it on it's way.  Besides having
to deal with the usual dim wits that guard our airplane wouldn't know a
bomb from a piggy bank! Not all of them!

For example!  My assistant Sandy and I just had an interesting case of
bungling brilliance by a "bright savior of frequent flyers" on our return
from the Leica Cape Cod seminar.

I took the clear plastic container (18 rolls) of film out of my equipment
bag and handed it for inspection, then placed the camera bag upright on the
belt.

The "MORON" flipped the bag on it's side like a sack of coal and pushed it
into the scanner. Then threw the film container in after it, even though he
could see it was just film! So much for hand inspection!

As happens sometimes, my bionic ears beeped the machine as I walked through
and I had to go through a couple of times to ensure my safety!

Sandy, having taken her exposed film out of her bag, leaving her brand new
M6 and 35 1,4 aspherical lens inside followed me. She was some upset
because the "MORON" had thrown her film in for scanning. But there was a
delay in her bag and jacket coming through and we waited while the scanning
screen operator went to the front of the scanner and appeared to be in
heavy duty discussion with the "MORON"  Returning to his position, Sandy's
camera bag appeared shortly.

Now we get to the interesting part to illustrate, that whenever you put
your bag on the scanner belt, stand there and watch what happens, even if
you hold up the line!!

We get into the air, she opens her bag to get out her new "M6 toy" and it
wont work!!!  She can't rewind the film and the lens has become extremely
stiff and binding.

Now without being able to find an eye witness here is what happened:

The "MORON" in flipping the camera bag on its side some how dumped the
camera out onto the floor.....that was why the scanner operator was having
the heated discussion and the delay of her bag coming through......  Nobody
said anything!!

When we arrived home I managed to get the film out of the camera, but it
was a hell of a job, what I didn't notice was the impact marking on the
base plate for one and I couldn't figure out why the rewind crank was
binding along with the lens.

So now we have a brand new M6 that has "just gone hay wire" for no apparent
reason whatsoever. Sandy with 4 days before leaving on a 3 week assignment
in Korea is just frantic, not to say how she was feeling about buying her
very first Leica!

Good folks at Leica, KINDERMANN (Canada) and the good guys in New Jersey
worked out some fast arrangements. We shipped the camera overnight to
Toronto. The next morning we are given the horrible news, " This camera has
suffered major impact and it shows on the base plate along with the rewind
crank shaft bent!!"

"Did she drop it?"  Absolutely no way not in a million years, then we put
things together and figured out exactly what happened... the ever diligent
security guy had dropped it on the floor and never said a word.......!
Neither one of them!

So a tough lesson learned about the Knights who guard our security in the
air!

And yes, in time for the assignment departure and a test roll, she received
a  replaced rewind crankshaft in the M6 and it completely checked out &
returned with a brand new lens!!! The original had to be sent back to
Germany!

So without question Leica, when they can, look after their equipment owners!

Latest report from Sandy in Korea? She's doing just fine for a first time
ever overseas assignment and the camera is working fine! She's anxious to
get home and film souped! More later next week.

So be careful out there when you get on airplanes!!!!!!!!!!!

ted