Freezing 4x5 sheet film

[bernard_r._negrin]

Hi.

I have been freezing my 220 and 35mm rolls of film with no problems.

Can 4x5 film be frozen also? I shoot Fuji Velvia/Portia/Astia, Kodak Plus X Pan. Thanks...Bernard

[garry edwards]

Yes

[alpshiker]

No problem as long as the pack is sealed. When you take it out, make sure it is at room temperature before

you open it. Once it is open, refreezing is not advized because of moisture, unless you can deal with that. A

photog friend of mine has conserved boxes of 4x5 Velvia for 10 years, and although I could not believe it,

results were still as good as you could expect.

[kcrisp]

I have some TRI-X which has been frozen since 1989, it is fine.

Absolutely works like new. If the box has been opened, put it back

in the freezer in a sealable bag. Even an opened box should be in a

bag, since if you have a power outage (we are being told in Sunny

California this is "forced conservation") the ice/frost can melt and

the box can get really soaked.

[emil_salek2]

As my friend Paul says above, I have in my freezer several boxes of

4x5 Velvia, RDP I, NSP 160, NLP 160, all expired in 1989 or 1991

latest. Some of these boxes are open and were and (will be) re-

frozen several times.

 

<p>

 

I recently made pictures on the Velvia sheets and they were perfect,

like on a fresh film. If I open a box, I tightly wrap it into a

plastic bag, which I close with a tight nod before freezing it again,

but that is all the care I devote to these films. It is perhaps

important to note that all my films are DEEP frozen and that my

freezer is always running at the maximum.

 

<p>

 

The RDP I however does not seem to like that treatment as much as the

Velvia does. Already back in 94, when I last made some shots on it,

colors seemed to fade out a bit. However, Paul just scanned some of

these pictures for me and they are still perfect after one of Paul's

secret color corrections. I also think that a 05 M cc(anyway advised

for by Fuji for that emulsion #)will greatly help.

 

<p>

 

Many photographers worry about the color shift in expired films,

while they never use any CC and LB filtration. To my experience, lack

of CC and LB corrections influences the result much more negatively

than the age of the film, particularly under certain conditions. When

I see people making pictures without filtering in open shadow under a

16 500 Kelvin sky, I do not think that a 05 M shift, due to the

expiration date, would make a big difference.

 

<p>

 

What I write here does not apply, of course, to films that are so old

or were so badly stored that their colorants are already deteriorated.

[bill_glickman]

I spoke to a Fuji engineer about this... he raised an interesting

point. Film is vulnerable to radiation. It causes clouding or

fogging, sometimes a grainy look. The main reason film has early

expiration dates after its made, is to prevent the film from being

exposed to excess cumaltive radiation in the natural enviroment.

Some areas have very little radiation while other areas have a

significant amount. So film lasting long past the expiration date in

one area of the world, is not an assurance it do the same in all

parts of the world. But from the posters above, it sure seems to

have a longer life than most of us expected.

[roger_e._oppenheimer]

Perhaps, if the radiation equation is correct, then we should be

freezing film in lead bags. Any comments about this?

 

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Roger

[www.graemehird.com]

When Mr Oppenheimer tells me I should take precautions against

radiation by freezing my film in a lead bag, I start to worry about

more than my film!

[kcrisp]

I'm sure there a nuclear scientist/large format photographer who

knows for sure, but my impression is that so called "background

radiation" will zip right through a lead bag. In a fallout shelter

it takes something like 6 feet of soil to protect the occupants.

[www.graemehird.com]

The lead bags for film are designed for the (moderate) doses of

radiation produced by airport X-ray machines, and are definitely

enough protection from background radiation.

 

<p>

 

I don't think they will provide sufficient protection if a large

thermo-nuclear device is detonated in your vicinity (if used on their

own). For complete protection, I recommend placing your lead bag

with film in the freezer in your fallout shelter.

 

<p>

 

Does anyone know the correct exposure for a thermo-nuclear explosion?

f22 - and be somewhere else? I think I might need a heavier tripod...

 

<p>

 

;-)

[kcrisp]

I believe the old Kodak table says "f:16 and be dead." Uranium toner

(yes there is such a thing, look in a 1940's Kodak publication

called "Elements of Photographic Chemistry") really brings out the

highlights. I'll bet Cotkin makes a filter which gives this effect

with less danger. Isn't background radiation gamma rays, and don't

they zip right through lead for a great distance?

[www.graemehird.com]

Gamma rays will go through lead with little hinderance, but they will

also go through film without fogging it (at least in the low doses

that are called background radiation).

 

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I believe that the Cokin filters add a nasty colour cast which would

be hard to get rid of.

[joe johnson photos]

Like the others, I've had no problem with chrome film and B&W film

over long periods. However, the polaroid film doesn't seem to do so

well. Anyone with similar experience?