Keeping film in the refrigerator

[cleary71]

I was wondering if anyone can shed some light on keeping film in the refrigerator. I have 15 rolls of slide film that I received at Christmas and I was considering placing them in the frig. I heard of people doing this and I was wondering if this is a good thing and if so do you know how long it extends the life of the film? Also, do you have to "defrost" it before using it? Thanks!

 

[Bob_McBob]

Keeping film refrigerated will extend its life, especially for 'pro' film that's designed to be shot fairly soon after being purchased (as opposed to consumer film that's often meant to mature on the shelf). If you're going to use the film soon, then it's not going to make any difference, but it can't hurt to keep it in the fridge.

When you want to use it, the best thing to do is take it out an hour or so beforehand and let it warm up inside the cannister. That will stop condensation from forming, which can potentially be a problem. It's never been an issue for me, but again, it can't hurt to do it.

Where refrigeration really makes a big difference is with pushed black and white film that hasn't been developed yet. The latent image is often severely underexposed, and after a week or two at room temperature much of the shadow detail can be lost.

 

[BernieSC]

Its always good to keep the film in the fridge, you can put it in the freezer or the fridge it really makes no difference because weather its refridgeratior temp or freezer temp once the temp gets down to that either one is ok.

I keep all my film in the fridge. I have no worries taken film thats even outdated out of the fridge and using it. You just have let it warm up before using about an hour. The film does not freeze because the cantainer its put in is air tight packaged at the factory. Thats why you should not pop the top on the container until you are ready to use it.

 

[ang]

I bought three rolls of Velvia, took it home, forgot to put it in the fridge for 5-6 hours. Then placed it in the fridge.

Was that bad to do? Will I still get the benefits of refrigeration even though the film had defrosted before I put it in the fridge?

 

[Bob_McBob]

There's no problem with what you did. You could probably leave it at room temperature and shoot it on the expiry date with no ill effects, but it's better to be safe than sorry. I don't even bother to refrigerate the black and white film in my bulk loader, because I know I'll use it well before it expires, and I can't be bothered to keep the damn thing in the fridge .