Storing film

Chris L

Chris L

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Is there any benefit in storing film that has an expiry date of say 6 months or longer in either the fridge or freezer?

If you've got some out of date film being stored in the freezer how long should you leave it out before loading into the camera?

Cheers
 
All depends really...

What sort of film is it?

If the OOD film was stored in the freezer from early on until now, sticking it back in the freezer will prolong it's life.

If it's been stored warm since purchase then it might start to show colour shifts if it's colour. I'm not sure what happens to B&W over time... it might lose some of its sensitivity? Not sure tbh.

If it's been frozen since purchase, you can leave it out for ages and it will be fine. Best, as in all cases, to use it and dev it as quick as you can.
 
At the moment, the "oldest" film I've got is a couple of rolls of Fuji Reala that have a date of 11 2011. As far as I'm aware they've not been stored in a freezer.

The other rolls are B&W. Acros 100 (12 2012) and Neopan 400 (03 2012).

I was wondering as I will be keeping an eye out for short dated film if it's going cheap.
 
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Professional film should be stored frozen or refrigerated at the place you purchased it from so to guarantee that it is of optimum quality when you buy it. Freezing film stops any degrading in the film so it can be stored for years or decades but unfortunately in the end background radiation will affect the film (but it will take decades).

The actual date on films is just an estimate of when it will start to degrade from being in perfect condition when at room temperature, a few months or so from the date will be fine before any loss of quality should occur. As so short dated film is fine. With slide film however it can be much shorter as faults are uncorrectable if you intend to project.

According to Kodak's guide to storing film, you should wait 1 hr for a 120/220 roll to warm up from frozen and 1.5 hr's for a 35mm cartridge.

Look up "kodak e-30 Storage and Care of KODAK Photographic Materials" on google its a comprehensive guide about storing and caring for film.
 
Thanks very much for the information guys :)
 
Chris,

all the film sent with the camera has been stored in the fridge, I keep all my film in the fridge and have not had a problem.

Mart
 
Someone advised me to just take it out the fridge/freezer and allow it to get to approx room temp before loading/shooting. Not sure how credible it is as I can't remember who told me lol

I have some expired Delta 100 in the fridge, 2010 or so I think...It's going to be my developing practice rolls, I'll let you know how it goes lol
 
Well - I tend to buy film in bulk - 10 rolls+ at a time, usually short dated. In light of this, my default storage is in the freezer. I keep a "working stock" of 2-3 rolls of my regularly used films in a sealed container in the bottom of the fridge, and replenish this container from the frozen bagged stock in the freezer. If I'm shooting from the 'fridge stock, then I'll get the film out a couple of hours before shooting - just to hopefully avoid condensation problems. If I decide to shoot something that's only in the frozen stock, then if i'm organised, i'll pull the film from the fridge to freezer a couple of days early, or (more commonly) if i'm not that organised, I'll try and give it a minimum of 2-3 hours at room temp. before shooting.
 
Marvin d martian said:
Chris,

all the film sent with the camera has been stored in the fridge, I keep all my film in the fridge and have not had a problem.

Mart
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info Mart :)

Mahoneyd187 said:
Someone advised me to just take it out the fridge/freezer and allow it to get to approx room temp before loading/shooting. Not sure how credible it is as I can't remember who told me lol

I have some expired Delta 100 in the fridge, 2010 or so I think...It's going to be my developing practice rolls, I'll let you know how it goes lol
Click to expand...

Cheers Danny. I'm looking forward to hearing about your first experiences and seeing some the images :)

TheBigYin said:
Well - I tend to buy film in bulk - 10 rolls+ at a time, usually short dated. In light of this, my default storage is in the freezer. I keep a "working stock" of 2-3 rolls of my regularly used films in a sealed container in the bottom of the fridge, and replenish this container from the frozen bagged stock in the freezer. If I'm shooting from the 'fridge stock, then I'll get the film out a couple of hours before shooting - just to hopefully avoid condensation problems. If I decide to shoot something that's only in the frozen stock, then if i'm organised, i'll pull the film from the fridge to freezer a couple of days early, or (more commonly) if i'm not that organised, I'll try and give it a minimum of 2-3 hours at room temp. before shooting.
Click to expand...

That's a nice detailed reply :D I'm also hoping to find some bulk packs of short dated film over the coming months though I doubt there's much/any rolls of Acros 100 or Portra 160 about. Cheers Mark :)
 
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