In fan beam X-ray scanners operating with a large number of detectors, errors at and near the center of rotation are caused by the fact that the radiation absorption in said area is substantially always measured by the same detectors and that the sensitivity of all detectors is not exactly the same. The invention provides an improvement in that the measurement is carried out with a larger number of detectors than is necessary for the measurement of the scanning field and that the detectors pivot during the measurement. As a result, the absorption in the center of rotation is measured by different detectors so that, for a sufficient number of detectors the different sensitivities, errors are averaged and thus reduced or cancelled.