film limits/safety?

Ok, I know this is going to sound excessive, but I am going to Spain for two months this summer and want to bring enough film to last me the whole trip. I love to take pictures, so I feel I could easily go through 8-10 rolls without a problem. Is there a limit to how much film I can take in, out of the country? Also, is it safe to send undeveloped film through those x-ray machines at the airport? Thanks -Kelly

I have a not so nice suggestion: How about investing in a digital camera, say one of those SONYs which writes to mini-CD. One one of these 156mb discs you can take/hold about 500-700 photos and there's NO film processing involved!

I got myself the SONY MVC-CD200 camera ($600 now - about $200 LESS now than when I bought mine 2 months ago #$@%&$*! ). I took about 650 photos (at 640 X 480 resolution - the lowest setting) on the first mini-CD and still had space left over. You can get rewriteable mini-CDs too so after you take the photos you want, transfer them to your hard drive later, erase the CD and use it again! And it takes very good photos and decent 60-second MPEG videos too.

Imagine buying the film at, what, $4 per roll. Taking the photos, changing film every 36 shots, then processing each roll at, what, $10 each. If you're taking 10 rolls of film, that's about $140 in film stuff. That's almost 25% of the price of the digital camera I mention above.

I'm not trying to sell SONY here, but any digital camera at half the price would allow you to take/save many many more photos and would avoid the expense of using film.

Good luck and happy photographing!! Saludos, MadridMan

I echo MM's endorsement of the digital media. I've been using an HP digital camera for the better part of 3 years now, and for trips like my upcoming Santiago pilgrimage next month, I've simply invested in a larger flash memory card. A 64 MB card, on lowest resolution, holds over 1000 pictures, and allows me to go higher or lower resolution, delete those pics I don't want, etc.

I have a handheld HP Jornada which I can then slip the flash memory card into and edit a PowerPoint slide show, see the pictures a little more clearly (than in the viewfinder on the camera) or infrared zap directly to my computer or HP printer...

Since, unlike MadridMan, I have a friend and a sister at HP, my gear has cost me nothing...and I've only shelled out about $39 at Costco for the higher capacity flash memory card.

I look forward to putting my entire pilgrimage trip on one or two memory cards and e-mailing the photos to friends, while printing others for an album...

Now I'm not trying to sell HP here...bla bla bla...

Kelar419 writes: A good idea! I saw someone paying mil pesetas (about $5) at a shop last year for one 24-exposure roll of Fujicolor-100, about what I pay for a 3-pack at Wal-Mart. I don't think there's a limit if it is for personal use (a dozen or so 36-exposure rolls should fall in that category). As for your latter question: They will tell you it won't hurt your film. I have gone thru (and had my carry-on baggage go thru) a lot of those machines without noticeable damage to my film but things change. Increased security after 9/11 may have prompted inspectors to 'turn up the gain' on their machines, thus increasing the possibility of damage to your film. Earlier, I had been warned to NOT allow my film to be scanned at some selected European airports.
BTW
I also have a Digital Camera (Fuji FinePix 2800) but I never go anywhere without my Rangefinder 35mm, a 'vintage' Canonet QL17 G-III

The films can't be unveiled by the X-Ray machines because they are not sensible to that radiation.

From my experience, it is cheaper to process the films in the States.

And of course the best is to have a digital camera

Regards.

Fernando

I just found this link from the State Department. It doesn't limit the film rolls that you can take out of the country, but it does limit the number of unexposed rolls you can bring back with you (I don't understand that ...).

Click this:

www.dos.gov/import~export/film.htm

Sorry!

Fernando, your comment "The films can't be unveiled by the X-Ray machines" made me smile...the word we would have used is "exposed" rather than "unveiled," but your word is so gentlemanly and prim!! I love it!!

So...a lady undressing is "unveiled," and film is "exposed."

Tara

Ups!

Thanks for correcting me hehehehe

Fernando

HA HA...MadridMan has taken to privately verifying (via private message) my bogus websites so that his gullibility is not exposed [or is it "unveiled"?] by board members!

MadridMan wrote:
Hiya CaliBasco! Could you please check/correct your www.dos.gov/import~export/film.htm link @ http://www.madridman.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=000147. It seems that even http://www.dos.gov doesn't work. Thanks!

Saludos, MadridMan

Just when you thought is was safe to click on one of my links... :p

ha ha ha Cali!! so you exposed him anyway!!!

Duped again!

So, if the X-Ray machine at some Eastern European airport 'burns' your film, does that qualify as indecent exposure??
Just my two (Euro) cents worth ...

That doesn't, but some of those pictures of MadridMan at the PC "luciendo en topless" do!