120 Roll Film sitting in the sun

This post is kind of pointless since the damage has already been done, but I have a curious query. I'm up here in the Canadian arctic working on a documentary; Iqaluit, Nunavut to be exact.

I had a free day today to roam the streets and do some more 645 photography for my own portfolio. Upon my return I had noticed that previously exposed rolls of 120 were sitting on my hotel desk in full sun from a conveniently placed window. Naturally they were tightly wound and sealed on the core. I do notice that the high arctic sun is unusually bright, what with all that snow on the ground to help reflect it.

Do you think that they could have been fogged, even partially? The rolls were probably hit by sun for a good 3-4 hours. I know I've had 120 sit in the sun before without problems but I wonder if anyone has tested it for themselves, whether by accident or not. It makes sense when loading for the roll to be in subdued light because you are unravelling more of the black leader. But I think a fully wound 120 roll is light tight. What do you think?

David

David S. Nardi Photography
(647) 444-4959
david@davidnardi.com
www.davidnardi.com

That film *should* be OK.

The only way to be sure is to develop it.

I had about 12 rolls of Ilford and an equal number of Efke sitting in a clear plastic bag on the back seat of a car for a few days. All the Ilford were fine, all of the EFKE were fogged. Good luck

David,

I wrap 120 film in aluminum foil after it's exposed to help prevent edge fogging. I cut squares to size and keep them in my camera bag. The old camera I use doesn't always keep the film as tight as it could be. A local lab mentioned they see this quite often. I don't recall where I learned about this.

Phil

I find the easiest solution to this was to buy a handful of plastic 120/220 tubes from J and C. They were 4 for a buck and I keep 'em in my bag to drop exposed film in until I can develop it. Likely the best buck I ever spent!

- Randy

It depends a bit on which film you're using. Like others have said you have to develop to be sure, but my experience is that the "major brands" (Kodak, Ilford, Fuji) are quite resistant to light leakage if wound tightly. One brand seems to get edge fogging no matter - Bergger - their backing paper seems more porus, resistant to tight winding, and might even be shorter (though I have not done a comparison with a ruler to other brands).

I, too, wrap with aluminum foil - just to be safe.

I use Fuji. I'm sure it will be fine, but you get that queasy feeling when you're far away from home. Damn I love film!

Thanks everyone for your posts.

David

David S. Nardi Photography
(647) 444-4959
david@davidnardi.com
www.davidnardi.com

I had a roll of TMY fog on the edge of a couple of frames by letting it get into the sun. (Nothing a little cropping couldn't get rid of.) I really try to find some shade ever since. Today I shot some Velvia and took it to Carl's Darkroom drop box. Fortunately the box is on the north side of the building so no direct sun while putting film into the envelope.

I think a greater concern was whether or not the film was subjected to "too much" heat by sitting in the sunlight?

If not - assuming the rolls were tight - I'd agree with most here that probably no damage occurred.