Shooting 8x10 film in a very hot climate and Air conditioning

[charlie_kelly]

Hi All,

I am travelling to Dubai at the end of the week and want to shoot some 8x10 film. The last time I was there at the same time of the year,

the temperature was about 40ºc in the evening and up to 52ºc in the day. My brother who I am staying with keeps the air con going non

stop, and as I remember from my assisting days, going from one zone to the next can cause moisture to form on the film and stick to

camera backs (medium format).

Does anyone know which would be best for the film. a) to keep the film in a store room and rather hot for the 3 weeks that I will be out

there, or

b) to keep the film cool and risk sheets sticking together or a variation on this.

 

Also, if I put loaded film holders into an air conditioned car for a 2 hour drive, will I experience a similar problem?

 

Any solid advice would be much appreciated as I am pretty hazy with how to proceed.

 

All best.

[sheldonnalos]

The film gets sticky due to moisture in the higher temperature air condensing on surfaces that are cool, such as lenses or film coming out of an air conditioned environment.

 

I would recommend keeping your gear either in a camera bag or some other type of container separated from the outside air and letting it come up to the ambient temperature outdoors before pulling it out to shoot. If you keep the film/gear separate from the outside air while the gear heats up, you won't have any condensation problems.

 

It probably wouldn't be good for the film to be kept hot the entire time, just when you are planning to shoot.

[big toys are better]

A couple of hours equalizing to outdoor temps will be adequate to prevent moisture issues if you keep the film in a well sealed vapor-proof container. If you put your film in your vehicle first thing in the morning, that ought to be adequate. Hopefully, you will have access to very efficient coolers in your vehicle, or better yet a refrigerated cooler, so that the gear and film won't overheat while in the vehicle.