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What about Film?If you still have a film camera and don't want to go digital, I have a couple of recommendations for dealing with photography in Egypt: Remember that I'm not an expert -- just a casual travel photographer, so I'm open to all suggestions! What Speed? Quite a few people had the little diposable cameras outside, which seemed to work fine, but inside, most of them would be useless. A few ignored the "no flash" rules, but I can't suggest that at all -- flash damages the pigments in the tombs. You might read in a few guidebooks, or even be offered, to trade a little baksheesh (tips) for some flash pictures, but please don't. Make sure that you don't damage the images. How much? The way I look at it, in the grand scheme of things, film and developing are cheap. Take lots of pictures and you'll be guaranteed to get at least one good one. For most travel, they recommend that you bring all the film you think you will need with you -- knowing that film may be more expensive or of questionable quality wherever you are traveling. In the UK, this is probably not true and both film and developing can be had reasonably. Bring enough rolls to get you through the first couple of days and then plan on buying stuff there. It saves having to haul tons of film through the airport. What about Xrays? You can certainly ask for hand-inspection (I certainly will!) of your film. Take them out of the boxes and put them in clear plastic ziplock baggies to make this easier on everyone. DO NOT put film in your checked luggage -- the xrays used to scan this stuff can really mess up your film. I figure that a polite request to hand inspect (with the commentary that "I've waiting ten years for this trip and I really don't want anything to go wrong, please humor me.") will do the trick if the airport personnel insist that the xrays won't harm the film. One thing that was mentioned several times as well was to register your camera (if new) with customs so you don't get hit for tariffs when you try to bring it back into the U.S. Mark thinks this is silly, but it only requires a form from Customs or a receipt. No biggie. A note on Xray-ing in Egypt |
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© 2003 r. fingerson
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