Storage of Unprocessed Film

[Tony Sarandrea]

Hey,

 

Sorry about posting but the search function on this site is lacking.

 

I shot three 100ft. rolls of Kodak last week. They are now in my fridge (not freezer). I just read that if stored, it should be at 0 temp.

I was going to just leave it in the fridge until I can make time to send it out (next week). Is my film going to suffer any lose since if

undeveloped and only in the fridge? If I put it right in the freezer from now until developing should it be okay? I'm not home otherwise

I'd do it right now.. What happens to the film otherwise? Fade in colors? Its two rolls of 250D, one of which I will be pulling a stop, and one

roll of 500T, both Vision 3. Any advice or information learned from experience is appreciated. Thank you.

[Mark Dunn]

A week is no time at all at room temperature. But now you have refrigerated it you will need to return it to room temperature gradually to avoid condensation.

Next time don't bother for as short a period as a few weeks.

Whatever you do now, don't put it in the freezer; the fresh stock was packed in dry conditions and any water vapour introduced since the seal was broken might be frozen onto the film. Defrosting then would be disastrous.

[jim blair]

What about unexposed film? Can it be stored in the freezer until use or fridge?

[Charles MacDonald]

What about unexposed film? Can it be stored in the freezer until use or fridge?

 

Fridge is always safe, as long as the film is well sealed against humidity. and has not picked up moisture from use.

 

I have seen Yeas and Nays about using the freezer. Film should only be frozen if it is still in the factory sealed package to avoid frost effects. I have seen some posts that implied that "some" films "don't like" being frozen. Only data sheet I have seen that says to store at 4C is from FOMA (http://foma.cz/ )

[jim blair]

Thanks for the info.

 

I put the film in a plastic bag just incase. I think I'll use the fridge from now on.

[Mark Dunn]

Just for the avoidance of doubt, once the factory seal is broken, don't refrigerate or freeze at all. Just keep cool.

[Dirk DeJonghe]

When doing filmouts on the film recorder I routinely put the exposed negative in the freezer for two or three days. There is a density shift of about 1 printerpoint per 24 hours if stored at room temperature. This is minimized by freezing the film. It is essential to let it warm up to room temperature before processing, this may take several hours depending on size of roll.

 

The latent image is best preserved at cool temperatures is not processed for more than a week or so. The cooler the temperature the better and freezing an exposed roll for much later processing is done routinely and safely if the warm-up is done properly.

 

Some stocks such as Agfa CP30 don't support freezing because some internal crystals break (simplified explanation).

 

If you have ever seen the documentary 'March of the Pinguins' you will understand that modern film is quite rugged as well as the Aaton S16 cameras that were used to film it. If shooting in arctic conditions, you want to leave the camera and stock outside all the time (protected of course).

[Mark Dunn]

That's the best advice you can get anywhere.

[Tony Sarandrea]

Thanks all. Before checking for replies I put the film in the freezer... After reading this, I put it

back in the fridge so, it spent a couple days in the freezer, hopefully moisture did not build up. It

will now get a day or two in the fridge so I'm hoping that time will be enough for it to adjust before

bringing it back into room temperature.

So we do all of these things as a precaution but I'm still curious about what negative effects might occur from

ignoring all the do's and don'ts of proper film storage. Some kind of fogging? Loss of certain colors? Saturation?

Overall brightness? Overdevelopment? Underdevelopment? Just wondering.. Thanks again.

[Dirk DeJonghe]

Here is good information about storage of unexposed and exposed film:

 

Kodak recommendations