Blackmagic Forum

I'm going to the east coast to see fam next week. Thinking of bringing my bmcc but hesitant to put it through an x-ray machine. I've searched the web and it looks like some folks have had problems with memory cards being wiped and one person claimed their point and shoot stopped working after a trip through an x-ray machine. Anyone know if it's a good idea to be putting a cinema camera through an x-ray machine?

I've run a 7D and a C100 through TSA many, many times. I never noticed any problems with either camera and have yet to lose any media. The same is true for my editing laptop.

Same with me, 7D and BMCC, laptop - never any problems.

I believe that tales about cameras or footage destroyed by x-ray are just urban legends. They stem from the days when we used celluloid and light sensitiv chemicals that actually were affected by x-rays; and they have been kept alive through the era of magnetic data storage, when sorting machines were prone to low level formatting floppy discs and harddrives. But today i'd be more worried about low pressure and icy temperatures that could kill any electronic device. So as long as you keep your camera and media at your side during flight you (and your equipment/footage) should be safe.

One interesting thing that I have read concerning flying with a C100 is that high altitudes heighten the need to black balance the camera. I have no clue as to why that might be...

X-rays affect film but not digital cameras.

Regular flying accelerates dead pixels appearing. Increased exposure to cosmic radiation (less atmosphere at altitude) means you're more likely to have a dead pixel pop up.

Remembering that its normal for them to appear more over time. You get them faster when you fly.

JB.

mhood wrote:One interesting thing that I have read concerning flying with a C100 is that high altitudes heighten the need to black balance the camera. I have no clue as to why that might be...

A black balance is when most cameras do their dead pixel re-mapping.

JB.

John Brawley wrote:

mhood wrote:One interesting thing that I have read concerning flying with a C100 is that high altitudes heighten the need to black balance the camera. I have no clue as to why that might be...

A black balance is when most cameras do their dead pixel re-mapping.

JB.

Thanks John. Makes some sense to me now. Of course with the C100 a black balance is recommended every time you change ISO.