Best way to prolong Film

[kshapero]

Looking to buy a brick (60 rolls) of film.
Best way to store the film.
1. Freezer
2. Refrigerator
3. My Bookshelf in an air conditioned room.

[Godfrey]

Originally Posted by kshapero

Looking to buy a brick (60 rolls) of film.
Best way to store the film.
1. Freezer
2. Refrigerator
3. My Bookshelf in an air conditioned room.

In order of ability to preserve for as long as possible:
Freezer, then refrigerator, then bookshelf in an air conditioned room.

Be sure to warm frozen film in its original packing to room temperature thoroughly before opening the packing. I usually pull the film out two days before I plan to use it.

[kokoshawnuff]

Freezer in a couple air/moisture tight ziplock bags is probably the best option to prolong your film's lifespan

[kshapero]

Originally Posted by kokoshawnuff

Freezer in a couple air/moisture tight ziplock bags is probably the best option to prolong your film's lifespan

Cool, no pun intended, I just picked a bunch of these new at a yard sale.

[Jake06]

Originally Posted by Godfrey

Be sure to warm frozen film in its original packing to room temperature thoroughly before opening the packing. I usually pull the film out two days before I plan to use it.

When I take my film from the freezer, I put it in the fridge for at least six hours (usually a day) and then in a cool place i.e. a draughty doorway or the exhaust fan of my computer. You gotta ease it into ambient temperature again to avoid condensation on the film.

[kshapero]

All good advice, thanks.

[loquax ludens]

Freezer for sure. Non-frost free, preferably. The manual defrost types have to be defrosted about once a year to remove ice buildup, but you can usually set them to a lower temperature than a frost free type. I keep my 15 cubic foot film freezer at -15F. I've recently shot some rolls of 10 year past date 120 film (APX 100) that shows no evidence of fog.

As others have mentioned, keep the film in the original container and store it in plastic bags, and when you take it out of the freezer, let it warm up to room temperature before opening to prevent condensation damage.

[loquax ludens]

Where are you finding bricks of film, by the way? I used to buy 120 roll film bricks of FP4+ and HP5+ at my local camera store, but that store has been closed now for years. I haven't noticed any online sellers listing film in bricks.

[Jake06]

Disclaimer:

I realise I gave my pc exhaust fan as a place of cool air, but yours may blow air considerably above ambient.

[kshapero]

Originally Posted by loquax ludens

Where are you finding bricks of film, by the way? I used to buy 120 roll film bricks of FP4+ and HP5+ at my local camera store, but that store has been closed now for years. I haven't noticed any online sellers listing film in bricks.

ebay a guy in culver city, CA

[loquax ludens]

Whenever I look for film on ebay, I always see people selling Kodachrome. And people bid on it. It's difficult for me to understand why someone would want to buy it, especially an entire brick of it, since it cannot be processed (except as a black and white film) anymore.

[Keith]

Wow ... I'm amazed at the care some take when removing film from a freezer prior to use.

I take it straight from the freezer, put it in my pocket for half an hour, then load it into the camera and have never had a problem ... 135 or 120!

[Jake06]

Keith, it's a pessimism thing.
Assuming the film gets ruined at some point, it's good to take care with the freezer so the cause can be narrowed down if needs be.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Jake06

Keith, it's a pessimism thing.
Assuming the film gets ruined at some point, it's good to take care with the freezer so the cause can be narrowed down if needs be.

I read an article a few years ago about one of the early photo expeditions to the Antarctic by an Aussie photog who's name I can't remember.

He used a screwmount Leica and was describing how occasionally the controls of the camera would ice up and also how careful he had to be advancing the film because it was so brittle in the freezing conditions. I sometimes wonder how much trouble these guys would have had with condensation in these conditions when moving the loaded camera or film back into a warm environment. I do remember his photographs were beautiful in the particular book I saw them in and my respect for the little screwmount increased considerably!

[Jake06]

Maybe the film was just humouring him for having the guts to go to the Antarctic... but I've taken film out of the freezer before and gone straight out into 30C in the shade weather with no apparent problems, but the gradual warm up thing is hardly a bad habit..

I ruined the circuits of a cheap digital p&s last winter simply by stepping inside - switched it on that evening and, well, nothing happened. Inspected it more closely and I could see droplets running round the insides of the lens.

[skibeerr]

Keith, on Antartica there is almost no humidity.

[David Murphy]

Short of storing the film in a vacuum, it is nearly impossible to avoid condensation on film when it is warming up unless extraordinary precautions are taken, such as warming up the film in a tent of dry nitrogen. If the temperature is below the dew point, condensation forms. This is certainly the case for any freezer temperature and quite often the case for refrigerator temperatures. This is one reason I have some reservations about freezer stored film.

If you can convince me otherwise scientifically, please do so.

[kshapero]

Up to now I have stored film in a dark a/c closet with no problems, but then I only buy 2-3 months worth at a time. Wonder how long film could be stored under these conditions?

[Aristophanes]

Originally Posted by David Murphy

Short of storing the film in a vacuum, it is nearly impossible to avoid condensation on film when it is warming up unless extraordinary precautions are taken, such as warming up the film in a tent of dry nitrogen. If the temperature is below the dew point, condensation forms. This is certainly the case for any freezer temperature and quite often the case for refrigerator temperatures. This is one reason I have some reservations about freezer stored film.

If you can convince me otherwise scientifically, please do so.

The freezer is a dry environment of low humidity.

If you store film in the freezer and take it out, make sure the warming environment is free of humidity because it is on the thermal break where the moisture will form. The moisture will not come from within the film canister or foil, but from the ambient air.

I find that the plastic film containers are effectively moisture-free from the factory, so about 1/2 to 1 hour warming inside them before exposing works for 135, and the foils around 120 are similarly protective. Not a perfect vacuum, but of so low humidity that the effect on the film is negligible.

Freezers are good storage because they are a controlled environment both for moisture and against heat. Heat is far more destructive of organic compounds than cold. What you want to avoid with film is BOTH the variable of temperature AND moisture.

[kshapero]

Originally Posted by JSU

I buy mine at the grocery store.

I was referring to those thick waterproof kind for camping, etc.

[capitalK]

I think about baseball.

[zuiko85]

This is interesting. I just rediscovered two 100 foot bulk rolls of Arista ASA 50 B&W (yeah, it's old enough to say ASA 50) lost in my fridge. The carton says "made in England" so maybe it is Pan F. The exp. date is 7/2006 so this month it is 6 years expired. I just stuck it in the loader and spooled off 25 shots and plan to use HC-110 at 1:60 dilution, 20C, for 8 minutes with initial 10 sec. agitation and 5 sec. every 2 minutes.


We shall see what we shall see.

[David Murphy]

Originally Posted by Aristophanes

The freezer is a dry environment of low humidity.

If you store film in the freezer and take it out, make sure the warming environment is free of humidity because it is on the thermal break where the moisture will form. The moisture will not come from within the film canister or foil, but from the ambient air.

I find that the plastic film containers are effectively moisture-free from the factory, so about 1/2 to 1 hour warming inside them before exposing works for 135, and the foils around 120 are similarly protective. Not a perfect vacuum, but of so low humidity that the effect on the film is negligible.

Freezers are good storage because they are a controlled environment both for moisture and against heat. Heat is far more destructive of organic compounds than cold. What you want to avoid with film is BOTH the variable of temperature AND moisture.

Yes agreed that the freezer has zero moisture content in the air since it is frozen, however the film is warmed up outside the freezer and the air there, does indeed have moisture (for instance 35-60% RH being common in Southern California, a relatively dry place).

If you are right that factory sealed film is sealed in dry air that might deal with the problem, but not all film is factory sealed - many rolls are delivered in bulk lots unsealed, bulk loaded by users, put back for storage after opening, etc.

I think warming the film up in a container with a dry air positive pressure or in a vacuum jar might be a feasible solution.

[Godfrey]

I put film in the freezer either in the factory issued boxes. I've had zero problems just taking rolls out of the freezer and letting them sit on my desk for a day or so before opening the box. Been doing this for thirty five years ...

[mfogiel]

As a general rule: freezer before you shoot, and freezer after the shoot till you develop.