storing film

skatephoto · Mar 4, 2004

Should film be kept in the refrigerator or the freezer and if the film is kept cold how long will the film last past its experation date? Also what would happen if you used old, bad film? thank u

photogoddess · Mar 4, 2004

Fridge if you are going to use it right away, freezer if you are going to keep it for a long time. I have used "expired" film that has been kept in the fridge months past it's date and up to 2 years for film that was kept in the freezer. Anytime that I have gotten a bad roll of film, it ended up with an odd color cast. Usually purple. Make sure that if you use film that has been kept in the fridge/freezer, you let it sit at room temperature for about an hour.

skatephoto · Mar 5, 2004

y does the cold preserve the film?

photogoddess · Mar 5, 2004

Not sure how it works but it seems to slow the "aging" of the film down. I have had outdated film that didn't get refridgerated and it turned a horrible shade of purple. Anyone out there know why refridgeration works?

tr0gd0o0r · Mar 5, 2004

Putting film in the freezer stops the films aging completely ( or so i've been told) So if you put a roll of film with a year left before the expiration date, whenever you take it out of the freezer it should have a year left before it goes bad.

mrsid99 · Mar 5, 2004

Most chemical reactions are temperature dependant, faster at higher temperatures and slower at lower.
It's the same reason that batteries can be stored longer at lower temperatures, they take longer to change and degrade.

ksmattfish · Mar 5, 2004

Consumer films are designed to hold up well at room temperature, but refridgerating or freezing doesn't hurt them. Pro films are designed to be refridgerated to extend their max quality life.

As has been said, cooling slows down chemical deterioration, warming speeds it up, and freezing stops it. Buy recently expired film and freeze it. I find that 20 min is good enough for a roll to thaw.

Jeff Canes · Mar 17, 2004

I got deal on some film on Ebay. I thought my bid was 2.50 a roll for 25 rolls of 36 exp., but it turned it was for twin packs, pulse they through in a few extra packs. So I put a 40 rolls in the freeze, this is the first time I have froze film

I am concerned about condensation causing water spots on the film after it thaws and the possibly of rust on cartridge damaging the film. I know this is done all the time so maybe I am thinking too much
:scratch:

markc · Mar 17, 2004

Water spots are why you want it to thaw completely before using, otherwise there will be condensation on the film while you are taking the picture. It doesn't seem to bother the film if you just let it evaporate, though. There are no chemicals in the water to leave behind since it just came out of the air.

Freezing won't help high-speed film as much. It will fog just from sitting there (unless you put it in a lead box), because it's being exposed by cosmic and gamma radiation. No foolin'.