Storing unexposed film

[rjl photo]

I have a question about storing film. I have seen several posts,

articles, etc. that say that film should be kept in the refrigerator

until the morning it will be used. I have also heard that film may be

kept in the freezer for several years. Is this a good practice?? Why

is it a good practice?

 

I've just bought 3 six-packs of Fuji 400 Extra (expiration date: Feb

2007) which were on sale at my local RITZ (everyone's local RITZ???).

And I would like to know how best to keep them fresh.

 

I'd appreciate your comments!

[robert_martin5]

Color characteristics of film changes with time. If you store film at a low temperature it slows down the change in color characteristics. The lower the temperature the slower the characteristics change. Consumer film is shipped assuming that it will be in the distribution chain for some time before it is used and the characteristics will change to an acceptable color balance. Professional film is aged and shipped refrigerated (less than 55 degrees F) when it reaches an acceptable color balance. I keep all my professional film refrigerated until I am ready to use it. Allow several hours of warm up time (depending on how cold it is) before you open the package. If you don't moisture will condense on the film and may ruin it.

[kbreak]

store your film in a baggie, so when it comes out of the cold, the condensation is on the baggie and not the film.

[bill_thorlin]

I store in the refrigerator inside "sealed" food containers.Seems to work and have no apparent condensation problems when I remove the films as required. Of course let them get to "room temperature" before use - a bit like good red wine !

 

( Nice to be able to combine two of my hobbies in one post )

[john_shriver]

NO FILM IS AGED! Geez, when is this canard launched by some idiot magazine writer in the 1970's going to go away.

 

Professional films are manufactured dead-on in color balance. It would be HARDER to make a film so it actually aged into color balance, and would be an insanely expensive way to hit the target.

[joe_manthey1]

John is correct. In addition, higher speed films (400+) are subject to granularity degradation due to background radiation which no type of refrigeration can stop. It's best to use higher speed films (your specific question) within their expiration window or overexpose negative film if outside that window.

[eric merrill]

When you bought the film, was it refrigerated? If not, don't worry about it. Just use the film. Buy it and use it.

 

I don't worry about refrigerating any of my film. I buy 20 rolls per type at a time and just plan on using within a couple months. Refrigerating and then letting it warm up is just a hassle.

 

If you're going to buy film and not use it for several years, then you might want to think about freezing it.

[g._armour_van_horn]

In general, chemical reactions double for every 10 degrees of temperature. Therefore, going from room temperature (call it 20) to a standard home freezer (slightly below 0) means that any chemical changes going on in the film will be cut by a factor of 4. Note, however, that background fog from cosmic rays and other background radiation are not affected by temperature. (All numbers here are degrees Celsius.)

 

After pulling film out of the freezer, leave it at room temp for an hour or so before pulling it out of the plastic container to avoid condensation. Or at least that is the standard advice, I wouldn't hesitate to put it right in the camera if I forgot because the thermal mass of the film is too small and the amount of moist air available inside a camera is too small to have any major effect, at least around here. "Here" being coastal Washington state, where everything is pretty damp most of the time.

 

Van