heat damage

I just received a shipment of Fuji NPH from B&H Photo. As the UPS guy

handed me the box I noticed it was very warm. The individual boxes of

film were very warm as well. I then noticed this box had been scanned

at 8AM and I received it at 6PM. So, it?s been riding in the back of

a UPS truck all day with 95* temps. With the heat index it?s been at

least 100*. I can?t afford to take any risks with heat damage as I

will be shooting these rolls for paying clients. Fuji states this

film should be at or below 50*. I know this isn?t true since I?ve

shot tons of it outdoors up to 80*. My question is how much tolerance

does unopened color negative film have?

Dear Scott,

 

In the last year or so there was an article in Photo Techniques magazine testing the effects of heat on professional color negative film. The results were that there was little if any change after a rather significant dosage of heat. Unfortunately, I can't lay my hands on the issue at the moment, but I'm sure they can help you find the article.

Did you note this on the delivery recorda and notify B&H? They will need to file a claim with UPS.

 

Since there is paper no delivery sheet, what I do with their signature tablet is write DAMAGED instead of sign my name. Depending on who the shipper is and their policies, I'll also reject the shipment.

Shoot a roll of something critical to make yourself comfortable.

It's film, not fresh fruit or meat! One day in the back of a UPS truck on a hot day isn't going to make it go bad. Think about it for a minute - how did the film get from the Fuji distributer to B&H - UPS truck? If you are really concerned then by all means shoot a test roll to check it out for color shifts, or buy a fresh batch locally (which may have also arrived at the store in the back of a hot UPS truck).

 

"Fuji states this film should be at or below 50*."

 

Fuji states that it should be *STORED* at or below 50F. That doesn't mean it can't tolerate exposure to significantly higher temperatures for short periods of time (i.e. short as in days versus long term cool storage in weeks/months)

 

BTW - film does not "feel" a heat index. 95F is 95F to an inanimate object, regardless of the humidity / heat index.

Actually, Fuji stores their sensitized products in a refrigerated room in their warehouse at the Raritan Arsenal. They use FedEx for delivery, which has their huge metro facility in the same industrial park.

 

Kodak ships their professional E6 film to studios in styro containers with frozen gel-paks to insure their integrity.

 

Personally, I would bounce the NPH, since it is a professional film: Scott paid a premium for this film, and included in this premium is that it will meet tighter specifications -- Including temperature in transit.

 

If UPS cooked the film, it's THEIR responsibility: The vendor, as part of the premium, will have properly insured it -- Either by buying insurance, or self-insuring, i.e. gambling.

 

It's NOT up to Scott to make excuses for others when buying a premium ("professional") film.

It IS up to Scott to determine if he wants to risk his assignments with film he fears, or waste his time screwing around with UPS.

 

A test roll will tell him if he's got a problem. He doesn't.

It's not just the temperature, it's the TIME and the TEMPERATURE. The short duration at elevated temperature should have no significant effect on your film. In the temperature domain, the temperature excursion was relatively low. For the purposes of accellerated aging, ABSOLUTE temperature is the parameter with which we are concerned. Add 460 Deg to the Farenheit value to obtain absolute temp in Degrees Rankine. Add 273 Deg to the Celsius temp to obtain absolute temp in Degrees Kelvin. 95 DegF is 555 DegR (degrees Rankine - absolute temp scale). Compare that number to Fuji's recommended 50 DegF (510 DegR). 555 DegR is only about 110 percent of 510 DegR.

 

I suspect that if you look closer at the Fuji recommendations, the 50 DegF value refers to STORAGE temperature. Storage for long periods of time at elevated temperatures can significantly shorten the life of film.

 

You should, by the way, apply the time and temperature accellerated-aging philosophy to ALL important elastomers - including camera body components. Light seals and bumpers turn to goo due to time and temperature. 30-40 years at normal room temps turns seals and bumpers to goo. Rubber bumpers in Konica Autoreflex models get sticky and can be found online for cheap (and easily fixed). They'd last longer if stored in a ziplock bag in the freezer. They'd goo faster if stored in the attic, or in the car's glovebox.

 

Store in a cool, dry place.

I called B&H and they stated they've never had a problem with shipping film during summer months. I trusted the customer service rep since he seemed very knowledgeable and B&H is a very good company in my opinion. I shot the film for my client and all went well. It performed just as any other roll I've shot in the past: great color, contrast and tight grain. I suppose heat damage occurs at a longer duration.

<p>I googled "film heat damage" and found this old thread... but it was exactly what I was curious about. I ordered a bunch of Velvia a week ago.....chose 3-day UPS shipping.....and a week later it is still 'in transit'. Just wondering if I should refuse delivery and send it back...since temps have been running in the 90s every afternoon.</p>