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Re: filmscanners: OT:X-ray fogging
Laurie writes:
> This is not the case for visiting tourists or
> professional commercial photographers who may be
> passing through a given location and not affiliated
> with any of the major European or US magazines ...
If a so-called pro presumes to charge me $20,000 a day for an assignment, he had
better get acquainted with the locals real quick, and find those reliable
suppliers and labs locally. I'm not interested in hearing excuses for that kind
of money.
> This means that the visitor takes a much more
> uncontrolled and uncalculated risk than the person
> who is from the area in making purchases
> of perishable - so to speak - supplies ...
Yes, but uncontrollable and uncalculated risk is _not_ synonymous with greater
risk.
> Some of the precautions include knowing what
> countries have airport scanners that are cranked
> up to high levels or generate stray x-rays ...
How will you find out things like this, if you cannot even find out who supplies
fresh film and good lab work in the destination country?
> They therefore control the storage conditions of
> the supplies which their staff uses so as to assure
> as best that anyone can the quality of the supplies
> rather than leaving such things up to random chance.
Not necessarily. An in-house lab may be there to cut costs, not to maintain
quality. I've heard photographers complain about in-house labs for exactly this
reason.
> They also maintain and control their own developing
> and printing processing equipment and activities
> with respect to regular changing of chemistry,
> filtration of water, cleaning of processors, etc.
Yes, so they are free to skimp in order to keep things cheap. Why pay for good
quality, when just-barely-sufficient quality will do for the magazine?
> Professionals shooting for commercial purposes
> are paranoid and concerned about quality ...
Then why are they willing to send film halfway around the world? Would they be
as willing to ship their wallets and passports that way?
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